Pennsylvania
Poor schools are prepared to return to court if Pennsylvania budget falls short on funding plan
Lawyers for the school districts that sued have said they will return to court to ask a judge to compel Shapiro and lawmakers to better close the funding gap among districts across the state if a distribution plan isn’t put into place with a reasonable timeframe.
The lawyers analyzed the spending of districts that perform well based on Pennsylvania’s goals and compared that to what the state estimates those districts’ needs are, determining how much every school district should have in order to mirror that same success. On average, school districts are short $2,500 per student, they said.
Their proposal calls on the state to develop a system that finds how much funding is needed to reach the state’s adequacy goals, determine how much funding is missing from each district, and allocate the funds in a consistent, predictable manner beginning in the 2024-25 year. The state should not rely on local tax dollars to fill the gap, they said. It should also consider facilities and pre-K funding.
“The court decision in early 2023 changed the game,” said Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of Pennsylvania. “Lawmakers and the governor can no longer base school funding levels on how much they feel like investing each year as they have in the past. There is a new standard that they must meet, which is ensuring universal access to a comprehensive, effective and contemporary education.”
Public school advocates are likelier to find more support for their plan from the Democratic-controlled House than the Republican-controlled Senate. The majority of state senators are resistant to spending billions of new dollars on public schools and instead have pushed to send more state money to subsidize private schools.
Additionally, while Shapiro made significant investments in public education in his first budget cycle, it did not go as far as public education advocates and other Democrats were hoping.
“Our governor has touted the extraordinary work of the Commonwealth and the city of Philadelphia to repair I-95 in less than two weeks, and we urge that that same resolve and ambition be adopted by the governor and all parties in stopping the school funding lawsuit,” said Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First.
Counties that used a redesigned envelope for their provisional ballots in 2025 saw rejection rates drop by 11.3% when compared to last year, according to Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt.
The new look adopted by 85% of counties indicates which fields are for voters and which are for election workers, and highlights where voters must sign. The drop from 4.96% to 4.4% doesn’t include the nine counties that didn’t use the new design or Chester County, which had a printing error in November that omitted third-party and independent voters from pollbooks.
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The 11.3% figure is adjusted for voter turnout. More than 7 million Pennsylvanians voted in 2024 – which was a presidential election year – compared to 3.6 million in the 2025 off-year election.
“Our goal remains ensuring every registered voter in our Commonwealth can cast their vote and have it counted in every election,” Schmidt said in a release. “As with the changes to mail ballot materials two years ago, these improvements resulted in more registered voters being able to make their voices heard in November’s election.”
Two years ago, the state conducted a voter education initiative and required counties to preprint the full year of mail ballot return envelopes. Mail ballot instructions and online application materials were also redesigned.
Five counties — Philadelphia, Berks, Butler, Mercer and Greene — worked with the state to craft the new envelopes to be more user friendly for both voters and poll workers.
“The purpose in leading the redesign effort was to reduce errors and have more votes counted, which is exactly what we achieved,” said Omar Sabir, the chair of the Philadelphia City Commissioners. “An 11% decrease in ballot rejections shows the real impact that thoughtful design can have on protecting voting rights across Pennsylvania.”
The nine counties opting out of the new design were: Bedford, Bradford, Crawford, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Lycoming, Monroe and Wyoming.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.
Pennsylvania
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The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025 results for each game:
Winning Pick 2 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing
Day: 4-0, Wild: 1
Evening: 3-2, Wild: 3
Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing
Day: 5-0-2, Wild: 1
Evening: 4-2-2, Wild: 3
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing
Day: 3-7-8-3, Wild: 1
Evening: 4-9-2-2, Wild: 3
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing
Day: 8-3-3-5-3, Wild: 1
Evening: 5-7-4-1-7, Wild: 3
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 28 drawing
09-15-24-34-53, Cash Ball: 04
Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 5 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing
04-06-18-20-31
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Dec. 28 drawing
04-05-10-26-28
Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Dec. 28 drawing
07-08-16-18-27-37
Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
- Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back.
- Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
- Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
- Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you.
When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily.
- Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
- Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily.
- Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily.
- Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
- Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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