Doug Mastriano’s education plan would likely cut school funding by more than $12 billion, resulting in lost jobs and soaring class sizes, PSEA analysis finds

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HARRISBURG, PA (Aug. 16, 2022) — A new Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) analysis finds that gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s education plan would cut public school funding by more than $12 billion annually — resulting in the loss of nearly 119,000 jobs and more than doubling teacher-to-student ratios in classrooms statewide.

“Cutting funding by more than $12 billion would absolutely devastate Pennsylvania’s public schools,” said PSEA President Rich Askey. “Doug Mastriano’s plan is completely irresponsible, a violation of the state constitution, and an insult to the 1.7 million students who learn in our public schools.”

During a March 2022 radio interview on WRTA in Altoona, Mastriano said that Pennsylvania should reduce per-student school funding from an annual average of more than $19,000 today to just $9,000 or $10,000, per-student funding levels unseen in Pennsylvania in more than two decades.

PSEA estimated the statewide impacts on public schools if Mastriano were to fund each student at $9,000 in state funding annually, while eliminating all local school property taxes, as he has proposed. The estimate assumes local non-property taxes and federal funding would remain untouched.

PSEA’s analysis found:

• Funding for public school districts, charter schools, intermediate units, and career and technical centers would decrease by $12.75 billion, or 33%.
• School districts alone would see a total cut of $11 billion.
• More than 118,700 jobs would be lost in public school districts, charter schools, intermediate units, and career and technical centers — a drop of 49% in employment.
• The student-to-teacher ratio would more than double in public schools.

Details of the estimated impacts on Pennsylvania school districts, charter schools, career and technical centers, and intermediate units can be found at www.psea.org/mastrianocuts.

“Sen. Mastriano would set the clock back 20 years on public education in Pennsylvania,” Askey said. “Student programs would be eliminated, educators would be laid off, and class sizes would go through the roof.

“One thing this proposal would accomplish: School districts wouldn’t have to worry about staffing shortages anymore. They’d be too busy laying off educators and support staff, increasing class sizes, eliminating sports, and curtailing other programs.”

PSEA undertook this analysis in the absence of a clear explanation from Mastriano of how his funding proposal would impact public education.

“Pennsylvanians deserve to have some idea what a proposal like this would mean for the commonwealth's public schools,” Askey said. “Parents deserve to know how many teachers their children’s public schools would lose. These are important details that Doug Mastriano has chosen not to disclose.

“It’s hard to even imagine just how devastating these impacts would be. What would our schools look like with a fraction of the teachers, school counselors, school nurses, custodians, bus drivers, and aides? What would this mean for the education and well-being of Pennsylvania’s students?

“How we fund public schools in Pennsylvania is one of the most important functions of state government. Doug Mastriano’s dismissive notion that we can cut public school funding by this much is just the latest evidence that he is unfit to lead and simply doesn’t care how his extreme ideas would impact real Pennsylvanians and real children.”

Askey is the president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 178,000 active and retired educators and school employees, student teachers, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.