00:00 - This program has been paid for by the sponsor and does not reflect

00:03 - the views of PCN.

00:27 - Welcome to the Keystone Education Report, where Pennsylvania leaders

00:30 - come together to address the key issues shaping our schools.

00:34 - Today, we're diving into SBA's 2026 State of Education report.

00:39 - 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the annual report,

00:43 - which looks at some of the most pressing and timely issues facing public education.

00:48 - The report serves as a key benchmark for understanding the condition

00:51 - of Pennsylvania's public schools.

00:53 - It not only tracks key indicators such as student achievement

00:56 - and school finances, but also highlights emerging challenges

01:00 - facing schools, including the adoption and use of artificial intelligence.

01:04 - We're joined today by Kevin Butcher and Andy Krist.

01:06 - Kevin Butcher is the chief advocacy officer, and Andy Crist is the senior

01:10 - director of education policy here at the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

01:14 - Thank you both for being here with us today.

01:17 - Thank you.

01:18 - So since this is the 10th year

01:19 - for the report, what kind of trends have you noticed over the past year?

01:23 - Well, I think since the report does go back

01:25 - ten years, I think one of the first things we saw, the report

01:28 - began around the time of the plan con moratorium,

01:31 - which plan Con was the school construction and reimbursement program.

01:35 - The state defunded that program around ten years ago.

01:38 - And I think since then, there's

01:39 - been kind of a wait and see approach, thinking that the state would refund

01:42 - the program, renovate, renovate, revamp the program.

01:46 - But what we've seen since then is it hasn't really happened.

01:50 - In 2019, the program was revamped legislatively,

01:53 - but the state never put funding into the new plan comp program.

01:57 - So what ends up happening is schools locally are 100% responsible

02:01 - for the cost of any school construction, renovation, projects, things like that.

02:06 - And a lot of schools just simply can't afford

02:08 - to do those projects without some state assistance.

02:11 - So School facilities has really emerged as one of the biggest

02:14 - and most pressing issues facing public education.

02:17 - And I think legislatively,

02:18 - that's something we at PSB are going to be looking at going into the future.

02:22 - Kevin, anything from you for trends?

02:24 - Well, the state is, over the last I'll say, five years or so.

02:29 - Really put hundreds of millions of dollars into a, school reimbursement,

02:34 - school construction reimbursement, or a school facilities improvement, line.

02:39 - And over the last two years in particular, a partial portion of that line

02:44 - has gone to solar for all schools.

02:47 - So we're really proud of the efforts that have gone into that.

02:50 - A lot of our schools have, have,

02:53 - used that program to enhance their, their buildings.

02:57 - But to Andy's point, you know, we have to do more from the state level.

03:01 - You know, when you try to replace, a program like Plan

03:06 - con, with, you know, $125 million in the last budget,

03:10 - which ended in November, which was finally settled in November.

03:14 - It's really tinkering around the edges at this point when we talk about,

03:18 - school districts like the city of, the School District of Philadelphia,

03:22 - which has billions of dollars in school,

03:25 - school, infrastructure needs.

03:28 - $125 million barely, barely covers.

03:31 - Many of the of the programs that that are needed

03:35 - the building programs that are needed throughout the Commonwealth.

03:38 - Andy you were talking about plan con.

03:40 - Can you go into a little bit

03:41 - into that for our viewers who might not know what that is?

03:44 - Well, the Plant Count

03:45 - program is the state's school construction reimbursement program.

03:48 - Like I said, it was mothballed around ten years ago,

03:51 - and right around 2019 it was revamped legislatively.

03:55 - It was refined and, you know, made more efficient, I guess I'll say.

04:00 - But the state still needs to put money into that program in order to drive it out

04:03 - to schools to be used for construction, renovation, maintenance projects, things

04:08 - like that, making their buildings

04:10 - more efficient, such as Kevin mentioned, the solar for schools program.

04:14 - A school would not be able to get any state financial assistance

04:17 - with not for that solar for schools program.

04:19 - So we're really lacking that sort of state funding or state

04:23 - source of money for school facility issues.

04:26 - So I'm assuming state funding was a huge giveaway that you heard

04:29 - from our school districts. Was there anything else that are

04:32 - were large takeaways that we saw from districts?

