House Democrats Need to Get Back to Work

Originally published at Delaware Valley Journal

Pennsylvania House Democrats have been acting busy during the state budget impasse—an impasse their own majority leader, Rep. Matt Bradford, inexplicably denied existed in the first place—by taking a dog-and-pony show on the road. In an awkward display of performative politics, House Democrats orchestrated several rallies across the state to “sound an SOS on education to Save Our Schools.”

Note they didn’t name their rallies “Save Our Students.” Instead of addressing the urgent need for improved instruction to fix abysmal proficiency rates for kids in failing schools, House Democrats focused primarily on buildings and facilities. During one rally in front of South Philadelphia High School, state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler lamented about a 70-year-old plumbing system and a 30-year-old boiler.

The message of this rally was particularly confusing. Rally speakers demanded increased school funding. But that’s precisely what is already in the bipartisan general appropriations bill recently signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro. This budget outline provides more than $700 million in additional funding for public schools—an 8 percent increase from last year’s appropriation. The clamoring to reverse “decades of disinvestment” while celebrating record increases is reminiscent of the car-chasing dog not knowing what to do with it once caught.

Read more at Delaware Valley Journal