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Dear Colleagues,

Yesterday, our School Board approved the District’s Operating Budget for the 2022-2023 school year, which represents the highest level of investment in our schools and students since fiscal year 2011.

Last year, the School District invested hundreds of millions of additional dollars to: add targeted positions to meet the specific needs of schools; provide recruitment and retention bonuses for school-based staff to support continuity for our students; enhance before-school and after-school programs in schools; increase the number of psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, behavioral health counselors and climate and trauma response specialists in schools; expand summer learning programs; and more. We now have a teacher for every 12.3 students and a school-based staff member for every 6.5 students. And we’re not done yet.

For the 2022-2023 school year, despite the projection of fewer students in our District, we are further increasing our operating budget by more than $175 million. Based on your survey feedback, we are further investing in our schools and students by:

• permanently doubling hours and providing full-time benefits for Student Climate Staff,
• further improving counselor-to-student ratios,
• adding more Special Education teachers, teachers for English Language Learners and Bilingual Counseling Assistants,
• expanding environmental improvements that move us closer toward the goal of certifying all schools Lead Safe by 2024, and
• supporting the installation of 800 additional hydration stations in schools by 2025 or sooner.

We are thankful for the infusion of one-time federal funding from the American Recovery Plan Act which has made these dramatic investments in our schools and students possible. We are also grateful for the amazing work of every School District employee as we use these investments to support the social, emotional and academic needs of all of our students. The City and Commonwealth are expected to adopt their budgets, which also impact our budget, in June. Until then, you can learn more about the District’s budget here.

Sincerely,

Dr. William Hite

Superintendent, School District of Philadelphia