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HARRISBURG, PA (Feb. 3, 2026) — PSEA President Aaron Chapin hailed Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed FY 2026-27 state budget for continuing bold investments in public school students and the future of Pennsylvania.

The proposed budget includes an overall increase of nearly $700 million in key funding for public schools, including increases of:

• $565 million to provide adequacy and tax equity payments to qualifying school districts;
• $50 million distributed to all school districts through the basic education funding formula; and
• $50 million for special education.

“This budget proposal reflects Gov. Shapiro’s remarkably strong commitment to our public schools and the 1.7 million students they serve,” Chapin said.

“Since he was sworn in as governor, Gov. Shapiro has worked with legislators of both parties to secure more than $2.1 billion in new funding to help public school students across Pennsylvania. If adopted, this budget proposal will put that figure at nearly $3 billion.

“This commonsense leadership is creating smaller class sizes, investing in STEM education and STEM teachers, expanding math and literacy coaching, and providing historic resources for our most underfunded schools and the students who learn there. And the governor’s budget proposal will continue the state’s progress toward achieving adequacy in funding for our public schools.

“PSEA looks forward to working with Gov. Shapiro and policymakers from both parties to remove barriers so that students can reach their full potential and to achieve other key priorities, including a COLA for retired school employees.”

Better Wages for Support Professionals

During his budget address Tuesday, Gov. Shapiro proposed increasing the minimum wage in Pennsylvania from $7.25 to $15 an hour. The wage has not increased in Pennsylvania since July 2009, nearly 17 years ago.

Kirstie Stayduhar, a paraprofessional at Spring Cove Elementary School in Blair County and member of the Spring Cove Education Support Professionals Association, attended the governor’s budget address. She is one of thousands of hardworking support staff in Pennsylvania’s public schools earning less than $15 an hour.

Stayduhar said her job is very rewarding, but it is difficult for her family to make ends meet. She praised Gov. Shapiro for proposing an increase in the state’s minimum wage as well as other lawmakers who have joined PSEA in advocating for legislation to pay all school support staff a living wage of at least $20 an hour.

“I get to see all these kids thrive and reach their goals every day,” Stayduhar said. “That is the most important thing to me. That’s the reason I stay at this job.”

But she believes that higher wages would help her district and all public schools recruit and retain more support staff.

“Here at our school, I feel like if we raised support professional pay, we could get more people to want to be working in the school district,” Stayduhar said. “We would have more paraprofessionals; we would have more support staff.”

Student Teacher Stipends

Gov. Shapiro is proposing a $5 million increase in funding for the Student Teacher Support Program, which provides $10,000 stipends to eligible aspiring educators while they perform their full-time student teaching experience. Student teachers receiving a stipend agree to work as teachers at schools within Pennsylvania for at least three years.

Total funding for FY 2026-27 would be $35 million under the governor’s proposal.

“Over the past two years, student teacher stipends have been life-changing for thousands of aspiring educators across Pennsylvania,” Chapin said. “Paying student teachers a modest stipend removes a major barrier to becoming an educator and creates a strong incentive for aspiring educators to want to teach in our state.

“We thank the governor for proposing an increase in funding that will allow for more student teachers to receive stipends in the next school year.

“Our long-term goal is to ensure there is enough funding in this program for every single student teacher who qualifies for a stipend to receive one and be paid for the work they do.”

Chapin is a Stroudsburg Area middle school teacher and president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.