In Penn Hills visit, Shapiro announces Universal Free Breakfast Program for Pa. public school students

Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Penn Hills Elementary School on Tuesday to announce a new program to provide universal free breakfast to all public school students in Pennsylvania.

The free-breakfast program was part of a $567 million increase in education funding for the state’s public school districts in the recently signed budget, said Shapiro. The program will cost $46.5 million a year and serve 1.7 million students.

Shapiro said more than 146,000 students in Allegheny County, including 1,200 in Penn Hills schools, are eligible for free breakfast. Nearly 46,000 public school students in Westmoreland County are eligible.

“It is common sense. Students can’t learn on an empty stomach,” he said during a news conference inside Penn Hills Elementary School. “Heck, I know when I am hungry it is hard for me to make decisions. We all can appreciate that. We should make sure our students have what they need to be successful.”

State interest in providing free meals to public school students has grown in popularity across the country. Pennsylvania joins states including California, Minnesota, Maine and New Mexico in providing universal free meals to school students within the last few years.

Shapiro said the free breakfast program is just one part of the increased funding for public education. He touted the $567 million increase as the biggest jump in basic education funding in state history. He said that should enable districts to hire more teachers, increase teacher pay and invest more in training and apprenticeship programs at schools.

“For Penn Hills, that’s an additional $1.5 million,” Shapiro said. “That is an 8% increase for the Penn Hills School District.”

Penn Hills Assistant Superintendent Dawn Golden said the district is still recovering from instances of gun violence and drug overdoses that took the lives of students. She also acknowledged the district’s financial woes and efforts to become solvent.

The district was placed in financial recovery status in 2019 and this May the district applied to be moved out of that oversight.

“We are excited about these increases, but recognize that there is still work that needs to be done,” she said.

Shapiro also acknowledged that the passed budget and free breakfast program was just one part of the school funding battle.

The state fiscal code, which includes hundreds of millions of dollars in spending for education, still needs to be passed by state legislators. With a divided legislature, Democrats and Republicans disagree on what to fund.

State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said he has sporadic conversations with Republican leadership about negotiations about passing the fiscal code. He said there are still some disagreements between the two sides, with Democrats wanting extra funding for low-income public school districts and money to repair low-income homes, and Republicans hopeful funding for school vouchers can be included.

Shapiro said he supports those negotiation efforts.

School voucher spending of $100 million was initially included in the state budget, but Shapiro promised to line-item veto that section after he couldn’t secure enough Democratic votes in the state House.

Costa indicated opposition to any school voucher spending, arguing that it’s more important to address public school funding, and not providing public money towards private schools. He cited the Commonwealth Court decision that said state public schools have under invested in low-income school districts.

He expects there to be a lot of negotiating to pass the fiscal code through the legislature.

“We are looking for comprehensive solutions to the code bills,” he said.