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VOTER SURVEY
Conducted by the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign for
2008 Pennsylvania Primary Election Legislative Candidates
| Name: |
P.J. Best |
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Candidate for: |
Pennsylvania House |
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| Party: |
Democrat |
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District: |
118 (Luzerne County) |
1. Do you agree that the General Assembly should recognize that every child in Pennsylvania has a fundamental right to a quality public education consistent with the K-12 academic standards enacted by the State Board of Education?
__X___ YES _____ NO _____ DON'T KNOW
Comments (50 words or less)
Publicly funded education is the cornerstone of the Pennsylvania economy. Educated students become productive members of the workforce.
2. Do you agree that the General Assembly has the duty to provide for a statewide K-12 funding system that assures adequate educational resources are available to support a quality public education for every child in every district consistent with the K-12 academic standards enacted by the State Board of Education?
__X___ YES _____ NO _____ DON'T KNOW
Comments (50 words or less)
Without providing adequate educational resources, the General Assembly would be denying the students their fundamental right to a quality public education.
3. Do you agree that the Pennsylvania Legislature must significantly increase state funding to provide for a fair share of statewide K-12 educational expenses to be paid with state funds?
__X___ YES _____ NO _____ DON'T KNOW
Comments (50 words or less)
Local school funding leaves open the possibility of inequity among the districts and provides and undue burden on the localities. When schools are funded primarily by localities, more affluent districts will inevitably have more resources. If a quality public education is a fundamental right, there must be equity among districts.
4. Do you agree that the Pennsylvania Legislature should continue to significantly increase state funding to increase access for young children in Pennsylvania to high-quality pre-K programs?
__X___ YES _____ NO _____ DON'T KNOW
Comments (50 words or less)
Pre-K programs are an essential element of public education which should be afforded to all students – not simply the wealthy students.
5. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Pennsylvania's system of funding public education? What should the Pennsylvania Legislature do, if anything, to improve the system of funding public education?
Comments (75 words or less)
As I mentioned above, the burden of localities to fund school districts is the biggest weakness of the funding system. Funding must be provided primarily by the state in order to achieve equitable education among districts. Furthermore, funding based upon PSSA scores is limiting the ability of the districts and the teachers to provide a quality education. I am opposed to funding based on all standardized tests.
6. What is your vision of the public education opportunity that the General Assembly should ensure be available to every child in Pennsylvania and what will you do to accomplish that goal?
Comments (75 words or less)
We must find a way to relieve the burden on localities and shift to a more centralized school funding system. Public education in Pennsylvania should be top notch no matter where in the Commonwealth the school is located. We must improve the quality of public education for all students while remaining equitable among districts and fair to the taxpayers. The sales tax was intended to fund education. This should be examined again.
7. Is there anything else that you will do to strengthen Pennsylvania's public education system?
Comments (75 words or less)
Funding alone cannot improve the education. The Commonwealth must provide resources within the Department of Education to assist the districts in establishing an effective curriculum. We must also look to technology to reduce the cost of education while simultaneously improving the quality.
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