Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
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Gov. Josh Shapiro Wants to Spend More Than Taxpayers Can Pay
The weather isn’t the only thing heating up this May. Negotiations are underway for Pennsylvania’s Fiscal Year 2025–26 state budget. These negotiations determine how Pennsylvania uses the dollars in its General Fund, the state’s version of a checking account.
Most state revenue flows into the General Fund, and most state spending comes from it, making budget negotiations an annual, and inevitably contentious, highlight of the year in Harrisburg. But this annual tradition, which always results in increased spending, has pushed Pennsylvania into a fiscally untenable situation.
Pennsylvania Needs Genuine Election Integrity Reform
Imagine that you are at the liquor store but forgot your ID. Don’t worry, your friend can sign an affidavit saying you’re over 21. Sounds ridiculous? That’s because it is. Yet, that’s the essence of the latest voter ID proposal in Pennsylvania. Vouching for a friend wouldn’t fly at the state liquor store — nor should it at the ballot box.
Numerous efforts to improve Pennsylvania’s problematic voting laws have centered on meaningful voter ID. This election integrity reform is a simple way to make voting easy and cheating hard. It balances access with security.
PA Families Need Two School Choice Victories
The following month could determine whether tens of thousands of Pennsylvania students get ahead – or continue to fall behind.
That’s the reality as both Congress and our state legislature debate historic school-choice legislation. Both programs – one federal, one state – would empower Pennsylvania families to send their kids to better schools. Both deserve to pass. Yet both face an uncertain path forward.
What Happens in Philly Schools’ “Rubber Rooms?”
What happens in Philadelphia schools stays in Philadelphia schools — or so it seems based on the District’s lack of transparency.
As The Inquirer uncovered recently, the Philadelphia School District has detained employees in “rubber rooms.” These windowless rooms, formally known as “reassignment rooms,” house District employees under investigation for misconduct.
The District has been tight-lipped about what happens in these rooms, but it isn’t productive. According to reports, employees in the rubber room receive a full salary and benefits without any work to do.
School Choice Returns to Harrisburg
School choice is, once again, the talk of the town in Harrisburg.
Hundreds of students, parents, educators, lawmakers, and activists crowded the Capitol steps, rallying support for meaningful education reform. Meanwhile, inside the building, lawmakers advanced one such reform.
