Students Need Scholarships, Not Sympathy

Gov. Tom Wolf’s insistence on higher taxes blocks state funding from school districts and jeopardizes private school scholarships for thousands of low- and middle-income students. Faced with the prospect of an emergency funding bill, amazingly, Wolf still threatens to veto and prolong the stalemate.

From CBS Pittsburgh:

Wolf says he is, ‘so sympathetic and saddened,’ that some schools may actually shut down after the first of the year.

Pennsylvania students need more than Wolf’s sympathy. They need state funds to be released and tax credit scholarships to be authorized. Students—like Kaiden, Zayda, and James—deserve swift action to ensure uninterrupted education in 2016.

Since July, Wolf refuses to release approval letters that allow businesses to donate private school scholarships through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs. Time is running out. If businesses are not authorized to receive credits by Dec 31, scholarship-granting organizations could lose out on an entire year of funding.

Should the governor be presented with legislation to release over $10 billion to public schools—and clear authorization to process tax credit scholarships—he will be the only obstacle between schools and state funding. It’s time for action, not sympathetic rhetoric.