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Education Reform Debate Roils

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The call and response echoed through the state capitol rotunda:  “What do we want? Choice! When do we want it? Now!”  The hundreds of students and supporters spilling into the halls of Harrisburg were there to support Gov. Tom Corbett’s education reform agenda, especially the controversial issue of vouchers.  Highlighting the consequences of failing schools, Corbett told the crowd that half of those committed to Pennsylvania prisons read at a 6th to 8th grade level. 

Tom Corbett

Gov. Tom Corbett headlined a capitol rally for education reform.

SB 1 encompasses three of the four tenets of Corbett’s education reform agenda, including vouchers.  It passed the Senate 27 – 22 last month, and Sen. Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) says the heat of Tuesday’s rally must be felt in the House of Representatives.  “If they make a choice not to support Senate Bill 1, we’ll make a choice on Election Day not to support them,” Williams said in his typical fiery fashion. 

Former Governor Ed Rendell has heard the rhetoric coming out of the education reform movement, and he came to the state capitol

Ed Rendell

Democrats like Babette Josephs joined former Governor Ed Rendell to highlight educational improvement.

Tuesday to remind people of the progress Pennsylvania made through his targeted investments in public schools.  “The students in the highest level of achievement on the PSSA test doubled during the eight years that I was governor.  But better still, the students in the lowest category on the PSSA test were cut in half,” Rendell says.  “These are incredible results that didn’t just happen.”

Regardless of what happens in the school vouchers debate, Rendell says state lawmakers should not take one dollar away from public schools, and rebuild the public education funding that he fought for during his two terms in the governor’s office. 

Aethists, School Choice

Holding the sign is PA State Director for American Atheists Ernest Perce V. He protested Tuesday's education reform rally because he opposes the use of public money to fund religious schools.

Education Agenda Reaction Runs the Gamut

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Some are noting a lack of detail in the governor’s education reform speech, but the state’s largest teachers union doesn’t need specifics to oppose the advent of school vouchers in Pennsylvania.  “The bottom line for us on any voucher program is that they don’t work, they don’t raise student achievement,” says Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) spokesman Wythe Keever.  He says the state should be focusing on initiatives that do work, such as tutoring, full-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes. 

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) adds that vouchers are unaffordable at a time when public education funding has already been cut by $900-million.  “Across all demographic groups, the public is just not interested in spending tax dollars to send children to private schools,” says PSBA executive director Tom Gentzel.  He points to the latest survey – conducted by Terry Madonna Opinion Research – that found 65% of Pennsylvanians either strongly or somewhat oppose vouchers.

But, Gentzel does tell us there are parts of the governor’s agenda that are worth discussing.  He says charter school accountability measures are long overdue.  Likewise, the PSEA isn’t deriding the entire plan.  “PSEA agrees with the governor that teacher evaluations need to be improved, and we support the use of multiple objective measures of performance,” says the PSEA’s Wythe Keever, who’s interested in the results of the new teacher evaluation pilot program.    

Governor Tom Corbett

Gov. Corbett unveiled his education reform agenda at the Lincoln Charter School in York.

Governor Corbett’s agenda appears to have some bicameral support in the General Assembly, based on the high-ranking cast of Republican lawmakers who stood by his side at the Lincoln Charter School in York.  “What the governor is putting on the table are very tangible proposals that allow us to move Pennsylvania into the forefront of reform,” says House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny).  “Our economy in the 21st century is going to look for excellence,” says Senate Majority Whip Pat Browne (R-Northampton).  “Through the reforms the governor is advocating for, we will be pursuing excellence here in Pennsylvania.”  Governor Corbett wants lawmakers to act in the next few months, so that the reforms he outlined on Tuesday can be in place for the start of the 2012-2013 school year.