The School District of Philadelphia is contributing historically high sums to the state-run pension system for its employees, and these hefty payments will affect budgets for the district and the city government for years to come. Unlike Philadelphia's municipal government, the School District of Philadelphia does not control the pension system for its employees. Rather, the pensions for approximately 18,300 people--including teachers and nearly everyone else employed by the district--are managed by the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS), with decisions on funding and employee benefits made exclusively at the state level. But as is the case with the city of Philadelphia and its municipal government pension system, the district is now paying more than it ever has into the retirement system, making up for years of low funding levels, investment returns that failed to meet expectations, and unfunded benefit increases. These factors have forced the School District of Philadelphia and other districts statewide to play catch-up in funding their obligations. In 2018, the Philadelphia school district's net contribution to the system--after partial state reimbursement--as $154 million, up from $28 million eight years earlier. And this cost is expected to continue to rise, although not as dramatically, throughout the coming decade. The higher contributions from Philadelphia and other districts, as well as the state reimbursements, have put PSERS on a path toward improved funding, but the district now faces some tough budget decisions as a result, a situation likely to persist in the years ahead. With the district now under local control after years of state stewardship, and with the city of Philadelphia making increased contributions to the school district's finances, these costs will affect municipal finances as well.