Madden, Probst applaud $1.1 million for local school improvements
Rep. Maureen E. Madden September 9, 2024 | 4:45 PM
HARRISBURG, Sept. 9 – State Reps. Maureen Madden and Tarah Probst welcome $1.1 million in state grants announced today to make environmental repairs to area schools.
The funding awarded today includes:
- $754,886 to Pocono Mountain School District.
- $262,992 to Stroudsburg Area School District.
- $58,735 to Delaware Valley School District.
- $37,150 to East Stroudsburg Area School District.
“I am grateful for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s leadership in making sure that we have world-class facilities that are safe and healthy for students to learn. As a former educator, I know how important it is for students to be able to concentrate on the subject matter they are studying and not to be worried about the conditions in their schools,” said Madden, D-Monroe.
“These grants go above and beyond the dollars allocated for learning and will be used to make needed infrastructure and environmental repairs in local schools,” said Probst, D-Monroe/Pike. “As a member of the House Education Committee, I was proud to vote for the 2024-25 state budget that is the first step in ensuring that we meet the court mandate to provide equitable funding to every school district in Pennsylvania. For too many years, the public-school districts in Monroe and Pike counties have been the most underfunded across the entire state, with local taxpayers footing the bill. House Democrats fought for the new funding formula and the new state budget is finally doing something about it. We also were able to secure $100 million to reimburse school districts for overpayments made to cyber charter schools.”
Under today’s announcement, the Pennsylvania Department of Education provided $75 million to 109 school districts and technical centers across the state under the Public Schools Environmental Repairs Program, made possible by funding Madden and Probst voted for in the 2023-24 state budget. The new funding will be used by schools to repair and replace air conditioners and heaters, to remove asbestos and lead pipes, to fix roofs, among other improvements.