Amy Arcurio, the superintendent of Greater Johnstown School District, one of six districts challenging Pennsylvania’s inadequate and inequitable school funding system, continued her testimony throughout the day on Tuesday, after testifying all day last Friday and briefly last Thursday.
We will provide a more detailed account following the conclusion of respondents’ cross-examination and Arcurio’s testimony, which attorneys anticipate will occur tomorrow.
During Arcurio’s direct examination on Friday, she testified about facilities issues and the lack of remedial services available in her district, among other topics; see the coverage by the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat and WHYY/Keystone Crossroads.
“When interventions aren’t applied to students, when they first come to us in kindergarten, those deficits continue to follow them into first grade,” Arcurio said, as reported by Keystone Crossroads.
Arcurio was cross-examined today by attorneys for Senator Corman and Speaker Cutler. Cross-examination from Speaker Cutler’s attorneys will continue tomorrow morning. Arcurio is expected to be followed on the stand by two other witnesses from Greater Johnstown: Stephanie Kobal, a first grade teacher, and Eric Kocsis, the business manager for the district from 2016 to 2020. Also on the upcoming witness list is Brian Waite, superintendent of the Shenandoah Valley School District in Schuylkill County.
You can read more about Arcurio’s background as an educator, as well as facts about the district and the city, in our brief summary of last Friday’s testimony.