Whether or not they took an oath of office, newly-elected area school board members will take on their new duties today, according to state law.

The newcomers will raise their right hands at a meeting sometime this week to reaffirm their decision to serve their district’s students and residents as guardians of the future. They’ll join countless others from across the state who made the same commitment when they decided to run for public office in this year’s elections.

They will take the oath at reorganizational meetings, where a slate of officers will be elected. Lehighton and Northern Lehigh will reorganize tonight. Palmerton and Tamaqua are Tuesday night. On Wednesday new board members from Panther Valley and Jim Thorpe will take office. Pleasant Valley will have its reorganization Thursday night.

These folks, whether newcomers or old hands, play a role probably as important as parenting since their decisions shape what thousands of students will learn in the years ahead.

As school directors, they’ll help set policy, approve budgets, hire staff and be responsible for the academic performance in the districts they serve.

To do that, they’ll juggle a number of issues in a gentle balancing act that tries to deal with everybody involved - parents, teachers, administrators and the community in general.

Today’s school boards have perhaps the most difficult task of any of their predecessors. New times bring new problems. Diversity, equity and inclusion are relatively new issues as the region grows and changes.

Local directors face funding issues they’ve never seen before.

That’s because the Pennsylvania lawmakers are still trying to figure out how to solve the school underfunding crisis.

In mid-November, the state Senate voted in favor of hundreds of millions of dollars for universities and schools, but shot down House-favored items in a battle over parts of the state budget.

A number of those items are still unsettled. House Democrats didn’t like a $100 million plan to pay for tuition at private and religious schools supported by Gov. Josh Shapiro and Senate Republicans.

There’s still a battle over $100 million in what’s become known as “Level Up” funds Democrats wanted for the state’s poorest public schools, like Panther Valley, which is ranked 441st of 499 districts in the state when it comes to per-student spending.

PV was one of several districts that filed a lawsuit against the state in search of more equitable education funding.

Panther Valley is among the poorest, which means that it is poorer than 75% of the state’s districts. An estimated 20% of the students are at or below federal poverty levels.

The district ranks 10th in its tax rate and 432nd in local revenue raised per student, and is about $8,500 short of adequate funding per student per year. In all, the level up cash due Panther Valley exceeds $460,000 this year.

Lack of funds means students don’t have access to many things students in other districts can use regularly.

In PV, though some rooms have books, there’s no real library. Or librarian. The same goes for teachers, especially since many programs available elsewhere aren’t offered here.

There’s not enough money to pay teachers, either. And those dedicated individuals who choose to teach under these conditions undoubtedly tap their underfunded earnings for classroom supplies. Buildings need work and possible expansion as the student population increases.

And it’s only getting worse as the funding gap widens.

The new batch of school boards needs to keep pressure on our lawmakers to get the funding for our students.

After seeing conditions at Panther Valley Elementary School in late September, state Sen. Dave Argall, who is the chair of the Senate Education Committee, admitted that lawmakers can “do better.”

Let’s hope that rings true early next year, when the panel charged with gathering information on funding issues a final report.

The Basic Education Funding Commission took testimony at 11 hearings across the commonwealth, including an October session in Hazleton. The final gathering was Nov. 16 in Harrisburg.

The panel set Jan. 11 as the date for that report that is expected to address a Commonwealth Court ruling from February mandating that state officials develop a school funding system that is adequate, equitable and meets constitutional standards.

This year’s senior class members were third graders when all this started.

Though it wouldn’t help them directly, state funding for schools would be a great graduation gift.

ED SOCHA/TNEDITOR@TNONLINE.COM

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 40 years experience in community journalism. Reach him at tneditor@tnonline.com.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.