04:34 - Well, the two takeaways I have, and the first thing I always look at

04:38 - when I do the State of Education report is the biggest challenges facing schools.

04:41 - And this year it was budgeting and we had a five month state budget impasse.

04:46 - And we still have a lot of uncertainty

04:47 - at the federal level, not only regarding funding but policy.

04:50 - So it makes it very difficult for school leaders without a full

04:53 - and accurate picture of their finances to plan for the future.

04:57 - And just like all of us in our personal finances, if we don't know

05:00 - what our income's going to be, it becomes very difficult to plan for the future.

05:04 - And that's the situation

05:05 - a lot of our school leaders and our members find themselves in due

05:08 - to, you know, factors that go beyond their control.

05:11 - And the second thing I like to look at is just what

05:14 - the impact of mandated expenses are on school district budgets every year.

05:19 - I like to crunch that data,

05:20 - and every year I'm surprised by what I see because it's really those those costs.

05:25 - There's mandatory cost that schools don't really have control over,

05:28 - such as pensions, charter school tuition and special education

05:31 - that are driving school district spending increases.

05:34 - And Kevin and I hear a lot in Harrisburg, the amount that schools are spending

05:38 - and how much the state is contributing to public education.

05:41 - But if you dig a little deeper and you look at the reasons why

05:45 - schools are spending what they're spending, it becomes a little clearer.

05:48 - And I think it really demonstrates

05:49 - the need for additional state financial support for public education.

05:53 - Yeah. And that's a those are really good points, Andy.

05:56 - And as we as we talk about the the state's investment

06:00 - in public education, the later we go past June 30th, July 1st,

06:05 - the more impact that has on our local municipalities,

06:10 - our local school districts and our local taxpayers, you know,

06:14 - every missed payment, carries with it the potential for school districts

06:18 - to have to float a bond or a loan or some form of,

06:22 - financial, impact on our local communities.

06:26 - So, so, yes, the state has invested, last year, they put $493

06:31 - million into the ready to learn, block grant or the adequacy formula.

06:36 - That impacts a lot of our students, but not if we have to wait five months,

06:41 - to, to collect, on that also tell you in these point about what's

06:47 - going on at the federal level, you know, that this constant CR,

06:52 - continuing resolution,

06:55 - atmosphere that we're in lends itself to to not knowing what federal grants

07:01 - are going to be available, how we're going to change, those grants

07:05 - and the structures of of the departments that they come from,

07:08 - that has meaningful impact downstream.

07:13 - You know, so we can fund

07:15 - our schools, to, to,

07:19 - you know, to the portion that we need to to meet the adequacy gaps.

07:23 - But not not if we're waiting three, 4 or 5, six months,

07:29 - to fund them also on the mandates, you know, the underfunded mandates,

07:34 - the mandates that we, put into place,

07:37 - one budget and then decide not to fund it,

07:41 - the next budget becomes, considerable

07:45 - impact on our taxpayers and on our students and on the staff

07:49 - that have to implement those, those mandates.

07:52 - So we often talk about unfunded mandates, but we never talk

07:56 - or rarely talk about underfunded mandates.

08:00 - We can't budget in a 2 or 3, four year cycle.

08:03 - We budget year to year.

08:04 - And that's important.

08:07 - But it's also important to remember that the promises of last year

08:10 - have to be maintained and increased often

08:13 - in the following year, in and year out, when we're budgeting.

08:17 - So it's important to remember that, you know, there's a myriad of,

08:22 - of mandates, whether it be underfunded, fully funded or, not funded at all.

08:28 - It's important to remember that those are promises that we've made

08:32 - to generations to come of students.

08:34 - And so we have to maintain that funding.

08:36 - On the topic of budget.

08:38 - And Governor Shapiro, that his budget address

08:40 - just about a month ago, was there anything there that our members saw

08:44 - as potential issues going into the 2026, 27 school year?

08:48 - Well, the the the governor's budget address

08:51 - is really the starting of a process, that hopefully will conclude by June 30th.

08:55 - We'll we'll see if that's the case.

08:59 - But, it's really the starting of a process.

09:02 - It's it's the governor laying out his roadmap,

09:05 - for what he would like to see in a budget.

09:08 - I believe we're concerned about the growth in expenses,

09:12 - because that's going to mean that down stream, we're either going to have to cut

09:16 - programs or raise taxes, or or change the way, certain things are funded.

