Jane Hospador, a first-grade teacher at Pottstown School District’s Franklin Elementary School, says Pennsylvania school districts would have more resources for hiring school counselors if changes were made to the way charter school tuition is calculated, according to Peter Hall for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

Currently, charter schools get about 88% of their funding from the school districts from which they draw students. Public school officials across Pennsylvania are advocating for changes to how taxpayer money is distributed to charter schools.

Many believe that the funding should reflect better the actual costs of the education provided by the charter schools. This, they say, would allow the school districts to have better funding for their own students.

Hospador, who has been teaching for 25 years, said that counselors have been in high demand, even for such simple things as helping children learn how to play and interact with others. As of now, each of the three elementary schools in the district has one counselor.

“Being able to call for a school counselor and knowing that person will show up, it’s priceless,” she said. “We do have kids who are in crisis and are unable to tell you why.”

Read more about the issue in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

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Franklin Elementary School’s GROWTH Awards.