On board for reform
At least one busload will leave Fayette County today with residents thinking their journey to Harrisburg will make a difference. They will join an expected 15,000 other Pennsylvanians for a huge rally at the Capitol to let lawmakers know they support the governor’s plan to reform public schools. What they might not agree on – and what remains the major stumbling block – is how to pay for all this. Not even enough Democratic lawmakers favor Gov. Rendell’s drastic raise of the personal income in order to fund preschool education, full-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes, tutoring and more teachers.
And Republican lawmakers certainly won’t raise state income taxes. They would much rather toss the hot potato back to local school districts to deal with.
Today’s rally for education is important in that it shows those isolated in Harrisburg that the folks back home do care about the lack of equity in funding. They do care whether the state picks up its fair share. And they do care about ever-increasing property taxes. The rally shows that people are tired of a do-nothing legislative body, one that would cling to the status quo as Senate Republicans proved by favoring a bill that does little more than raise the basic education subsidy a couple percentage points.
House and Senate caucus leaders last week met with a small group of Pennsylvania editors. Republicans made it a point to say that it mattered little to them how deeply packed the crowd is on Thursday. Their minds are already set. Their votes won’t be swayed by a rally.
Here’s a few reasons why. They aren’t receiving letters from constituents demanding that their income tax be raised. The House Republicans’ analysis of the governor’s plan shows few school districts will actually benefit, and not one representative will vote in favor. The Senate Republicans worry that adding programs means adding to the financial burden of local districts and their districts are opposed.
While the Senate side is satisfied doing business as is, at least the House Republicans are willing to consider doing more. House Speaker John Perzel said all can agree with funding preschool. He draws the line at lowering class sizes to 17 as the average now is 20. And if a teacher can’t effectively teach 20 kids, how will three fewer children make a difference? Perzel, to prove the point that Democrats are reluctant to approve Rendell’s plan, said that he would give them enough Republican votes for passage, if every Democrat voted in favor. Perzel knows that won’t happen. The situation is similar to the failure of former Gov. Tom Ridge’s annual push for school vouchers when his party held the majority in the legislature.
Yet Perzel is smart enough to know that he can’t get away with supporting the status quo as his brethren in the Senate propose because he lacks enough votes to override the governor’s veto, a stamp of disapproval that is certain if nothing changes.
There will be some changes to education. They won’t be as drastic or as costly as Rendell proposes. But it will be a start.