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Education Voters of Pennsylvania recommends Onorato, Hoeffel in Governor’s race
Education Voters of Pennsylvania today issued a statement to provide guidance to people interested in education issues, saying there are real differences between the candidates for governor.
Education Voters of Pennsylvania recommends that voters who care about public education and are voting in the Democratic primary vote for either Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel or Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato. Both Hoeffel and Onorato have made clear commitments and issued strong policy statements demonstrating that they would make public education a priority, and both support recent state reforms that are getting results. Education Voters also noted there were positive statements in Attorney General Tom Corbett’s policy papers, and while not endorsing in the Republican primary either, noted that the need for a strong public education system has support from voters from all parties.
“There are significant distinctions in this race,” said Executive Director Susan Gobreski. “Both Hoeffel and Onorato are talking about the importance of public education, investing in curriculum, and improving instruction and making sure we properly direct resources to get results by distributing funds through a fair formula. Public education is important to economic development, strengthening our economy and preparing children to join the workforce. We are encouraged that the candidates are all talking about early education, how to improve college readiness and higher education access and affordability. However, because having a strong public education system is so critical and because some candidates in this race have been non-committal about investing in basic education or are openly campaigning against the need for a strong successful public system, we think it is important to tell voters that there are key differences.”
“We are finally having the right conversation in Pennsylvania. Our economy and our communities depend on high-quality schools that meet the needs of all our communities and workforce. People support increasing our focus on improving instruction and raising standards. We have charters which can provide adequate opportunities to innovate and experiment while still preserving the need to have a public education system. There is good focus these days on how we manage resources, what a good education costs and how to provide it cost-effectively without sacrificing quality. We can’t afford to take chances on radical, risky, ideological ideas.”
Of particular concern is that Senator Anthony Williams has taken several million dollars in campaign contributions from just a handful of wealthy supporters of vouchers. He has been very clear that he supports vouchers, which direct public dollars away from schools, making them a centerpiece of his candidacy. Gobreski said: “If you play out what a voucher system would look like, it would look like an expanded version of the very worst of what we have now: kids whose parents have the money would get a great education and other kids would get the least of what someone can get away with giving them. That is bad policy now and it is bad policy in the future.”
Education Voters has evaluated candidate positions on education by following public statements and policy papers, conducting interviews, and researching their positions on key issues including early education, basic education and higher education.
After the primaries, it will be crucial for both the Republican and Democratic candidates to be even more specific on their education platforms and show voters how their plans for Pennsylvania schools will shape the state. Education Voters will evaluate candidates and will issue endorsements for the general elections.
By promoting sound policy, educating the public, and creating voter engagement strategies that generate action from elected officials, Education Voters of Pennsylvania is one of the leading education advocacy groups in Pennsylvania. The organization seeks to hold political leaders accountable and supports elected officials who lead the way to high-quality public education.