09:21 - So we want to make sure that the programs that are in place are able to be funded,

09:25 - and funded for the long term.

09:29 - Some great things.

09:30 - Are you know, the adequacy funding is still there.

09:32 - We need to see an increase in the PFC.

09:35 - Flynn's the basic education and, special education funding lines.

09:40 - But beyond that, it's really about maintaining

09:43 - the promises of the past and growing,

09:46 - some of the concerns to the opening, question, you know, the building,

09:52 - buildings and infrastructures need to be increased and maintained.

09:57 - Those are all important things that we're hearing.

09:59 - From our members as we as we work through this budget process,

10:02 - which will hopefully conclude on June 30th.

10:05 - And to Kevin's point, these are excellent opportunities to advocate as well.

10:09 - With with Governor Shapiro's proposal being the starting point,

10:13 - that means there's still time to influence what ends up in the final budget

10:16 - on June 30th.

10:17 - So there are plenty of opportunities to advocate between now and June 2nd.

10:21 - I know you talked a little bit about special education

10:23 - and what that looked like in the report from our members.

10:26 - What did you see through special education lenses of what they're looking for,

10:29 - what's missing, and how our districts can be advocates

10:33 - both at a district level and beyond to a legislative level?

10:36 - Yeah.

10:36 - What we're seeing, you know,

10:37 - at the statewide level, is a real increase in the number of kids

10:41 - being identified with disabilities and in need of special education.

10:45 - And certainly it's not that we're advocating that we don't need

10:48 - to provide those supports and services, but we have to recognize that those come

10:51 - with additional costs.

10:53 - You know, if they need a full time health aide, you have to pay that health aide,

10:57 - and they accompany the kid wherever they go.

10:58 - So special education does place stress on school

11:01 - districts, both in terms of their budget and staffing.

11:05 - And I think what we're seeing,

11:06 - our schools are getting very creative in how they're addressing these issues.

11:10 - But unfortunately,

11:11 - we definitely need more state and federal funding for special education.

11:15 - I think when you look at it graphically and the report does that said,

11:18 - it really illustrates the problem nicely, where you see that the increases in state

11:23 - and federal funding for special education have maintained relative levels.

11:29 - But the increases in expenditures have really skyrocketed.

11:33 - And that's due in large part because more kids are in special education now.

11:37 - I think it's also important to state that a lot of the mandates

11:41 - and maybe we could rename this the mandate, episode.

11:45 - But, you know, a lot of the mandates come from the federal level.

11:49 - And, and because the fed federal government

11:55 - across, across 40

11:57 - plus years have woefully underfunded their promise, of special ed,

12:02 - it means that the state has to has to meet that gap.

12:06 - And where the state can't meet the gap, then the local, taxpayer

12:10 - has to meet that gap because those those programs have to get funded.

12:14 - Because, you know, because the federal government says they have to,

12:18 - and because our local school districts want to,

12:22 - ensure that those programs are,

12:25 - kept and, and maintained.

12:28 - But I think it's really important, and I can't stress enough

12:32 - that a lot of these decisions are not made at the local level.

12:36 - They're made at the federal level and forced upon the state.

12:40 - The state then has to pass that on to the local, taxpayer.

12:44 - So we believe that if the federal government

12:48 - were to meet even a minimal increase of that promise,

12:52 - it would have a huge impact on the state coffers.

12:55 - When we talk about special education funding.

12:58 - Well, thank you both so far for your insights.

13:00 - We'll be right back after a brief break. For more information.

13:04 - Excellence isn't just a goal, it's a standard.

13:06 - The great PA schools GPS designation honors Pennsylvania public schools

13:10 - that go above and beyond where rigorous academics, strong community

13:14 - ties, financial responsibility and resilience come together.

13:18 - Today, we're highlighting one of our GH ribbon recipients,

13:21 - Lower Dauphin School District.

13:30 - At Lower Dauphin,

13:31 - we're learning more than what's in the books.

13:34 - We're discovering who we are and who we can become.

13:38 - We exist to educate, to engage, to support

13:43 - and to inspire.

13:45 - Because every day here is a chance

13:47 - to grow, to try something new.

13:51 - To feel supported and to push ourselves further than yesterday.

