Northeast
VP snub Gov. Josh Shapiro touts $1.1 billion increase in his state’s public school funding
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, visited Amanda E. Stout Elementary in the city of Reading on Friday to highlight the $1.1 billion in additional public education funding included in the commonwealth’s new budget.
This comes just days after Shapiro was shunned as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate for November’s presidential election as she prepares to face former President Donald Trump. Harris instead selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to join the Democratic ticket.
Shapiro and Pennsylvania Education Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin met with students, teachers and legislators at the elementary school to celebrate the record funding for public K-12 education allocated through the 2024-25 budget.
The $1.1 billion in total increases for K-12 public education funding represents the largest year-over-year boost in Pennsylvania’s history, according to the governor’s office.
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Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro is seen at the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony during Wawa Welcome America on July 04, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
“In the bipartisan budget I signed into law last month, Pennsylvania will invest $11 billion in K-12 public education for our students and teachers — that’s $1.1 billion more than last year, a record amount,” Shapiro said in a statement.
“We came together to make the largest investment in K-12 public education in the Commonwealth’s history — because there is nothing more important than investing in our kids and their future — all while building on the progress we’ve made on student teacher stipends, mental health resources, and environmental school repairs.”
The governor was joined for a ceremonial bill signing by Reading School District Superintendent Jennifer Murray, Reading Education Association President Brian Benkert, Reading School District 11th grader Jose Martinez and local and state legislators.
“And we’re not only delivering more funding, but also fixing how we drive out that money to our schools under a new formula that directs funding to the districts who need it most – the districts that have been chronically underfunded,” the governor said.
The Reading School District, which Amanda E. Stout Elementary School is part of, will receive about $40 million more than last year as part of the new budget. In April, the district received a more than $325,000 grant for mental health support from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Of the $1.1 billion in education funding increases, nearly $526 million will be distributed through a new adequacy formula aimed at giving money to the schools that need it the most, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
The bill also increases special education funding by $100 million and Career and Technical Education by $30 million.
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Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at the state Capitol, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
The budget will set aside $100 million for mental health and physical safety resources, $20 million for school safety and security improvements and $3 million for menstrual hygiene products for students in schools.
It will also double funding for student teacher stipends to a total of $20 million.
“I could not be happier to be back on my old home turf here in Reading with Governor Josh Shapiro,” Mumin said. “As I reflect on my time spent here in Reading as Superintendent, I can’t help but be amazed to see how much things have changed in education over the years. I remember when Reading School District was one of the most underfunded and under-resourced school districts in the Commonwealth.”
“Today, thanks to the historic investments that Governor Shapiro has made two years in a row — the focus and attention that this Administration has given to education in Pennsylvania and the commitment to continuing that support — our schools are poised for generations of greatness,” he continued.
The Amanda E. Stout Elementary School has more than 800 students, and school officials have said public funding for the school has long fallen behind that of other districts.
Public education advocates previously sued, leading to a court ruling that said Pennsylvania’s school funding system was unconstitutional and unfair to poorer districts.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro smiles during an appearance at the Pennsylvania Press Club, Nov. 20, 2023, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)
Education officials in Reading said the new budget is a step in the right direction.
“As a traditionally underfunded district, the Reading School District welcomes this unprecedented support,” Murray said. ‘These investments represent a critical step toward educational equity, and we are eager to witness the positive impact on our students and educators.”
Shapiro said at the ceremonial bill signing in Reading: “I’m coming back next year to double down on our mission and continue to make sure public education is a priority in Pennsylvania.”
Last year, Shapiro supported a school voucher program to give families $100 million for private school tuition and school supplies before abandoning the proposal amid pressure from fellow Democrats and deciding to do a line-item veto to remove that funding from that year’s budget, saying in July 2023 he did not want Pennsylvania to be “plunged into a painful, protracted budget impasse while our communities wait for the help and resources this commonsense budget will deliver.”
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Access Sports Medicine & Orthopaedics said the annual event reflects its ongoing commitment to youth wellness, community outreach, and support for local athletics. The practice serves communities throughout New Hampshire and describes itself as a multidisciplinary orthopedic and sports medicine provider.
According to the organization, its services include orthopedics, sports medicine, physical therapy, and rehabilitation, with a focus on patient-centered care and community involvement. The free physical day is one of the ways the practice connects local families with those services before the school sports year begins.
