Pennsylvania Education Secretary Khalid Mumin will resign from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s cabinet next month, the governor’s office announced Friday afternoon.
Mumin was confirmed in June 2023, about six months after Shapiro took office, and has led some of the administration’s early successes, such as increasing funding for K-12 public schools by $1.5 billion over the last two budgets and providing free breakfasts for 1.7 million public school students.
Mumin will resign on December 6 and deputy executive secretary for education Angela Fitterer will take over as interim secretary. The statement from Shapiro’s office did not say why Mumin was stepping down.
Shapiro said in a statement that Mumin has dedicated his life and career to providing Pennsylvania children with a high-quality education that will set them up for success.
“He led the Pennsylvania Department of Education with passion and integrity. I am grateful for his service to Pennsylvania’s students and teachers and wish him every success in his future endeavors,” Shapiro said.
Mumin said it was the honor of his life to serve as education secretary.
“I began my career as a classroom teacher, and those early experiences watching students get excited about learning inspired me to become a principal, superintendent, and ultimately Secretary of Education so that I could continue to fight for these students to have more support and more opportunities,” Mumin said. “I am very grateful to Governor Shapiro for the opportunity to lead the Pennsylvania Department of Education and help build a bright future for Pennsylvania’s students and teachers.”
State Sen. David Argall (R-Schuylkill), chairman of the Legislature’s education committee, said he wished Mumin well and added, “I look forward to working with Acting Secretary Fitterer and the governor’s nominee to improve our education system, from primary schools to K to universities.”
Before Shapiro tapped Mumin for his cabinet, he served as superintendent of the Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County. Mumin, who began his career as a teacher in the Franklin County, Scotland community in 1997, also served as principal of Reading Public Schools.
Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, senior staff attorney at the Public Interest Law Center, said Mumin’s experience gave him a useful perspective on Pennsylvania schools. Lower Merion is among the state’s wealthiest communities, while Reading is one of the least.
“He came into office with the experience of seeing all that Pennsylvania public schools can offer and the kind of disparities that underfunding public schools creates,” Urevick-Acklesberg said, adding that an vital part of Mumin’s legacy will be the first steps the commonwealth took toward bringing public schools to comply with the constitution.
Mumin’s term coincided with the resolution of a decade-long lawsuit over the state’s public education funding formula, which a group of school districts, parents and advocates argued disadvantaged students in less affluent areas because of their dependence on property taxes.
Judge of the Commonwealth Court Shapiro and the General Assembly ordered in February 2023 to correct inequalities, and the inter-industry commission found that the state needed it will invest $5.4 billion in underfunded schools to match the most successful school districts in the state.
This year the budget is approximately $526 million to achieve this goal, but legislators have not been able to reach a compromise that would guarantee that the difference will be reduced in future tranches.
Sen. Lindsey Williams (R-Allegheny), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Education Committee, said she was grateful for Mumin’s service and experience as an educator, which helped the administration and lawmakers achieve shared goals such as strengthening career and technical education programs, investing in students’ mental health, renovating schools and providing free menstrual products to students.
The governor’s office also credited Mumin with bringing together higher education leaders to rethink higher education in Pennsylvania and establishing a state Higher Education Council to provide more support to public universities and make higher education more affordable.
“Given the President-elect’s nomination to lead the federal Department of Education, any successor to Secretary Mumin must be prepared to defend Pennsylvania students’ constitutional right to a high-quality, inclusive public education,” Williams said.
Fitterer, who will serve as Mumin’s replacement until Shapiro is confirmed in the Senate, has a 25-year career in state government, working in former Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, as legislative director at the Department of Education and in public policymaking in the House and Senate.