13:55 - We are a community, a family,

13:59 - and a place where every moment matters.

14:02 - Because here we're not just learning for today.

14:05 - We are preparing for tomorrow. Every falcon.

14:08 - Every falcon.

14:09 - Every falcon. Every falcon.

14:11 - Every falcon.

14:13 - Every falcon.

14:14 - Every falcon. Every falcon. Life ready.

14:23 - We're looking for the next great Pennsylvania school district.

14:26 - Visit great schools.com to share your success story.

14:30 - Or apply for the ribbon.

14:50 - You're watching

14:50 - the Keystone Education report.

14:54 - Welcome back to the Keystone Education Report.

14:56 - We're joined again with Kevin Butcher and Andy Crist of CBA to dive

15:00 - more into the conversation.

15:01 - Of the 2026 State of Education report produced by PSB.

15:05 - Thank you both for being here again.

15:07 - So is there anything that surprised you from the report?

15:10 - This year?

15:11 - Yeah, I don't know if I'd call it a surprise

15:13 - so much as something I'm curious to see in the future.

15:15 - And hopefully this is something we can look at in a future state of education's.

15:19 - But we've noticed the last couple of years that there has been a slight decrease

15:22 - over the years

15:23 - and the number of school leaders citing, you know, real challenges

15:26 - with student mental health issues.

15:28 - And what I'm curious to see is whether or not that's because of investments schools

15:31 - have made in mental health programs and supports and services

15:34 - that they're providing,

15:35 - or whether it's because school leaders are kind of burned out or tired

15:38 - of talking about this issue since it's been happening

15:41 - and on the forefront of everyone's mind since certainly since the pandemic.

15:45 - But what we are seeing, though, is school

15:47 - leaders are still reporting significant challenges and both

15:50 - connecting students to those mental health support services that they need

15:54 - and finding providers that their students can use for their mental health needs.

15:58 - So there again, that's something I'm looking forward to seeing in the future.

16:01 - But for now, I think that's one of the things that has caught my eye.

16:04 - Yeah.

16:05 - And to Andy's point and to the legislature and the many administrations now

16:09 - two administrations, to their credit, they've invested in this, in this, line,

16:15 - especially the last year and the budget that was settled in November.

16:20 - It was $100 million, invested into our school health,

16:24 - our school mental health and school safety lines.

16:27 - Again, pet peeve of mine that, there combined

16:30 - into one because I think it carries with it a certain connotation.

16:33 - But, the investment is there,

16:36 - to ensure that both our schools are safe

16:39 - and that our students, are receiving the care that they need.

16:44 - And to this point, we're working with, multiple organizations

16:49 - to ensure that school mental health isn't just in school.

16:53 - That we're that there's no wrong entry to receiving help,

16:58 - that a student, might need moving forward.

17:01 - So we're working with community providers.

17:04 - We're working with the counties,

17:05 - as they provide human services and mental health care.

17:09 - We believe that it's important that there's no wrong door,

17:13 - for entry, whether it be your county, your community, or your school.

17:17 - We believe that it's important.

17:18 - And quite frankly, the legislature and Governor Shapiro,

17:22 - have have put their money where their mouth is on this,

17:25 - on this topic in particular and invested, in this, in this line

17:29 - over the last four years and prior, to Governor Shapiro and Governor Wolf's

17:34 - administration working in a bipartisan manner to get this line

17:38 - inserted, into the school budget, and into the school code.

17:42 - So we thank, the legislature and the governor, for investing

17:47 - and ensuring that this is their year after year, moving forward.

17:51 - And I know Pennsylvania's a huge state.

17:53 - You have everything from rural

17:54 - to suburban to urban schools all over the Commonwealth.

17:58 - Do we see this trend with school safety and security, as well as mental health

18:02 - across the entire Commonwealth?

18:06 - I think, you know, the investment shows

18:09 - that the that it's needed, it's not an underutilized budget line.

18:13 - It's actually, tapped into and and overextended every year.

18:18 - So, yes, there is there is a need, for mental health

18:22 - care across this commonwealth.

18:23 - But again, it's not necessarily just mental health in schools.

18:27 - It's making sure that when they go home, on the weekend

18:31 - or when kiddos are on summer break, that they're receiving the care

18:36 - and there's continuity of care, as we work through through

18:40 - what is, really the post-pandemic world of of mental health.

