Text the governor! Tell him vouchers are not the answer
Gov. Josh Shapiro is inviting Pennsylvanians to share their thoughts with a text message at 717-788-8990, and it is a good time to let the governor know you are pro-public education and believe that private and religious schools should not be funded with taxpayer dollars. Here are some sample messages:
- Vouchers are not the answer. Increased state investment in our public school system must be a priority, particularly following the Commonwealth Court’s decision rendering the existing system of education funding unconstitutional.
- Vouchers reduce fair access to educational opportunity for all students. Creating a separate education system does nothing to address inadequacies or issues with the existing public school system.
- Proposed “scholarship” proposals duplicate efforts already in existence within the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) program.
- Research shows that vouchers do not improve student outcomes. We need to focus on addressing the barriers to achievement present in these communities. That’s exactly what the community engaged schools model does. Fund community engaged schools, not vouchers.
- Before we create another school voucher program like PASS, we should evaluate whether the current Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program works to improve student outcomes.
PSBA members selected opposition to voucher programs as a 2023-24 legislative priority. Click here for more information. Click here to provide any feedback you have received.