School funding rallies call for more money in Pa schools while attacking school vouchers

CENTER CITY - School funding rallies in two communities Friday call for better funding of the Commonwealth’s public schools while attacking a controversial funding proposal known as school vouchers.

The rally, in the shadow of Philadelphia City Hall, had two goals: To push for legislative approval of Governor Shapiro’s $1.1 billion funding package for the Commonwealth’s public schools, and to hammer school vouchers, offering public dollars to private schools.

Pa. Representative Roni Green, a Democrat from Philadelphia said, "I’m here to say no. No to vouchers, no to entitlements designed to dismantle our public schools."

Members of organized labor stood shoulder to shoulder with Democratic state representatives, the leaders of teachers’ unions, clergy and parents.

They gathered as the Pa. legislature grapples with the governor’s budget proposal and faces a Commonwealth court ruling finding the way Pennsylvania funds its public schools "unconstitutional," or short-changing schools in larger, often poorer communities. But, the target was school vouchers.

State Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El, Democrat of Lancaster County said, "I’m here to say no to Pa.’s richest people deciding they would rather have a few more of our tax dollars in their pockets than our kids be alive."

In Norristown, a similar message as superintendents of schools, students and public-school advocates argued approval of Shapiro’s budget means an infusion of $30 million in Montgomery County schools by the fall.

Jeremiah McCray is a senior at Norristown Area High School. He said, "All of my siblings have gone through the Norristown Area School District, and, through my parents’ lessons, I’ve learned to use it to build myself up."

But Governor Shapiro, himself, is in favor of a form of school vouchers he calls "scholarships" in which public dollars would be used for tutoring, books, computers or "going to another school." This is drawing hard opposition.

Pennsylvania Senator Nikil Saval, Democrat of Philadelphia County said, "I will vote against any budget that has vouchers for private schools. We will not fund it."