Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday visited the Iroquois School District to discuss his plan to increase funding for addressing mental health needs in schools.

Since the pandemic, schools across the country have reported a significant rise in the number of students seeking mental health help, and the Erie region is no different.

Shapiro is calling for $100 million in state spending to help address those concerns.

With the state budget deadline looming at the end of the month, Shapiro continues to push for his proposal, which includes a $1.1 billion increase in state education spending. Included in that is that money for mental health resources.

Staff at Iroquois say they have seen more students seeking mental health help, stretching the district's resources. With pandemic-era aid running out at the end of this year, they are looking for ways to fund the students' needs.

Shapiro says he expects significant compromise will be needed to reach a budget deal, but in his eyes, mental health spending is a bipartisan issue.

"We can invest in our schools," said Shapiro. "We can invest in economic development, public safety, other important things. We can cut taxes and we can still have a surplus at the end of the day. We'll find common ground as we did last time. But to me, this education investment is common sense and it's needed."