Commonwealth & Dept of Education

Department of Education

The SCASD 2024-25 Budget includes $1,475,000 in Federal funding out of a $205.6 million budget, which is less than one percent.

For K-12 schools, the Department of Education plays three roles: 1. it funds programs, most notably Title I, to help schools districts fund resources for disadvantaged and disabled students. 2. It monitors compliance with civil rights laws that effect education. 3. It conducts research and provides statistics on reading and math scores.

The Department of Education has no role in hiring or curriculum for school districts. It cannot condition federal funding based on either.

Title I sends federal money to schools with a high percentage of low-income students to bolster students in poor areas. For the 2024-25 academic year, SCASD got about $833K in Title I funds. The Department of Education also sends money to the states through the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) to provides small class sizes and other supports for disabled students and students with learning differences.

The department halted processing of race and sex discrimination complaints shortly after inauguration day. It also halted disability complaints but resumed processing them in mid-February. This seems to signal an intent to not enforce federal civil rights laws.

The Trump administration wants to abolish to the Department of Education and shift its functions to other cabinet departments. The department has already laid off almost half of its staff since January 20. These layoffs are deeply disturbing, destructive, and possibly illegal. Although SCASD is less dependant on federal money than many other districts, its civil rights function and its data gathering functions are important for every school district in this country. All of the above fits with the Education plans in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.

The changes underway to the Department of Education will not improve the education of one student in this country and will not save a single dollar of property tax for any taxpayer. These changes will harm students, especially those from marginalized groups, and deprive the federal government of needed education expertise.

Source: Anna North, Vox, March 12, 2025

Relationship to the Commonwealth

In the 2024-25 Academic Year, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided $38.97 million, which was about 20% of SCASD’s budget. Our standardized testing is done through the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth plays a much larger role than the federal government in Pennsylvania school districts. School districts are subject to Pennsylvania civil rights law.

The Constitution of Pennsylvania guarantees that the “General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.”

On February 7, 2023, the Commonwealth Court declared that Pennsylvania’s funding of education was unconstitutional and must be reformed. Since Pennsylvania school districts are primarily funded by property taxes and the property tax base varies greatly depending upon which district you live in, this funding method discriminates against poor districts. The state has been asked to increase state funding to make school funding more equitable across the state. Governor Shapiro’s budget proposal recommends an additional $494 million to school districts throughout the Commonwealth to address this imbalance. Although SCASD will benefit less than other school districts within Centre County and poorer districts in the Commonwealth, I believe this proposal is a step in the right direction.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides free and reduced-price lunch for students based upon federal USDA guidelines. In my opinion, that is not adequate. Pennsylvania should follow the lead of Minnesota and provide free breakfast and lunch to all students.

Source: Sarah Ann Hughes, Spotlight PA, March 12,2025

The State Cyber Charter Problem

The most recent audit of five of the Commonwealth’s 14 cyber charter schools produced some disturbing results. From 2020 to 2023, the revenue for these schools increased from $473 million to $898 million and their reserves increased by 150%. What was really disturbing was where the money was spent. It was spent on gift cards and bonuses. Commonwealth Charter Academy, the state’s largest cyber charter operator, spent $196 million to buy and/or renovate 21 buildings. Unfortunately, this is legal. There is clearly a strong need for our legislature to more strictly regulate our cyber charters. They are clearly wasting taxpayer money.

Currently, the per-student rates for cyber charters has been the same as that for brick-and-mortar charters with some deductions for facilities. In his most recent budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro has recommended instituting a per-student base rate of $8000 for all cyber charters. In my opinion, that is a good place to start.

Source: Katie Meyer, Spotlight PA, March 4, 2025

Charter Schools

“What’s best for students is to go to a well-resourced public school where they are supported and encouraged. It’s not good for students to drain away resources for them to pay for private choices.” -Dr. Diane Ravitch, Assistant Secretary of Education under George H.W. Bush.

Although some charter schools do their jobs well, charter schools are greatly underregulated in Pennsylvania and take taxpayer money away from public schools. They can pick and choose their students; public schools cannot. Given the current budget situation in SCASD, the plans for building renovations and a new Park Forest Middle School, I oppose the approval of any new charter schools in the State College Area School District.

Statement on Department of Education February 14/April 3 Letters

On Friday, February 14, the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter signed by Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights threatening federal funding for K-12 schools and universities if they take race into account when making a variety of decisions including hiring, scholarships, admissions and other aspects of “student, academic, and campus life.” It gives everyone two weeks to comply. It is summarized in the Guardian, and was followed up by a similar demand by Mr. Trainor on April 3. These memos are pure gaslighting and turn Civil Rights Law on its head.

Moreover, on April 9, the Pennsylvania Department of Education signaled that it would not be ordering districts to eliminate DEI programs. Several other states including New York, California, Illinois, and Wisconsin have taken the same position.

I am going to quote the response of an anonymous school superintendent to this memo from Mr. Trainor:

You’ve asked me, as superintendent of a public school district, to sign a ‘certification’ declaring that we are not violating federal civil rights law — by, apparently, acknowledging that civil rights issues still exist. You cite Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, then proceed to argue that offering targeted support to historically marginalized students is somehow discriminatory.

That’s not just legally incoherent — it’s a philosophical Möbius strip of bad faith.

Let me see if I understand your logic:

If we acknowledge racial disparities, that’s racism. If we help English learners catch up, that’s favoritism. If we give a disabled child a reading aide, we’re denying someone else the chance to struggle equally.

And if we train teachers to understand bias, we’re indoctrinating them — but if we train them to ignore it, we’re “restoring neutrality. How convenient that your sudden concern for “equal treatment” seems to apply only when it’s used to silence conversations about race, identity, or inequality.

As a candidate for the State College Area School District (SCASD) board, my position is that SCASD should change NOTHING based on these illegal demands. Its position should be that SCASD is conforming with state and federal Civil Rights Law.