Letter to the editor: Congress must act now on aid for our schools

The article “A look inside schools’ reopening decisions” (Nov. 22, TribLIVE) provided valuable insight on the struggles our schools currently face to keep students and staff healthy while minimizing disruptions to the school year. One key component the article overlooked, however, was how an enormous school funding deficit because of the pandemic is making the effort to teach our kids safely that much harder.

While state lawmakers recently were able to maintain state funding levels for Pennsylvania school districts, our schools still expect to lose $1 billion in local funding this year as a result of the covid-driven economic downturn. And many school districts were underfunded to begin with because of unfair funding allocations that have plagued the system for years. This means many schools just won’t have the resources necessary to support their students’ success, particularly as students fall behind and covid-19 cases surge yet again.

To help stem the rise of budget shortfalls in districts across the region, we must call on Congress to finally pass another round of covid-19 relief funding that includes significant aid for public schools. The CARES Act that passed earlier this year covered just a fraction of the true need in our schools, the need that was so thoroughly reported in the Nov. 22 article.

Our students will never be able to get these years back. It’s imperative that Congress take action now so we can keep pushing our children’s education forward.

Diana Polson

Point Breeze