Message and Call to Action from the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference

Governor Wolf and the PA Department of Education are looking to DEPRIVE CATHOLIC AND OTHER NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THEIR SHARE OF FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF THAT WASHINGTON WANTS DISTRIBUTED EQUALLY TO ALL SCHOOLS IN PA AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

Pennsylvania received $471 million in funding from Washington. But PA Catholic Conference  Education Director Sean McAleer says “the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) created its own set of rules to distribute that money that blatantly ignores federal guidance. The end result significantly lowers the amounts to be given to Catholic and nonpublic school students — by $47 MILLION !.”

McAleer broke down the disparity this way: “the Wolf Administration is calling for roughly $19 million to go to Catholic and nonpublic schools students, while Washington is calling for $66 million. The Wolf administration is misappropriating some $47 million in federal funds and harming families who have chosen to send their children to Catholic and nonpublic schools.” 

“Catholic and nonpublic school students matter,” said McAleer. “We are asking Mr. Wolf And Education Secretary Pedro Rivera to please follow the federal guidelines! In a time when thousands of Pennsylvania’s children and families are suffering and struggling to make ends meet, the administration has chosen to cause further harm by refusing to allocate money as directed by the federal government.”

Please urge Governor Wolf and Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak to not divert Federal CARES Act Money from Catholic and nonpublic schools. Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/R_EYF60cmCElHGvzjZPvOA

Contact information for Governor Wolf can be found at https://www.governor.pa.gov/contact/#OnlineForm.

You can find contact information for your local state representative and senator by visiting https://www.pacatholic.org/resources/voter-voice/?vvsrc=%2fAddress.