The infusion is an advance on state allocations to the district that it had been scheduled to get later in the year.
Eastern District Court Judge Michael M. Baylson also ordered the state Department of Education not to withhold further subsidies to the district without his approval. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Feb. 23.
The state has been sending Chester Upland district subsidies to charter schools that were educating district students. State officials said that was required by law; the district disagreed.
On Tuesday, Corbett defended his position that Chester Upland should not get money from the state.
"We can't continue to allow school districts to spend money they don't have, with the expectation that when they get through with that money, the state will send them more," he said, while attending a groundbreaking of the new Endo Pharmaceuticals headquarters in Malvern.
"There are other schools that are just behind Chester Upland in their economic problems. What is the incentive for them to do it right if you keep rewarding Chester Upland?"
Education Department spokesman Tim Eller said the department did not agree with Baylson's order, but would not appeal it. The department "still has serious reservations with the way the district continues to manage its finances," he said. "Hopefully, the district will change its ways."
Chester Upland students, parents, and teachers expressed mixed emotions when asked about the court order - happy that schools would stay open for now, but frustrated that there was still not enough for the district to finish the school year.
"I'm relieved, and I will be more relieved when I see my pay check," said Colleen Wellstein, a third-grade teacher. "But we're not finished; there is more to be done. And my concern is not just for this year; it's for next year, and into the future."
