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HARRISBURG, PA (March 5, 2026) — As the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee held its FY 2026-27 budget hearing with the state Department of Education today, PSEA President Aaron Chapin called on lawmakers to continue progress toward fixing the state’s unconstitutional school funding system.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed FY 2026-27 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 for basic education funding distributed to all public schools;
- $50 million for special education; and
- $14 million for career and technical education.
The governor also proposed an increase in funding for student teacher stipends and called on lawmakers to raise the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour.
“Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million public school students need a state budget that invests in their schools and removes barriers so that they can reach their full potential,” PSEA President Aaron Chapin said. “Gov. Shapiro’s budget proposal offers us a way to do just that.
“We have seen what our public schools have been able to achieve over the past two years with targeted adequacy funding. More schools are reducing class sizes, investing in STEM education and STEM teachers, expanding math and literacy coaching, and making long overdue repairs to aging school buildings. We must continue this progress by adopting Gov. Shapiro’s education budget proposal.
“We also call on the Senate to vote on legislation to provide cost-of-living adjustments to thousands of teachers and public servants who retired before pension enhancements that went into effect with Act 9 of 2001. Pre-Act 9 retirees have pensions of less than $20,000 a year on average, and they haven’t seen a cost-of-living adjustment in close to 25 years.
“A bipartisan group of senators has introduced Senate Bill 721 to provide COLAs to pre-Act 9 retirees and pay for them using interest earned on the state’s Rainy Day Fund. It is essential that the Senate take up this legislation and do the right thing for a group of retirees, many in their 80s now and barely making ends meet.”
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 support professionals, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.