18:45 - And I believe the investment that we've seen

18:47 - over the last several years, proves that.

18:51 - And I know you mentioned we've been seeing an increase of mental health

18:54 - since the pandemic.

18:55 - Has it been something

18:56 - that's been fluid throughout the years, or is it just as soon as Covid hit?

19:00 - That's when the spike we saw increased.

19:02 - No, I think there's always been leading up to the pandemic, there has been concerns

19:06 - about student mental health, whether that's due to social media usage,

19:10 - other things, other factors

19:12 - that students now deal with that I may not have when I was a youngster,

19:16 - but I think there was a definite sense that mental health was an issue.

19:19 - But I think the pandemic kind of changed everything and pushed it to the forefront.

19:23 - And now schools are on the front, at the front lines of dealing with

19:26 - student mental health issues.

19:28 - And I know student mental health ties in with artificial intelligence, too.

19:32 - And a lot of schools are worried about how this is going to take off and what to do

19:35 - moving forward and try to be proactive instead of reactive.

19:38 - What did you both see in the state of Education report

19:41 - that districts are looking for concerned about with artificial intelligence?

19:44 - Well, certainly in the report, one thing we wanted to

19:46 - gauge is sort of a sense of how many districts

19:48 - were integrating AI currently into their classrooms and programs.

19:52 - And what we found was a little bit more than half of school districts

19:55 - reported that they were using AI, both in their classrooms and their programs

19:59 - and things like that.

20:00 - And even more districts had programs and offered training to their teachers

20:03 - and students on proper AI usage, which is great.

20:07 - But we also did see school leaders report a number of challenges

20:10 - in integrating AI, things like training their their staff on proper

20:15 - use of AI and things like academic misconduct getting in the way of AI usage.

20:20 - But I do remember quite a few survey respondents pointed to the inevitability

20:24 - of AI, and you're either going to be forced

20:27 - to adapt and get on board, or you're going to be left behind.

20:30 - This is one of those things

20:31 - where education isn't always on the forefront, and the cutting edge.

20:35 - So when we see new trends, we have to sort of get out in front of it

20:39 - before we're reacting instead of, instead of being proactive.

20:43 - And I think school districts

20:45 - across the Commonwealth have done a pretty good job of being proactive,

20:49 - knowing that it's coming.

20:50 - We don't know what AI is going to look like.

20:52 - Five, ten, even, even 30 minutes from now.

20:56 - Sometimes.

20:57 - But, this is really one of those instances

20:59 - where, where school districts need to look at what they're doing locally

21:03 - and what their students need locally, and what the trends are, globally.

21:08 - And, and ensure that their policies reflect,

21:12 - the needs of their local communities, moving forward.

21:15 - So that's the most important thing that I think we can

21:19 - we can project that we don't have a one size fits all approach to to AI.

21:23 - It works in some school districts and it might not work in others.

21:26 - So that's important.

21:28 - That school districts adopt policies that meet for their needs at that moment

21:32 - and that we allow for the flexibility in the local control.

21:36 - At the legislative level here in Harrisburg,

21:39 - to, to allow our school districts to adapt that way.

21:43 - Well, we have just a couple of minutes left.

21:45 - So I know we talked in the first segment about advocacy.

21:48 - How can ZBA members and public education advocates use this report and

21:53 - their knowledge to advocate for the future of public education in the Commonwealth?

21:57 - I'll let Andy finish it and finish this, but I think from from my aspect,

22:02 - you know, public schools represent in the traditional public schools

22:07 - represent almost a little over 1.5 million students.

22:10 - That's the largest population

22:14 - of, of schools, of school students in this report.

22:19 - So it's important a to remember why you're there.

22:23 - As a, as a school board member, as a former school board member,

22:27 - my North Star was always the student, and the taxpayer.

22:31 - So it's really important that we remember,

22:34 - why we are there, and that's for the student.

22:37 - Also, you know, using this report, there's little nuggets on every page.

22:42 - So taking that

22:43 - and applying it to your school district and then talking to your legislators,

22:48 - your state house, your state senator, not just because they're yours.

22:53 - Even when you disagree with them, there might be a nugget in this report

22:57 - that allows you to go in and say, I never thought about it like this.

