Common Sense Weekly

Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.



Josh Shapiro Blinks on Vouchers Again

There’s no lack of money for schools in the budget that Pennsylvania lawmakers passed Thursday. But for students who want to get out of the public system, tough luck: School vouchers didn’t make the deal. What’s going on, Josh Shapiro?

The Democratic Governor could have chosen to back a Republican Senate scholarship plan providing thousands of dollars for low-income students in poorly performing schools to attend private options. That would have put some action behind the lip service he’s given vouchers since his 2022 campaign.

But last year he killed the vouchers to appease House Democrats, who oppose them, and this year he didn’t spend political capital to sway his fellow party members. “The Governor was not willing to push or help with that, wasn’t going to use his bully pulpit to help us get that through the House,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward at a press conference. “I am disappointed that we weren’t able to get something done for the children who are trapped in failing schools and who continue failing.”



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Shapiro Fails to Deliver on Campaign Promises Yet Again, Instead Delivers Massively Flawed Budget

The Pennsylvania legislature passed a seriously flawed 2024–25 state budget deal. The deal fails to address the educational needs of students trapped in failing schools, doesn’t control spending to avoid tax hikes, and misses opportunities to improve the economy through meaningful tax and regulatory reform.

The budget includes a spending increase of 4.9 percent, which would drain state reserves and position families for tax hikes in 2026. This deal creates a structural deficit of more than $3.6 billion, leaving Pennsylvania families and businesses bracing for the impact.



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Education Needs More Choices—Not More Money

Gov. Josh Shapiro and his administration chide the Pennsylvania legislature for hoarding cash with spending sights

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aimed at draining the commonwealth’s $7 billion Rainy Day Fund

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. However, Harrisburg’s budget “two-step” tends to forget others sitting on large reserves.

Pennsylvania school districts continue to stockpile massive reserves while lobbying for more tax dollars. Recent data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education

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(PDE) shows district reserve funds reached an all-time high of $6.8 billion in 2022–23, up $836 million from the previous year.

PDE also reported the total amount of tax dollars held outside reserves in special funds for capital expenditures, athletic facilities, and debt service.



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Teachers’ Union President Is Just Another Political Boss

Her video

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has gone viral. Teachers Union President Becky Pringle addressed the union’s national convention this past weekend. She’s become an Internet “sensation” because of her 66-second closing, filled with yelling, pounding the podium, and spewing empty political word salads — think Kamala Harris meets megachurch preacher meets The Office’s Dwight Schrute.

“We will do the work. We can do the work. We must do the work…We have to win all the things. All the things. All the things. All things for our colleagues.”

But the scary viral closing is not what struck me.



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