Panther Valley teacher Tara Yuricheck is passionate about teaching children, but she has seen how a lack of funding can make it more difficult.

“There’s so much more I want to do for the kids and I can’t. It’s very tough, and they deserve it, which is even harder,” Yuricheck said.

The fifth-grade teacher took the stand Wednesday during a civil trial dealing with how Pennsylvania’s state government funds K-12 education.

Panther Valley is one of six school districts that filed a lawsuit naming the governor and top legislators, seeking to make the state’s system of school funding more equal between rich and poor school districts. The case is expected to last 8-10 weeks.

Dr. David McAndrew, superintendent, testified Monday and Tuesday, describing the district as being “broke.”

During her testimony, Yuricheck talked about the impact that unequal funding has had on her district - 25-year-old textbooks, a lack of support staff, and inadequate facilities. But she said she and her colleagues remained steadfastly committed to her students.

The fifth-grade history teacher, who also leads the district’s teachers union, said they have to deal with growing class sizes with the same number of staff.

Her school has just seven paraprofessionals to serve students in three grades.

Yuricheck said she’s seen teacher positions go unfilled when someone retires, due to a lack of funds to replace them. In other cases, jobseekers aren’t interested in taking open positions in the district because they can get $5,000-10,000 more per year in neighboring districts.

The increased student-teacher ratio makes it harder for teachers to spend time with the students who need to catch up, and challenge the students who learn faster.

“I think all the students want to learn, and it’s my job to meet them where they’re at when they come into my classroom, and move them forward from there,” she said.

Oftentimes, Yuricheck’s co-workers rely on each other for support when it’s needed. The school has no substitutes. She said that is because they want to work in better-paying districts.

In order to travel to Harrisburg to give her testimony, she said, others covered her classes. Most weeks, she can only take her daily prep period 2-3 days a week because she’s helping cover other teachers.

The substitute shortage also prevents teachers from getting professional development. Yuricheck has one of the district’s few smart boards, but she is unable to take training because she can’t miss class.

She said that the district’s Chromebooks, purchased with COVID-19 relief money, filled a huge need.

Before that, teachers had to print packets if students were working at home, because many lacked access to a computer and internet.

Still, her history curriculum uses a textbook published in 1997, which relies on data from the 1990 census, and says that Bill Clinton is the president.

“We don’t have the resources to give them the opportunities that they deserve,” she said.

Yuricheck said that her fifth-grade girls currently only have access to one toilet for a total of 60 students. She recalled that while teaching at Panther Valley Elementary a decade ago, there were holes in the ceiling of her classroom that let daylight in.

The building has no air conditioning, so temperatures can top 80 at the beginning and end of the school year.

Yuricheck said that testifying about the difficulties the district faces is extremely hard for her, because she tries to emphasize the positive when it comes to her students, teachers and school.

“I’m here in the hopes that things change. They need to change. Being here, I’m doing my part so that my students have a better tomorrow,” she said.

The landmark trial on school funding is expected to continue for several weeks. A livestream of the proceedings is available at https://www.pacourts.us/courts/commonwealth-court/commonwealth-court-remote-argument-sessions.