The 2025–26 budget signed by Governor Shapiro invests more than $900 million in additional pre-K–12 education funding — bringing total increases for Pennsylvania’s public schools to nearly $3 billion since the Governor took office and raising overall state investment in K–12 education to nearly $12 billion for the first time in Commonwealth history.
Susquehanna Township School District will benefit directly from these investments this year, receiving nearly $1.9 million through the adequacy formula designed to ensure schools with the greatest need receive the most support.
Susquehanna Township School District has used that additional funding to hire more educators, strengthen mental health services, upgrade the HVAC system, and expand career and technical education programs.
Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Department of Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe, teachers, students, advocates, and elected leaders visited Susquehanna Township High School in Dauphin County to highlight how the 2025–26 budget signed by the Governor delivers more than $900 million in additional funding for pre-K–12 public education — building on last year’s record-setting investments and giving every Pennsylvania student the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.
This year’s budget continues the Shapiro Administration’s work to ensure every student, in every community, has access to a high-quality public education. Since taking office, Governor Shapiro has secured nearly $3 billion in new funding for Pennsylvania’s schools — enabling the Commonwealth to invest nearly $12 billion this year in K–12 public education. The budget also implements a strengthened adequacy funding formula that drives resources to the schools and students who need them most, and includes historic reforms to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter reimbursement system, saving public schools $178 million.
The 2025-26 budget builds on that progress and delivers for families, schools, and communities by providing an overall increase in education funding totaling more than $900 million, including a $565 million increase in public school adequacy funding, $105 million for Basic Education Funding, and a $40 million increase for Special Education Funding. It also includes a $125 million investment in school infrastructure, and continues funding for universal free breakfast and mental health in schools.
As part of today’s visit, Governor Shapiro also ceremonially signed SB 315, the School Code bill, which implements key education provisions in the budget — including adequacy funding, universal free breakfast, student mental health investments, strengthened literacy instruction, and historic reforms to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter school system.
“From day one, my Administration has been focused on delivering real resources for students, parents, and teachers — and together, we’ve increased funding for Pennsylvania’s schools by 30 percent — nearly $3 billion — since I took office,” said Governor Shapiro. “But this isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet — it’s about real investments that help kids learn, support teachers, and give every student the freedom to chart their own course. The results we’re seeing speak for themselves — more teachers in our classrooms, more students in career and technical programs, rising graduation rates, and stronger schools across the Commonwealth. We’ve made historic progress together — and we’re going to keep building on it to ensure every Pennsylvania student has the opportunity to succeed.”
Susquehanna Township School District (STSD) will benefit from this year’s budget investments and continued adequacy funding. The high school is part of the Susquehanna Township School District — which will receive $12.21 million in state funding this year, a 66 percent increase compared to the amount of state funding the district received before Governor Shapiro took office.STSD serves nearly 3,000 students across five schools and is one of the fastest-growing districts in Dauphin County, with enrollment up 19 percent since 2016 and continued growth projected in the years ahead. The district is using these investments to hire more educators, expand instructional support, strengthen mental health services, and grow pathways like its Cadet Teaching Program to give more students hands-on learning opportunities. The cyber charter reforms securedin the 2025-26 budget are expected to save the STSD an additional $576,070 this year.
The Governor was joined for a ceremonial bill signing by Susquehanna Township School District Superintendent Dr. Tamara Willis, Susquehanna Township High School student Cole Hunsberger, as well as local and state legislators.
«Our Commonwealth has taken a significant step forward with the passage of the new state budget, one that makes historic investments in public education and directly supports the work happening in schools like ours every day,” said Dr. Willis. “The historic increase in special education funding will significantly enhance our ability to support our special needs population.»
“I’m a proud participant in the Susquehanna Township School District’s Cadet Teaching Program. Being part of this program has given me a firsthand look at what it’s really like to run a classroom,” said Hunsberger. “I’ve had the chance to teach both small and large group lessons, and I’ve worked one-on-one with students who needed a little extra support. Even with my limited time in the program so far, I’ve already seen how powerful it can be. It opens a real pathway for students like me who want to go into education right after high school. It removes barriers and creates opportunities, and the experience we gain now prepares us to make a real difference in the future. Thank you, Governor Shapiro, for investing in programs like this and for supporting the next generation of educators.”
Governor Shapiro’s historic investments give every Pennsylvania learner the freedom to chart their own course — ensuring schools have the resources they need to help students succeed and families have access to affordable early learning opportunities. Updates to the Public School Code signed into law in November also expand early literacy instruction across the Commonwealth, requiring all public schools to adopt evidence-based reading curriculum and provide targeted support to students with reading deficiencies.
Building on last year’s record-setting K–12 funding, the 2025–26 budget delivers:
- $565 million in additional adequacy funding to expand support to all school districts across the Commonwealth and a $105 million increase for Basic Education Funding. The adequacy funding formula continues to invest in schools with the most need and drives out more money to ensure every school district can invest in expanded education programs and student supports.
- $40 million increase for Special Education Funding, continuing the Governor’s commitment to equitable education for all students.
- $178 million in estimated savings for school districts through historic Cyber Charter Reform. Comprehensive changes to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter school law add new allowable deductions for costs not incurred by cyber charters and close loopholes that inflated payments.
- $125 million for school infrastructure improvements to create safe, healthy learning environments — including $25 million for the Solar for Schools program to lower energy costs and promote sustainability.
- $10 million increase for the Student Teacher Stipend Program, helping address educator shortages and make teaching a more accessible and rewarding career path – raising the annual amount available for the initiative to $30 million.
- $7.5 million to increase Pre-K rates, supporting early learners and stabilizing the child care workforce.
- $7.5 million for the Grow PA Scholarship Program, helping students pursue in-demand careers and strengthen Pennsylvania’s workforce pipeline.
- $11.9 million increase to PHEAA to maintain the maximum state grant amount and help more students afford college, plus $500,000 each for the Act 101 program and the Cheyney University Honors Academy.
- $5 million increase for public libraries and $433,000 for library services for the visually impaired, strengthening lifelong learning and access to information in communities across the Commonwealth.
- $100 million in annual mental health and school safety funding for K–12 schools, ensuring every student has access to the resources and support they need to thrive, continuing the Shapiro Administration’s strong commitment to expanding access to mental health care and support across the Commonwealth.
- Expanded access to school meals, providing universal free breakfast for more than 1.7 million students and free lunch for 22,000 eligible students, with nearly 93 million breakfasts served during the 2024–25 school year — a 13.8 percent increase over two years — including over 70 million meals for students at risk of hunger or from low-income families.
“Every school district is different, but the need for strong state support is the same. The recent increase in education funding will help address many of the challenges our schools face, and I’m proud to have supported this budget,” said Senator Patty Kim. “I want to thank Governor Shapiro and Secretary Rowe for their leadership — and more importantly, I want to thank our school administrators, teachers, support staff, librarians, and coaches for what you do every single day for our students. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
“I became who I am today in part because of the excellent public education I received at Susquehanna Township High School,” said Representative Justin Fleming. “Americans who came before us paid for us to receive our education, and we should do the same to pay it forward to the next generation and beyond. I’m proud of this historic education funding increase and of our efforts to ensure we provide future Pennsylvanians with high-quality and accessible public education.”
Governor Shapiro’s visit today reinforced a clear message — we must keep going to ensure every student has the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.
Read more about Governor Shapiro’s 2025‑26 budget, view the Governor’s remarks as prepared here, or watch the Governor’s delivered remarks here.
