Pennsylvania Education Reform: Democrat Amen Brown Could Be Key Vote

The school buses have now long revved up and are rolling, and so too is the prolonged Keystone State battle for education reform. It’s now in a political Fall Offensive phase, as the Pennsylvania legislature — squeezed by the dynamics in the Democratic Party, which has temporarily lost its razor-thin control of the House, and the hardball strategizing of the state’s pro-reform Republican leadership — must finalize a budget which will, or won’t, in the end include funding for Lifeline Scholarships. That’s the popular program abandoned this summer by its once-surprising political supporter, the veto-pen-wielding liberal Democrat, Governor Josh Shapiro.

Part of the drama is the balance of power. A special election takes place today to break the 101–101 deadlock between the parties. It was created in mid July, when progressive state representative Sara Innamorato resigned her strong-Democrat seat to focus on a forthcoming Allegheny County executive election.

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Jack Fowler

Jack Fowler is a contributing editor at National Review and a senior philanthropy consultant at American Philanthropic.

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The school buses have now long revved up and are rolling, and so too is the prolonged Keystone State battle for education reform. It’s now in a political Fall Offensive phase, as the Pennsylvania legislature — squeezed by the dynamics in the Democratic Party, which has temporarily lost its razor-thin control of the House, and the hardball strategizing of the state’s pro-reform Republican leadership — must finalize a budget which will, or won’t, in the end include funding for Lifeline Scholarships. That’s the popular program abandoned this summer by its once-surprising political supporter, the veto-pen-wielding liberal Democrat, Governor Josh Shapiro.

Part of the drama is the balance of power. A special election takes place today to break the 101–101 deadlock between the parties. It was created in mid July, when progressive state representative Sara Innamorato resigned her strong-Democrat seat to focus on a forthcoming Allegheny County executive election.