Where Shapiro and Garrity Split on Schools, Vouchers and College Costs
HARRISBURG — With three weeks until Nov. 3, the sharpest education divide in Pennsylvania’s governor’s race comes down to two questions: how much the state should pay for public schools, and whether public money should help families choose private ones.
Pennsylvania will spend nearly 40 percent of its $50.8 billion budget on education this year, according to Spotlight PA, making schools one of the largest pieces of every Harrisburg spending fight.
Incumbent Democrat Josh Shapiro has backed big spending increases, particularly for the state’s most inadequately funded districts, signing budgets that sent nearly $2 billion more to Pennsylvania’s poorest schools. At the same time, he has supported a taxpayer-funded private school voucher program that many Democrats oppose.
Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity wants to reexamine that spending and strongly supports public school alternatives. On higher education, she emphasizes tuition freezes, transparency and industrial job creation to keep graduates in Pennsylvania.
The two clashed on the issue in their debate. Garrity said “parents, not bureaucrats, know the best way to educate their kids.” Shapiro answered, “Put the bill on my desk and I’ll sign it into law,” adding, “It’s both-and.”
A live decision is pending on $1,700 federal education tax credits that families could use for private school, tutoring or homeschooling. Shapiro said he is “very open” to opting Pennsylvania in and expects an announcement in the coming weeks. Garrity said she would opt in “on day one,” calling it “hundreds of millions of dollars of educational opportunity for our kids.”
On higher education, Shapiro’s platform centers on state coordination, expanded grants and degree attainment, while Garrity stresses tuition freezes. Pennsylvania ranks 46th nationally in per-student state appropriations for public colleges, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.
The latest Quinnipiac poll gives Shapiro a 25-point lead, 59 to 34. Voters settle the education debate Nov. 3.