23:00 - And I know we might not agree politically.

23:02 - But, you know, this is a need of my school district, so

23:06 - use the report, and comb through it and look at,

23:11 - the best way the data can be used in your school district.

23:16 - Yeah.

23:16 - One of the main points of the report is to prevent

23:18 - or provide, a unified sort of set of statewide data,

23:22 - which then can be used in discussions with policymakers

23:25 - and your communities on issues impacting public education.

23:28 - And I think when you combine

23:30 - that statewide perspective with your local perspective,

23:33 - that can be an incredibly powerful and persuasive advocacy tool,

23:36 - because I do think legislators want to know not only what impacts are

23:40 - what you're seeing at your local school districts,

23:42 - but they want to get a scope of the problem on a statewide level

23:45 - so they can make informed votes and have informed opinions on issues.

23:49 - So I think using the report in that way is going to be very effective

23:52 - for our members.

23:53 - Absolutely.

23:54 - To the legislators and other influential leaders

23:56 - in the capital know about the State of Education report.

23:59 - Yes. We'll be delivering this report to them in the next couple weeks once

24:02 - it's officially official.

24:04 - And, working working with them to pull out some nuggets often,

24:10 - some of these, some of this data sets will be used in committee hearings,

24:14 - legislative analysis.

24:18 - So it's it's really important that our legislators read through this,

24:21 - see it, know about it.

24:23 - But also look at trends from previous years, and see where

24:26 - the growth and, where some of the subtractions are,

24:30 - are happening, throughout the Commonwealth.

24:32 - So this is a really important report over the last ten years,

24:35 - we can see some trends, and,

24:38 - and use that, to, to legislate.

24:42 - Perfect.

24:42 - Well, thank you both for being here with us today and sharing your insights.

24:46 - And I appreciate your time.

24:48 - Excellence isn't just a goal, it's a standard.

24:50 - The great PA schools GPS designation honors Pennsylvania public schools

24:54 - that go above and beyond, where rigorous academics, strong community

24:58 - ties, financial responsibility and resilience come together.

25:02 - Today, we're highlighting one of our

25:04 - ribbon recipients, Manheim Central School District.

25:07 - Hello, I'm Doctor Ax.

25:08 - I get to be the superintendent here at man.

25:10 - I'm central.

25:11 - Hi, I'm Doctor flannery, Amy Flannery, and I'm the assistant superintendent

25:14 - at Manheim central.

25:15 - One of the projects in the elementary that really kind of exhibits.

25:18 - This is our four houses project.

25:20 - So in a house,

25:21 - there are pre-K students all the way up through fourth grade students,

25:26 - and they're dedicated to a different character trait

25:28 - each month that they're learning about

25:30 - and sharing about, in a way, to better the school and larger community of Manheim.

25:34 - And said, our middle school, we're increasing our encore opportunities

25:38 - for kids.

25:38 - We're looking to add foreign language opportunities

25:42 - for our middle schoolers in the very near future.

25:45 - We try to give our high school kids

25:46 - a lot of voice and choice, so we're looking to add a variety of,

25:50 - electives that kids are going to be able to take and flexible scheduling options.

25:55 - We're super proud of them as they are truly difference makers in our eyes

25:58 - for the future of the community.

26:00 - We always are looking for unique opportunities,

26:02 - and we always want to make sure that our kids are proud to be Barrons.

26:05 - Thank you.

26:07 - We're looking

26:07 - for the next great Pennsylvania school district visit great PA schools.com

26:12 - to share your success story or apply for the GH ribbon.

26:17 - You're watching

26:18 - the Keystone Education report.

26:21 - Well, thank you both again for being here

26:23 - with us today and sharing your insights about the State of Education report.

26:27 - And thank you for tuning into the Keystone Education Report.

26:30 - Today, we took a closer look at the findings of SBA's 2026

26:35 - State of Education report and heard about the challenges and opportunities

26:38 - shaping Pennsylvania's public schools, from finances to artificial intelligence.

26:43 - Their insights

26:44 - help us better understand what's happening in districts across the Commonwealth.

26:48 - Tune in next time as we continue to explore the issues, innovations

26:52 - and voices driving public education in Pennsylvania.

27:22 - This program has been paid

27:23 - for by the sponsor and does not reflect the views of PCN.