Education: Investing in Our Future

EDUCATION: Investing in Our Future
http://joehoeffel2010.com/education

My vision is not just to improve education in Pennsylvania; I want to change how we frame the issue: education is an investment with a tremendous return for the commonwealth — it's not a spending program — and the best path is to invest wisely for the long-term by fully funding the programs that are proven to work, not to trim spending for short-term savings.


INVESTMENTS IN EDUCATION BENEFIT EVERYONE

Pennsylvania's early childhood and pre-K programs have been tremendously successful. Children entering kindergarten from early childhood programs are well prepared. This benefits those children, and it benefits all children: a classroom full of equally prepared students means a better, more educational, more enriching experience for everyone. The cost savings and benefits start immediately, but they continue for a lifetime: these children have higher graduation rates, and they are more likely to go to college and get better jobs; they are less likely to drop out of school, engage in criminal activity, and rely upon the state's resources. But our programs only reach 38% of eligible children. We must expand our early childhood programs and make them available to all eligible children across the commonwealth.

Similar investment in drop-out prevention and drop-out re-engagement have demonstrated return on investment, both for the students who become high school graduates and for Pennsylvania. We need to fund and encourage proven programs that identify at-risk students and allow educators to provide curricular, logistical, and interpersonal support to keep those students on track for high school graduation. We also need to support drop-out re-engagement centers which provide resources to those who wish to return and complete their education. These programs strengthen our citizens, families, communities, and economy.


IMPROVE STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY

As we improve the caliber of our educational programs we must also set higher academic standards. We owe our students a guarantee that a high school diploma is awarded for true achievement, and that the diploma signifies to Pennsylvania employers a solid command of the knowledge and skills for success. Well-designed standardized tests, validated and calibrated by education researchers, ensure that student achievement is accurately measured. In raising our standards, however, we must take care to give every student our full support with remedial and tutoring programs to help meet those standards.


SCHOOL BOARD EDUCATION

In an effort to give school board members a thorough grounding in budgets and education. I support the establishment of some basic training for school board members. This training, or "school board boot camp," would resemble of the training that legislators receive before their swearing in day in Harrisburg and the training that judges-elect receive before presiding over our courts.


HOW TO FUND OUR FORMULA

The number one question facing Pennsylvania is how to adequately fund these endeavors. Our new education spending formula has given us a great roadmap to success, and we're on the right track. But we need to keep going, we need to provide full funding, and we need a plan that makes that possible. Right now 45% of school district revenues come from property taxes; 37% is coming from the state, through basic education funding and other state sources. We need to shift that balance from local to state funding, and bring Pennsylvania's state share more in line with the national average (where the local funding comprises 44% and state funding 47%).

Our over-reliance on property taxes burdens home-owners, especially seniors on a fixed income. As Governor, I will continue to fight to base school taxes on income and ability to pay, not the property tax, as I continue Governor Rendell’s commitment to provide full state funding for the school subsidy formula.

I believe it is time for Pennsylvania to join the 34 other states that have a graduated income tax. To make this change, the state constitution must be amended. Pennsylvania has one of the most regressive tax systems in the nation. The poorest 20% of wage earners pay 12% of their income in state and local taxes, while the richest 1% pay only 4% of their income in state and local taxes. The graduated income tax will give Pennsylvania the ability to fully fund — and progressively fund — the state's share of the education spending formula.


ENSURING A SAFE AND SECURE RETIREMENT

We must keep state pensions as defined benefit programs. Switching to a defined contribution program, as some have proposed, would create two classes of teachers in a field where equality and teamwork are essential; such a policy would drive away good potential teachers from the field and tell current teachers we don't value the profession. There is evidence that defined contribution doesn't work in education, and states which have tried it — like West Virginia — are returning to defined benefits after experiencing problems. Defined benefits are simply more stable for retirement in a rocky economy. We need to build safety nets, not cut them.

We must ensure a safe and secure retirement for all current and future public school employees, without compromising funding for the programs directly benefiting our students.