New Jersey
Air conditioning fails at Delaney Hall as heat wave leaves detainees struggling to breathe • The Jersey Vindicator
Advocates say temperatures became unbearable inside one housing unit as the region’s heat wave intensified.
Detainees at Newark’s Delaney Hall have told activists that the air conditioning has failed in part of the controversial immigrant detention center, leaving some people sleeping naked and struggling to breathe as a scorching heat wave descends on the region.
Sally Pillay, an advocate with Eyes on ICE who regularly speaks to detainees and their families, told The Jersey Vindicator Thursday afternoon that some of the roughly 150 detainees housed in Unit 4 began calling their families early July 2 to complain that they couldn’t breathe or sleep because of the high temperatures.
It’s not the first time this has happened. Pillay said the cooling system had been on the fritz all week before finally failing sometime Wednesday.
But conditions have gotten far more dangerous as air temperatures soared past 100 degrees.
“There’s no ventilation or circulation,” she said of the unit. “It’s extremely hot, and it’s humid … it’s unbearable. They’re sleeping with no clothes on, and they feel fatigued.”
Activists said they reached out to the city of Newark but did not hear back.
A spokesperson for GEO Group, the private prison firm that runs the 1,000-bed facility on Doremus Avenue, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
But a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told The Jersey Vindicator in an email Thursday evening, July 2, that the agency has added portable air conditioning units and access to ice water while it oversees repairs. Activists disputed the claims Thursday night and said that AC units and ice water have not been provided yet.
“The rapid response to this incident demonstrates ICE’s commitment to uphold the highest detention standards, following all applicable health and safety guidelines,” the spokesperson wrote.
Meanwhile, members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation have also gotten involved.
In a social media post, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, a Union County Democrat who has visited Delaney Hall many times, wrote that his office will “continue to press ICE to ensure that this matter is addressed with the urgency required during this extreme heat wave and will do so until air conditioning is restored.”
Pillay said the situation has been worsened by poor drinking water, which detainees have long said tastes metallic and “off.” It seems to have gotten even worse lately, she added.
“Apparently, it’s discolored, yellow, and dirty, like it’s not being filtered,” she said. “And it tastes very bad.”
That means detainees enduring misery-inducing heat must also choke down water they otherwise wouldn’t drink.
Kathy O’Leary, the coordinator of Pax Christi New Jersey, said the imposing fortress near the mouth of Newark Bay has had HVAC issues almost since it opened in May 2025.
Several dorms remained frigid over the winter, she said, but the heat blasted through another unit to the point where “everybody was roasting.”
But the summer heat has taken it to another level.
“This is not a new thing,” Pillay added. “Definitely not.”
The air conditioning failure is another in a long list of complaints voiced by detainees, their families, and immigration activists about Delaney Hall, which they say forces undocumented immigrants swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration raids to live in squalor.
About 300 detainees launched a hunger and labor strike in May to draw attention to their plight and convince Gov. Mikie Sherrill to meet with them. The strike drew national attention, and protesters flocked to the area for weeks of demonstrations that often turned violent.
When asked why she believes GEO Group didn’t fix the air conditioning earlier, Pillay said bluntly that it’s a for-profit entity that “always wants to cut corners.”
“They wait for an issue to get so big that we have to complain,” she said. “They want to house people in this facility, but they cannot fix the infrastructure. We have seen so many issues in this facility.”
“It’s very sad, it’s shocking, and it’s appalling that this is the way we’re treating human beings,” she continued. “And GEO, which is making millions and millions of dollars, doesn’t care about the human beings being warehoused in this facility.”
Steve Janoski is a multi-award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Post, USA Today, the Associated Press, The Bergen Record and the Asbury Park Press. His reporting has exposed corruption, government malfeasance and police misconduct
A fire ripped through a recycling center in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Thursday evening, emergency officials said.
The fire erupted around 6 p.m. at a Doylestown Waste Recycling building on 1510 Swamp Road. The facility mainly recycles construction debris, according to the company’s website.
Chopper 3 was over the scene as firefighters battled flames at the heavily damaged building. Large plumes of smoke could be seen from miles away.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
No injuries have been reported.
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