Sometimes it’s a good thing that history repeats itself. It’s worth considering when it comes to funding public schools.

Ťhis year’s public school assessments (PSSAs) are a stark warning that far too many students in the state are struggling. Less than half of all students can meet grade-level benchmarks for math and only 54% can do so for reading and writing. The good news is that schools educating the largest share of low-income and minority students are strongly trending up, but these students are still far behind their more affluent and white peers.

What’s it going to take to turn this around? Money. Significant money. We know this because it has worked before.

一世n 2003 when Ed Rendell became governor, a quarter of all students were years behind grade level in math and nearly as many were far behind in English, scoring at “below basic” on the PSSA’s. To address these alarming trends, the Governor, Republicans and Democrats banded together and, over seven years, increased state funding for public school instruction by 62%.

By 2010, the percentage of students far behind dropped dramatically to less than 15% in math and 11% in English, and nearly three quarters of all students were passing or excelling on the state’s reading and math assessments. In those seven years, nearly 300,000 additional students were boosted to performing at grade level or beyond.

Pennsylvania was the only state in the nation by 2008 to make academic gains across the board on the National Assessment of Education Program (NAEP) and continued to increase its ranking nearly every year till 2011. That’s when public schools suffered a nearly $1 billion cut that was slowly restored with more than $2 billion in new funds by 2020. But even sizeable state funding increases weren’t enough to cover costs mandated by federal and state laws. As a result, the state’s rankings on student achievement have dropped since 2011.

Although the PSSA results should be reason enough to act, the legislature and governor must also respond to the Commonwealth Court order to provide every student with a quality education. It’s a tall order and we’ve already heard some sitting lawmakers wondering if money really has any impact on school quality.

For those naysayers, Pennsylvania has already conducted a controlled experiment that proves that more funding results in better student outcomes – public school performance rises when they have the resources to help every student achieve.

Every sitting lawmaker’s legacy, especially the Governor’s, will be defined by whether she or he responds to the opportunity presented by this historic court ruling by doing what is right for our kids, families, communities, and future. It’s time to invest in our public schools and rejoin the ranks of the top performing states. History has unequivocally demonstrated it works.