Resource Realities: Understanding Pennsylvania’s District and Charter Funding System

“Resource Realities Understanding Pennsylvania’s District and Charter Funding System Linea Harding , Titilayo Tinubu Ali Download PDF Overview Pennsylvania has made a clear commitment to funding public K-12 education. The state ranks among the top in the nation in both per-pupil revenue and funding effort relative to its economy. Yet despite this investment, the state’s school funding system was ruled unconstitutional in 2023 for failing to deliver equitable opportunities to all students. The core issue is not simply how much funding is available, it’s how those dollars flow through the state’s K-12 system. Public education in Pennsylvania operates across two primary sectors: district-operated schools and public charter schools. Both are publicly funded, tuition-free, and open to all students. But the mechanisms that determine how funding reaches each sector differ in critical ways. While districts receive state funding through a formula that blends student need with historical allocations, charter schools rely heavily on payments calculated from district spending — tying their resources to systems already shaped by inequity. This structure creates wide variation in Pennsylvania’s per-pupil funding for students with similar needs. Pennsylvania has taken important steps toward a more equitable system. But lasting progress will require ensuring that funding mechanisms work coherently across sectors so that all public K-12 students, regardless of whether they enroll in district or charter schools, have access to the resources they need to learn and grow. Download and read the full Resources Realities report or access the executive summary . Questions for Pennsylvania Advocates and Policymakers Pennsylvania has made meaningful progress in recent years toward addressing longstanding inequities in how it funds district-operated public schools. As the state’s advocates and policymakers work to ensure that progress extends equitably to all public school students, including those who attend charter schools, they must address the following questions: If Pennsylvania were redesigning its school funding system from the ground up, s hould policymakers continue to anchor funding in historical spending levels , or would it be better to move toward a more traditional student-weighted model that more directly ties dollars to enrollment and student need across all public schools? What trade-offs exist between these approaches? Other states have developed charter school funding approaches that do not rely on district expenditure patterns as the basis for per-pupil payments. What lessons have emerged from those states’ experiences , including both what has worked and what trade-offs those models have required? What features of Pennsylvania’s existing system would shape what reforms are feasible to adopt? Because charter per-pupil payment rates are layered on top of Pennsylvania’s broader district funding system, they inherit the inequities and structural features embedded in that design. Should charter funding reform be pursued independently, or should it be addressed as part of broader reforms to the state’s overall school finance system? Pennsylvania’s current structure allows charter students with similar characteristics to receive materially different funding levels solely based on their district of residence. Is this geographic variation an acceptable feature of local control, or does it conflict with principles of statewide equity and funding portability? Charter per-pupil payment rates are derived from district spending rather than from a direct estimate of what it costs to educate charter students. Should the state’s funding for public charter schools continue to reflect district expenditure patterns , or should it more explicitly align with the actual cost of educating students regardless of which district they come from? As public charter schools serve a growing share of Pennsylvania students, particularly students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and students requiring additional supports, how should the state balance fiscal sustainability for districts, equitable access for families, and transparency in how public dollars are allocated across sectors? To learn more about the realities Pennsylvania’s K-12 funding system faces, read Resource Realities . Acknowledgments, About the Authors, About Bellwether Acknowledgments We would like to thank the individuals who reviewed and provided feedback on this report, including Kimberly Sterin, Ph.D., of EdFund for her technical review. Thank you also to Philadelphia Charters for Excellence for its financial support of this project. We would also like to thank our Bellwether colleagues John Bellaire, Jennifer O’Neal Schiess, and Krista Kaput for their input and Alexis Richardson for her support. Thank you to Amy Ribock, Kate Neifeld, Andy Jacob, McKenzie Maxson, Esta Sherr, Temim Fruchter, Julie Nguyen, and Amber Walker for shepherding and disseminating this work, and to Super Copy Editors. The contributions of these individuals and entities significantly enhanced our work; however, any errors in fact or analysis remain the responsibility of the authors. About the Authors LINEA HARDING Linea Harding is a senior analyst at Bellwether. She can be reached at linea.harding@bellwether.org . TITILAYO TINUBU ALI Titilayo Tinubu Ali is a partner at Bellwether and leads the organization’s work on early childhood education. She can be reached at titilayo.ali@bellwether.org .​ Bellwether is a national nonprofit that works to transform education to ensure young people — especially those furthest from opportunity — achieve outcomes that lead to fulfilling lives and flourishing communities. Founded in 2010, we help mission-driven partners accelerate their impact, inform and influence policy and program design, and bring leaders together to drive change on education’s most pressing challenges. For more, visit bellwether.org . © 2026 Bellwether This report carries a Creative Commons license, which permits noncommercial reuse of content when proper attribution is provided. This means you are free to copy, display, and distribute this work, or include content from this report in derivative works, under the following conditions: Attribution. You must clearly attribute the work to Bellwether and provide a link back to the publication at www.bellwether.org . Noncommercial. 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