As an educator, I am an idealist. I have always had faith that our elected officials would make the right decisions for our children when voting on public education policies. But lately I have become disillusioned and weary by what is happening in Harrisburg, and I am not alone.
In June, despite a state surplus, the governor cut $860 million from the state’s funding for public schools. And even though there is strong public support for taxing the Marcellus Shale industry, Gov. Tom Corbett refused to consider it. These additional funds could have covered the education budget gap.
The end result is that there are between 5,000 and 6,000 fewer teachers and support staff in our classrooms this school year. Another consequence is that some school boards have been forced to eliminate programs including full-day kindergarten, language programs, family and consumer science and extracurricular activities.
The poorer districts were hit hardest by the state budget cuts. According to the latest information, almost 70 percent of school districts are reporting larger class sizes this year.
And now the governor and some legislators are trying to push legislation to spend up to $1 billion on a private school voucher program that would take even more money away from our public schools and our students.
According to national test scores, Pennsylvania has among the best public schools in the country, and recent polls demonstrate that the public is very supportive of local public schools. Yet the governor is intent on stripping more money from public schools and creating a new costly, unproven taxpayer-funded voucher program for private schools.
Some politicians argue that vouchers would help students in public schools in urban areas where students do not perform well on statewide assessment tests.
Does the governor really believe that by moving these children to private schools that their test scores will improve? According to independent research, voucher programs in other U.S. cities and states have not demonstrated improved student academic achievement.
What is so troubling about the various voucher proposals is that private schools do not even require basic accountability for taxpayer dollars. Almost all of the bills establishing vouchers target public schools based on state test performance, yet private schools are exempt from these requirements. Private schools also can choose which children to accept, while public schools accept all children, regardless of their special needs.
There are no silver bullets to help these struggling students, but with a shared commitment by parents, educators, support staff professionals, administrators, school board members, legislators and communities, we can implement solutions that work.
The governor should talk to real education experts: classroom teachers. If he did, we would suggest proven solutions such as investing in early-childhood education; providing additional learning time for struggling students; increasing parental involvement; providing smaller class size; providing alternative placements for disruptive and violent students; providing for increased coordination among schools, law enforcement and social service agencies; and providing all students with a range of opportunities to prepare for work or post-secondary education.
We also would suggest that every school must have a culture of teaching excellence. We must improve the state’s teacher and principal evaluation system, the state’s mentoring programs for new teachers and the dismissal procedure for teachers and principals.
Our public schools and our children need our support to stop this devastating voucher legislation. Please take time to call you legislator and tell him or her to vote against any voucher legislation. Our children are depending upon us to get involved. Now more than ever, every voice counts. It’s time to turn up the volume.
Brad Siegfried is president of the Philipsburg-Osceola Education Association and president of the Central Region of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
