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for 2006 Pennsylvania Primary Election Legislative Candidates
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Pennsylvania's system of funding public education? What should the Pennsylvania Legislature do, if anything, to improve the system of funding public education? (75 words or less) The weakness of Pennsylvania's system of funding public education is its reliance upon property taxes. The Pennsylvania Legislature must find a way to eliminate such reliance and must also increase its level of state funding while also controlling unfunded mandates. 2. How should the Pennsylvania Legislature assist school districts to meet the requirements of Pennsylvania's regulations for academic standards and graduation requirements as well as the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that expects every student to demonstrate proficiencies on state assessments in reading, math and science by 2014, and for all schools to demonstrate "adequate yearly progress" (required by NCLB) toward that goal? (75 words or less) Pennsylvania's Legislature must work cooperatively with local districts and PDE to determine what resources are most necessary to districts and to provide the flexibility needed to utilize resources to districts. That means also evaluating Pennsylvania's plan for compliance with NCLB and making appropriate changes. 3. How should the Pennsylvania Legislature assist school districts to close the academic achievement gaps that exist among groups of students in schools and school districts across the Commonwealth? (75 words or less) The Pennsylvania Legislature needs to ensure that there are additional funds and resources available to target those groups of students and districts that are having the most difficulty. Funding is not enough; appropriate resources and tools should be made available to those districts so that the changes that they need to make can be begun within. 4. What, if anything, should the Pennsylvania Legislature do to increase access for young children in Pennsylvania to high-quality pre-K programs and full-day kindergarten programs? (75 words or less) Pennsylvania should mandate that local school districts provide kindergarten programs and should tier funding for such programs based on the length of the program (full-day vs. half-day) and the content of pre-K programs based on national and state models. 5. What is your vision of the public education opportunity that should be available to every child in Pennsylvania and what will you do to accomplish that goal? (75 words or less) Every student in Pennsylvania should have the ability to learn and to grow. That means providing resources to families and students as well as to schools so that students may have the tools they need to become successful. It also means that no student in the Commonwealth should need to worry about whether they can afford higher education; the focus should be on what type of higher education they will pursue. That means reevaluating the current system and finding ways to provide additional funding to students regardless of capabilities and financial means. 6. Is there anything else that you will do to strengthen Pennsylvania's public education system? (75 words or less) Last year, I was appointed as one of the Commissioners to the Governor's Commission on College and Career Success. The experience has opened my eyes to a number of opportunities for improvement that the Commonwealth has available to it. I have enjoyed working with the various individuals on the Commission and look forward to proposing some of the resulting recommendations to my colleagues in the General Assembly.
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