On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro discussed his budget proposal’s investment into teachers and workforce training as he visited George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science in Philadelphia.
Shapiro last week proposed a new refundable tax credit of up to $2,500 every year for up to three years for anyone who earns a new license or certification in education, nursing, or law enforcement or for anyone who has a license in those fields and opts to move to Pennsylvania for work. Shapiro’s budget includes $24.7 million in job retention and recruitment efforts in those fields.
“Creating real opportunity for our children starts in our classrooms, but that can only happen when we have enough well-qualified, well-paid teachers in our classrooms. Right now, the Commonwealth simply doesn’t have enough teachers, and my Administration is taking steps to fix that,” Shapiro said. “My budget will help put more qualified teachers into our classrooms by creating a new tax credit to make it a little bit easier to become a teacher. This is common sense, and we must help any Pennsylvanian who wants to serve their community by becoming a teacher.”
The proposal is an effort to address teacher shortages across the state. In Philadelphia alone, the governor’s office said, there were more than 200 unfilled teaching positions at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.
Shapiro met with teachers at the school to hear how educator shortages have impacted their classrooms.
“The research says that the single most important factor in student learning is a highly-qualified, well-supported, and stable teaching force over time,” School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington said. “We’re pleased that our Governor took time to come here this morning to spend time talking with principals, spend time talking with teachers, and spend time talking with students to hear directly from them about how we can continue to improve schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the School District of Philadelphia.”
Shapiro’s budget also included a $567.4 million increase in education funding, including $38.5 million for universal free breakfast, $500 million to reduce and remediate environmental hazards, and $500 million for on-site mental health counselors and services in schools.