Issue Position: Free, High-Quality Public Education - Pre-K Through College

Issue Position

Education is the cornerstone of a healthy and thriving society. As a proud Woodland Hills graduate, I am a testament to the impact a quality public education can have on a child's future success and trajectory. I understand that a quality public education is the gateway to upward mobility, and by extension, to economic stability, a longer and healthier life, and overall stronger communities.

Every child in Pennsylvania deserves access to a first-rate, free and public education, irrespective of their zip code or socio-economic background. Unfortunately, our funding mechanisms for public education are deeply inequitable, leaving working-class communities behind.

As State Representative I will push for:

►Equitable funding for our schools. Pennsylvania must abandon its reliance on the property tax to fund its public schools, and more toward a fair funding formula that guarantees that children will not be punished for growing up in the "wrong" zip code.

►Universal, free pre-kindergarten, including early childcare.

►Dramatically expanding teacher-training programs, with a focus on generating high-quality teachers with cultural competency among an increasingly diverse student population.

►Reversing the shameful abandonment of our state's system of public higher education. Once a lifeline for working-class students across Pennsylvania, our state's public colleges and universities have been starved for resources, with steep funding cuts over the past few decades. We need to cut tuition and improve quality - and, ultimately, move toward free, public higher education for all Pennsylvanians.

►Strict oversight and controls on charter schools. Our state government exercises virtually no oversight of charter schools, giving a free rein to operators and enabling serious abuses of the system. Private individuals should not profit off of our children, and we must not allow charters to drain money from our public schools. I'll push for strict oversight, and for the closure of underperforming charters.

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