K-12 Education

By Joseph M. Haas

By failing to honor Harrisburg's duty to provide a robust public education system, more and more young Pennsylvanians find themselves less prepared to embark on their journey to higher education. Often our universities and community colleges are burdened with teaching remedial subjects that students should have mastered in high school, making higher education less valuable and more expensive in the process. For those who choose not to pursue a traditional 4-year degree, our current vocational programs are inadequate for producing the skilled workers that Pennsylvania needs.

Local school districts, deprived of state funding through spending cuts and wasteful initiatives such as charter schools, have scrambled to fill the void. Unfortunately, this frequently takes place in the form of property tax increases, disproportionally hurting Pennsylvania's senior citizens and others who live on fixed incomes. Worse still, this has galvanized radical forces across the state who are committed to destroying public education as we know it.

Joe will fight to ensure that Harrisburg does its part in providing every Pennsylvanian with a quality education.