Students, Educators Continue to Deserve Support

As appeared in the September 3, 2020 edition of the Elizabethtown Advocate

Locally and across the nation, K-12 school districts and post-secondary institutions have begun to welcome students back for instruction. With the input of parents, our local schools have put together instructional models that will support students and educators and create safe environments to foster learning. Post-secondary institutions have responded as well. As instruction continues, our K-12 and post-secondary institutions will continue to need additional support.

Congress, through the CARES Act, provided over $30 billion in direct support to school districts and institutions of higher education and provided an opportunity for education funding to aid states through the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Funds (GEERF). Of those funds, K-12 schools in southern York County and Lancaster County received nearly $20 million in direct support from the CARES Act. Post-secondary institutions in our congressional district (PA-11) received over $25 million in aid, with half of the funding going directly to students for emergency financial aid.

Pennsylvania applied for and was awarded over $100 million in GEERF funding on May 15. Despite being awarded these funds well in advance of the coming school year, Gov. Tom Wolf and his Administration failed to deliver the funding to educators who need the support. Prior to August 20, less than half the funds were distributed by Gov. Wolf, and at the time of the writing of this article when the new school year has already commenced, approximately $30 million in funding remains held by the Wolf Administration.

Our school administrators and teachers deserve better from Gov. Wolf and his Administration. Any funds that have been received by the state to support education should immediately be made available to those who can use them effectively and efficiently. That is also true for the nearly $4 billion in funding Pennsylvania received from the CARES Act. It is estimated that Pennsylvania has yet to utilize approximately $1 billion in CARES Act emergency funding. Yet, Gov. Wolf is calling on Congress to spend hundreds of billions in additional support to states.

Congress has taken extraordinary action to assist hard-working families, small businesses, and provided significant funding to states to allow for a robust local response. I believe driving decision-making to the local level provides the most effective response. However, when those funds go unutilized and sit in the state treasury, Gov. Wolf's calls for additional spending rings hollow.

There is simply no excuse for failing to drive out GEERF funds that Congress specifically intended to help students and teachers. Gov. Wolf and his Administration should allocate them without further delay, teachers and students need the support.

As discussions regarding the possibility of additional federal aid are ongoing, ensuring that our teachers and schools have the resources they need to continue safely educating our students will remain one of my top priorities.