Philadelphia school district budget gap threatens student gains
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The School District of Philadelphia is facing a massive budget shortfall in the coming year.
Why it matters: If the district doesn't receive money from the state, it could be forced to cut programs and staff down the line, which could threaten recent academic gains.
Driving the news: The district must contend with a $442 million budget gap in the 2025–26 school year, superintendent Tony Watlington told Axios before his second State of Schools address yesterday.
Context: Funding woes are an annual headache for the district, which depends heavily on state funding to balance its budget.
- The district has also exhausted its federal pandemic relief dollars, which had previously helped forego funding shortfalls.
Zoom in: Watlington told Axios that district leaders would dip into reserve funds to cover any budget shortfall in the 2025–26 school year to avoid cuts.
- But without more state funding, Watlington says, "all options will be on the table" for future cuts, including layoffs and school closures.
All eyes will be on Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday when he releases his annual budget proposal.
- Shapiro has prioritized school funding in his previous budgets.
- The intrigue: The district's fiscal health will again depend on a divided state government, as the Democrat-led House and Republican-held Senate hash out a budget deal by July.
What they're saying: Recent student achievement should persuade state officials that more funding is worth it, Watlington tells Axios.
- "We're making the case to the Legislature and to the city that our children are worthy of additional investment and we're getting a return on investment," he says.
By the numbers: Four-year graduation rates for district-led and alternative schools hit 77% last year, up from 71% the previous year.
- Third-grade reading and math scores on state standardized tests both rose by 6 percentage points over the previous two years.
Case in point: District-led schools saw an increase of 1,800 kids in their classrooms last year. That's a considerable achievement, given enrollment declines over the previous decade.