Biden administration proposes increase in K-12 education investment, Title 1 funding

Biden administration proposes increase in K-12 education investment, Title 1 funding

By Chloe Nouvelle

April 14, 2021

President Joe Biden wants to make a big investment in K-12 education.

His administration’s proposal would give the Department of Education a 41% increase in its budget next year. 

One local school principal shares what that could mean for some of Pennsylvania’s poorest students.

Biden’s proposal, which the administration calls a “historic investment” in high-poverty schools,  would increase Title 1 funding by $20 billion starting in 2022.

Panther Valley Elementary in Nesquehoning, Carbon County is one of those schools.

Principal Robert Palazzo says poverty doesn’t cause poor academic performance. But there is a correlation.

“Students who go to Title 1 schools typically enter further behind their peers. So when kindergarteners step foot in our building, a lot of them haven’t had preschool experiences that say, a student in a higher socioeconomic school district would,” he says.

Title 1 helps level the playing field between rich and poor districts, he says, and with Biden’s increase, he could hire more teachers where they need it most: reading and math. 

“It comes down to people and bodies. There are only so many staff members we can have with our current funding source,” Palazzo says. 

Additional federal aid may also help lower the tax burden on local residents, he says.

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