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HARRISBURG, June 6 – State Rep. Mike Schlossberg issued the following statement about why he voted for the 2023-24 state budget proposal, which passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday.
“The budget that we passed Monday is a win for Parkland and Allentown where school leaders have consistently identified areas where they can better serve our students if Pennsylvania provides the resources to help them thrive in the classroom and the community. Homeowners and small-business owners have asked for tax relief after years of state level-funding resulting in increased local school taxes. This budget would allow leaders to grow the number of teachers in our schools, and better support student achievement and mental health,” said Schlossberg, D-Lehigh.
The budget proposes the following funding increases for the Allentown School District:
- $17.9 million for Basic Education.
- $13.8 million in Level Up.
- $2.8 million for Special Education.
- Total increase: $34.5 million.
- This represents a 131% increase of state support for Allentown schools since Schlossberg took office in 2012-13.
The budget proposes the following funding increases for the Parkland School District:
- $2.4M for Basic Education.
- $394,575 for Special Education.
- Total Increase: $2.7 million.
- This represents a 94% increase of state support for Parkland schools since Schlossberg took office in 2012-13.
“Pennsylvanians want safe communities, better health care, strong schools, a fair shot at earning a good wage to raise a family, to have a good place to call home, and to be able to set aside money to retire. It is the American Dream, and it shows how Pennsylvania can invest in its people and communities. I am proud to support this proposal and look forward to working with Governor Shapiro and the state Senate to help them build the American Dream for all Pennsylvanians. This budget proposal would tackle so many of the problems of Pennsylvania and the communities I am honored to represent.
“The budget would include funding for topics where I have spent considerable energy and time. For the first time, Pennsylvania would invest in out-of-school learning through my BOOST proposal. We would also commit to the Growing Your Own Educator initiative to foster the next generation of teachers in our schools. For years, county leaders have called for increased mental health funding to address the growing demand for county-based services, and this budget would respond to that request.
“This is the first step in the legislative process for the budget and we should use this as an opportunity to show our priorities for Pennsylvania’s future and how we would help Pennsylvanians build the American Dream,” he said.
Schlossberg said other key highlights include:
- $1.7 billion increase in Basic Education Funding over 2022-23.
- $153 million increase in Special Education Funding over 2022-23.
- Another $250 million increase for his Level Up proposal.
- $10 million for the Grow Your Own Educators Program.
- $30 million for his Building Opportunity through Out-of-School Time proposal.
- $28 million increase for childcare services over 2022-23.
- $15.3 million increase for community colleges over 2022-23.
- $200 million for school repairs and maintenance.
- $50 million for career and technical school repair maintenance and improvements.
- $200 million for the Whole Home Repairs Program.
- $6 million increase for Local-State Firearm Task Force.
- $95 million increase for violence intervention and prevention.
- $50.5 million increase for county-based mental health services over 2022-23.
- $10 million increase for county-based child welfare programs.
- $15.4 million increase for Early Intervention.
The budget proposal now heads to the state Senate for consideration.
Information provided to TVL by:
Tom Andrews
House Democratic Communications Office
