Representative Rabb has done a great job in representing the 200th legislative district. I am writing this today to urge him to prioritize passing legislation that increases equity in public school funding.

I have looked over one of Rep. Rabb’s proposed pieces of legislation that he introduced during last year’s session, specifically the amendment to House Bill 961. Running 100% of the state’s public education budget, the change proposed in the amendment would go a long way to, as he says, end the “Educational Aparthied” our state suffers from. I appreciate his reintroduction of the Fair Funding legislation into the House. I implore Rep. Rabb to focus more of his efforts on getting this bill passed. Last session’s amendment had both Democratic co-sponsors, and some Republican co-sponsors as well. As this bill would not only benefit underfunded inner city schools, but underfunded rural schools as well, I suggest he attempt to gain support from representatives of rural Pennsylvania as well. The disproportionate funding that our public schools receive directly correlates to the disproportionate quality of living that plagues Pennsylvania.

I would once again like to commend the active stance he has taken both this year, and years prior on fighting for funding for Philadelphia and Pennsylvania public schools. I support his stance on relocating state funds intended for the criminal justice system towards education. Students should be in schools, not behind bars, and raising the quality of the education they receive through increased funding would go a long way towards promoting that goal. I appreciate his continued support of budget relocation towards education and hope he focuses some of his attention on this topic.

Isaiah Weekes