Posts tagged EdChoice
Gov. Shapiro, Choose School Choice Over Union Power Grabs
May 18, 2023 // Government union PACs spent more than $20 million in Pennsylvania during the 2021–22 election cycle. More than 92 percent of those contributions went to Democratic candidates and causes. The money helped Democrats gain a majority in the state’s House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. House Democrats, plus one lone Republican, have now backed the top priority of union executives. House Bill 950, a proposed constitutional amendment that would impose union mandates on employees who do not necessarily share the political agenda of union leaders, passed 102 to 99 on May 3. The bill takes its inspiration from a law out of Illinois that prohibits elected officials from advancing right-to-work initiatives that safeguard First Amendment rights. Josh Shapiro, the commonwealth’s Democratic governor who took office in January, has been a consistent opponent of right-to-work laws. However, he has not yet publicly commented on the push for union mandates in the current legislative session.
Kevin Mooney: Pennsylvania senators must defy teachers’ unions to offer lifeline scholarships to students in failed districts
July 8, 2022 // But does spending equal achievement? If so, then how does Askey explain academic failure in districts that are already receiving buckets of taxpayer money? In an interview, Nathan Benefield, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Foundation, explains why the union’s fixation with dollar signs misses the point. failed districts, Senate Education Committee, Rep. Clint Owlett, Rep. Lindsey Williams, Rick Askey,