At 1.5 million, fewer students today attend Pennsylvania’s public schools than in 2019 by roughly 7%. That figure climbs to 18% when analyzing enrollment figures since 2000, as the Commonwealth Foundation did in its latest report on public education funding, using state data. The raw data equates to 8 in 10 districts – of which 500 exist – and comes even as schools spend more money on staff, facilities and bolstering reserve funds. The policy group, focused on fiscal conservancy in state government, concludes that increasing support for shrinking schools, as has been done for ...