HARRISBURG, January 11, 2018 – Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Brookline) today provided the following statement in response to an audit report indicating that Sto-Rox School District continues to struggle:
“It’s important to emphasize that the state Auditor General’s report pointed to financial problems that are largely out of the district’s control. There is only so much an administrator and educator can do.
“Many of these smaller struggling blue-collar communities cannot magically overcome stagnant revenues, a dwindling tax base and the unfair added responsibility of ponying up huge sums of money to support charter and cyber schools. Adding insult to injury, the more districts struggle, the more these defections cost them.
“The state needs to take more proactive steps to fund and support these struggling districts. We can start by reforming the school funding formula to account for these unique financial problems that face smaller districts such as Sto-Rox. We also need to take a good look at how we’re funding school choice options.
“I will commit myself to working on behalf of these administrators, teachers, parents and students to fight for more sustainable solutions that will provide more funding, resources and support that gives these kids an opportunity to succeed academically.”
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