Keystone Republicans look like Keystone Kops on education reform.
The next time some Republican wonders why the African-American community doesn't
just come to its senses and start to vote the GOP ticket, point him to Pennsylvania.
This past November, Republican Tom Corbett successfully campaigned for governor on a
platform that included giving Pennsylvania moms and dads more options for where they
can send their children to school. Given that he enjoys Republican majorities in both the
House and Senate, prospects for making good on this promise were, as the Philadelphia
Inquirer recently put it, "once considered a slam dunk." With just two days before the
legislature takes off for the summer, however, the GOP leadership is sending mixed
signals. As we go to press, school choice is in political limbo.
At the heart of this debate is Senate Bill 1. Co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Jeffrey
Piccola and Democrat Anthony Williams, it would allow parents of a needy child to take
the money the state pays to their home school district and apply it to the public, private
or parochial school of their choice. The plan would be phased in and expanded over three
years. It further includes a $25 million increase in a popular state program that gives tax
credits to businesses that donate money for scholarships.
In their press release announcing SB 1—the bill number is meant to reflect its priority—
the two senators likened it to a rescue plan for people trapped inside a "burning building."
By that they mean the tens of thousands of school children now trapped in one of
Pennsylvania's many failure factories, where violence and low achievement are often the
rule.
If you go by their words, every Republican leader in Harrisburg supports choice and
competition. So why are they scrambling, just two days before a big budget vote and the
end of the legislative session? The answer is a classic Republican screw-up.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has called education reform the 'civil rights issue of the
21st century.'
First, there is Gov. Corbett. Yes, he's thumped for choice publicly, including a major
address delivered last month at the National Policy Summit of the American Federation
for Children. Manifestly, however, he has not done enough to get GOP leaders together
to hash out a bill they can pass. The result has been a steady ratcheting down of the
substance of what (if any) measure will make it through this week.
Second, there's the senate. Though it has the votes to pass SB 1, senators want to be sure
that it will go through the House before they commit. Their hesitation reflects one of the
ugly realities of the issue: Many Republican voters, especially those in the suburbs, do
not like school choice because they see it as more black kids in their schools.
Finally, there's the Pennsylvania House, and especially Majority Leader Mike Turzai.
Mr. Turzai's waffling is the main reason school choice has languished in a Republican-
dominated legislature. That in turn provoked a grass-roots campaign of pressure from
Pennsylvanians tired of business as usual. Last week FreedomWorks—a tea party group
headed by former Congressman Dick Armey—chimed in with emails and tweets urging
voters to call Mr. Turzai and make themselves heard.
Mr. Turzai's spokesman responded by denouncing the pressure campaign against his
boss. He points to other reform measures that Mr. Turzai has supported, including
another choice bill and expansion of the scholarship tax credits. The House leader's
defenders also say that he cannot be blamed for not pushing a bill that the Senate itself
has yet to pass.
Certainly politics is the art of the possible. Certainly some compromise would probably
have been necessary to get school choice through the state legislature. The truth,
however, is that every day SB 1 languishes, the possibilities narrow.
Recently the governor seems to have awoken from his slumber. Probably he realizes
that voters will not be concerned with the inside baseball when they assign blame.
Most simply will not understand why a party that holds all the power in the state capital
cannot deliver on something its leaders said was a priority. It's not the first time, either:
Republican Gov. Tom Ridge also failed to get school choice through in the late 1990s,
when he too had a GOP majority in both Pennsylvania houses.
In the end, it's a good lesson about the importance of delivering what you promise.
For years, Republicans have rightly pointed out how Democrats have transformed our
public schools into jobs programs at the expense of students. Especially in big cities
such as Philadelphia, the students hurt most by the miserable status quo have been
disproportionately African American.
On the campaign trail last fall, Mr. Corbett seemed to appreciate this fact when he called
education reform "the civil rights issue of the 21st century." Many African Americans,
including President Obama, agree with that, though they remain suspicious of such talk
when it emanates from Republicans. When you look at how GOP leaders in Harrisburg
have handled the issue, who can blame them?
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