In 2023, the Commonwealth Court ruled that Pennsylvania’s public school funding system was unconstitutional. Following that ruling, The Basic Education Funding Commission exposed a staggering $5.4 billion funding gap which we now seek to address. After decades of discriminatory underfunding, we have an opportunity to set our children up for success by pushing for adequate funding throughout our public school system. As Jews, we must make certain that Pennsylvania lawmakers recognize their moral and constitutional responsibility to improve our schools and give our kids a fair opportunity. We’re calling on our lawmakers to pass legislation that immediately increases adequacy funding by $1 billion each year for the next 4 years to achieve full public school funding by the 2028-2029 school year. We’re asking for their commitment to use our tax dollars to fix our unconstitutional public education system, not to subsidize private schools with vouchers. 

At the same time, we're advocating for state lawmakers to finally raise the PA minimum wage. Stuck at the federal $7.25/hour since 2009, minimum-wage workers in our state are languishing as the costs of food, healthcare, and housing have skyrocketed. We believe that workers ought to be treated fairly, and that all people deserve the dignity of meeting their basic needs. Coming out to just $15,080/year, a full-time minimum wage worker is condemned to live in severe poverty. These hardworking Pennsylvanians and their families face enduring challenges meeting their critical needs, including accessing food, housing, physical and mental healthcare, childcare, and education. The cost of living in PA has long eclipsed the minimum wage, and our state ought to become a leader in advancing economic justice for struggling workers and families. Insitutting a fair minimum wage will have positive ripple affects all across PA communities and economies.

For Reform Jews, pursuing economic justice is not a matter of charity, but of collective responsibility. Our sacred texts stress our obligation to “champion the poor and the needy” (Prov. 31:9), recognizing that “if all the troubles of the world are assembled on one side and poverty is on the other, poverty would outweigh them all” (Midrash Exodus Rabbah 31:12). The Jewish People have also always honored education as a central means for personal, spiritual, and community enrichment. As part of our collective duty to raise the next generation, we must make sure that equal access to quality education is a right that is passed down l’dor vador.  

Join us, and urge your lawmakers to finally raise the PA $7.25 minimum wage to a living wage and immediately increase adequacy funding by $1 billion each year for the next 4 years to achieve full public school funding by the 2028-2029 school year. 

For more information about this issue, please email RAC-PA Organizer Rachel Beck or Eisendrath Legislative Assistant on Economic Justice Eric Goldberg.
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