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for 2004 Pennsylvania General 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) Quality education is critical for our future success. Pennsylvania's funding of public education through property taxes is antiquated and unfair. Recent efforts relying on gambling are unreliable and filled with unintended consequences. While no tax is desirable or entirely fair, income and sales taxes (excluding food, clothing, medicines and other necessities) better reflect one's ability to pay. This change must include allowing local citizens direct control in approval of yearly school budgets. 2. How should the Pennsylvania Legislature assist school districts to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act 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" toward that goal? (75 words or less) Clear, incremental goals must be given to school districts. We cannot afford to wait until 2010 to begin to change. Concomitant with these goals, the state must institute a common sense system of rewards and remediation that reflect the significance of educational achievement. Schools that do not achieve AYP must be required to provide concise plans on how they will change. These plans must be approved and followed for a district to avoid NCLB sanctions. 3. How should the Pennsylvania Legislature assist school districts to close the academic achievement gap that exists among groups of students in schools and school districts across the Commonwealth? (75 words or less) The answer is not "by throwing more money at the problem." This has been the past focus of Pennsylvania's educational policy and there is no evidence to support its worth. This practice has created significant funding inequities throughout the Commonwealth. The first step in closing the gap includes a sharing of ideas. A "best practice" approach must be maintained within the Department of Education. Subsequent remediation should be done by experts in the field. 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) Data on these programs is mixed requiring flexibility and choices. Offering limited tax credits to offset the cost of parents sending their children to approved pre-K programs would give incentives to public and private organizations that sponsor pre-K programs. I support the current educational block grant plan aimed at increasing access to full-day kindergarten programs. This allows local citizens to have the opportunity to weigh the cost and benefits for these programs. 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 child in Pennsylvania must expect to succeed. Quality public education is a critical piece to making this a reality. Achieving this goal requires that we reinvest in the student-parent-teacher partnership. If one piece fails, the system fails. Each component must be held accountable for their performance and rewarded for success. By the same token, proper remediation should be expected for shortcomings. Through cooperation and persistence we will build a better future for Pennsylvania.
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