This coming November, every seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will be up for election. This past year, some of the current occupants of those seats have consistently voted to place the funding of public school students into the hands of private entrepreneurs. Every State legislator has as much of an effect on your tax dollars as those House members who represent your local district. Below is a list of those legislators in the Delaware Valley who have voted against keeping public education in the public’s hands, as well as their challengers this coming November, and their challengers’ positions on education. The campaign season has just begun, so please expect many more of these boxes to fill out as the year progresses.
Name County/ Counties HB-357 1(see footnote)HB-800 2(see footnote)ChallengerDoes challneger support full/fair funding?Does challenger support charter reform?Stephen Barrar**Chester/ Delaware YYGene Digirolamo** BucksYYHarold Hayes***Frank Farry BucksYY Tim Hennessey Chester/ MontgomeryYY John Lawrence Chester/ LancasterYYThomas Murt**Montgomery/ PhiladelphiaYYNancy GuenstYTodd PolinchockBucksYYGary SpillaneChristopher QuinnDelawareYYMeghan SchroederBucksYYMarlene KatzYJustin Simmons**Lehigh/ Montgomery/ NorthamptonY*Kevin BrancoYYCraig StaatsBucksYYTodd StephensMontgomeryYYJonathan KassaWendi ThomasBucksYYMarcy Toepel**MontgomeryYYJill DenninYYMartina WhitePhiladelphiaYY* Not Present **Retiring ***Special ElectionHB-357: Would allow poorly performing charters to expand without proper oversight
HB-800: Would add $100/yr. to the Educational Improvement Tax Credits .