Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Originally published on July 22, 2024.
Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania declared his support for school choice during his campaign in 2022. He even supported the opposing party’s budget proposal in 2023 to send $100 million to families for school vouchers. But he dropped his support. Why?
That’s what The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Editorial Board wants to know. And so do school choice advocates in Pennsylvania.
During his campaign, Gov. Shapiro said he supported school vouchers for children stuck in failing government schools. The WSJ reported that he killed school vouchers “to appease House Democrats, who oppose them, and this year he didn’t spend political capital to sway his fellow party members.”
Gov. Shapiro had been named as a possible Democratic presidential or vice presidential nominee. Voters who advocate for school choice should know where he stands. The governor knows teachers unions hate the idea of parents pulling their children out of bad government schools.
Is he trying to hedge his bets?
The WSJ said that a group called Black Pastors United for Education reached out to Gov. Shapiro about supporting school vouchers. From the WSJ:
“On Friday [the black pastors] wrote him again, saying they never got a response to the first letter, and inviting him to discuss vouchers at a town hall.
“For our lawmakers to disregard this issue of freedom,” says Joshua Robertson, a pastor in Harrisburg, “is unacceptable.” Citing the “dire” education situation in public schools, he adds: “We need a courageous Governor.”
In a second open letter (PDF) to the governor and several lawmakers earlier this month, Black Pastors United for Education requested fully and properly funded government schools and Lifeline Scholarships for children in the state’s worst schools, and they oppose cuts to public cyber charter schools.
Did Gov. Shapiro fib about his support for school choice just to get votes from black residents in the state?
“Governor Shapiro, we remember when you told us you wanted to revolutionize education in Pennsylvania,” the pastors wrote. “Now is the time to lead us into that future. We urge you to act—to make education a non-partisan issue, boldly dismiss the politics that prevent progress, and comprehensively fund and secure educational freedom and opportunity. We encourage both the Pennsylvania House and Senate to support this effort, advocate for children, and do what is right.”
So where does Gov. Shapiro really stand on school choice?
This is Pastor Joshua Robertson. He shared in this Harrisburg press conference today how he was “a functional illiterate” who graduated from public high school in PA not knowing how to read.
His athleticism earned him a D1 college football scholarship, which he lost after having… pic.twitter.com/MSqMBhTiml
— Dan Bartkowiak (@DanBartkowiak) June 11, 2024
