The data is clear. The Courts have ruled. The defendants in the case didn’t appeal the decision.
This Commonwealth has systematically discriminated against kids in low-income, Black and brown communities for decades.
How can anyone look the kids and parents of this commonwealth in the eye and say, “I oppose fully and fairly funding your education?”
The only answer the opponents have given is that “we can’t afford it.”
Yet there is $14 billion in the state’s bank accounts that would cover at least the first four years of the program, while leaving billions in the rainy day fund.
To that, the opponents say we can’t use that money for recurring expenses.
Yet yesterday they voted for a proposal that would create a 2.7 billion reduction in recurring revenues and soon use up the entire surplus.
So now there is no debate about whether we have the money to fund the seven year plan fully and fairly fund our schools.
We do. Everyone, Democrat and Republican, now agree. We have the money.
The only question is whether we want to spend the money we already have on meeting our constitutional and moral obligation to fund our schools. Or whether we want to give more tax cuts to the richest Pennsylvanians.
To those who say we need tax cuts to secure economic growth, let me just point out we have reduced corporate taxes by $5 billion per year over the last 30 years–revenues that could pay for almost the entire 7 year plan. Yet those tax cuts have left us with the slow growth and declining population about which Republicans complain.
What will create economic and population growth is investing in our kids, the future workers of Pennsylvania. Educate our kids, give them the tools to succeed, and then you will see people and businesses flock to the state and our economy grow faster than ever.
This is the choice before us. We either fix our schools and give our kids and our economy a bright future. Or we continue down the path we have been on for 30 years and see our kids and our economy struggle in darkness.
Tell our legislators:
Choose light over darkness. Choose our kids.
