A 10% tax on every drink sold in Philly goes to Philly schools
It’s the most well known fact about Philadelphia schools: they’re underfunded and have been for over a decade.
Think we can drink our way out of the problem? Click below to see how much your night out helps fund the schools.
We need to do more.
Simply put, our schools are broke. Many have been forced to cut nurses, librarians, guidance counselors, and programs for music and art. The truth is: we can’t drink our way out of the problem.
We need ideas on how to fully fund the system. What's yours?
Tweet @BenInPhilly
Ideas on how Philadelphia might fully fund @PhillyEducation? Share 'em with me & let's get this conversation started. 📚✏️🍻
— Ben in Philly (@beninphilly) May 7, 2015Need a quick lesson on the schools in Philly?
The annual budget for the schools is $2.76 billion. Sounds like a lot, right?
In Philadelphia, that breaks down to $13,077 per student. In Lower Merion (about 10 miles away), the schools spend $22,963 per student.
Where do Philly’s schools get their money?
Philly’s schools get about $2.76 billion in funding. About 9% of that comes from the Federal government. About 50% comes from the state. And the rest comes from Philly.
Philly contributes $897.6 million through taxes: Real Estate (73%); Use and Occupancy (15%); the drink tax (7%); school (non business) income (4%); and public utility realty (less than 1%).
So my drink costs more in Philly than outside the city?
Maybe. Maybe not. Some bars just eat the cost of the tax. Some pass it on to the consumer.
We do know that the amount collected for the schools has nearly doubled since 2005 ($33 million) and has increased by $10.4 million since 2012.
The drink tax accounts for $300 worth of each student’s $13,760 education.
Learn more about the drink tax
Check out these articles to learn more about school funding. And find out where the mayoral candidates stand.
The Big Picture on Education (Next Mayor Project, Philly.com)
School Budget Visualizer (Code for Philly)
Report on a school funding formula for Philadelphia (Pew Research)
How Gov. Tom Wolf wants to help balance the budget (Washington Post)
Get Involved
PhillyCORE Leaders
Philadelphia Education Fund
Teachers Lead Philly
Our Partners
This project is the result of a collaboration between YIP, Code for Philly, and the Philadelphia Chapter of NLC. Special thanks for the generous financial backing of the Next Mayor Project and Philly.com.
Young Involved Phildelphia
Philly.com Next Mayor Project
New Leaders Council, Philadelphia Chapter
