Shapiro avoids rebuke from Pa. Democrats over school vouchers after national Dems get involved

HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro avoided a rebuke from his own party over school vouchers. This time, at least.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party postponed voting on a resolution to formally declare the party opposed to private school vouchers — a priority for Shapiro, a Democrat in his first term.

State Sen. Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia), who chairs the state party, said the rules committee tabled the anti-voucher resolution after the Democratic National Committee reached out to him with concerns that the party would appear divided going into the hotly contested 2024 election.

“Right now, what we need to be focused on is winning and beating the Republicans,” Street added.

Shapiro broke with his party earlier this year by working with Republican senators to craft a $100 million school voucher program. He later vetoed that same program, due to pushback from members of his own party from the one-seat Democratic majority in the state House. It led to a monthlong budget negotiation breakdown that didn’t end until last week, when legislators finalized the last pieces of the state budget.

Several Democratic committee members introduced a resolution at the party’s September meeting to criticize Shapiro and reaffirm the party’s commitment to public education. It was tabled at the time, with an agreement that the drafters of the resolution would work with committee staff to edit the original language that targeted Shapiro.

A DNC official said the national committee does not tell its state parties or members how to vote on resolutions.

However, Pennsylvania’s party chair said the resolution was again tabled Saturday at the request of the DNC. National Democrats feared a rift between the top Democratic official in Pennsylvania and his own party would look bad for Democrats in the crucial battleground state next year, committee members said.

Had the party approved the resolution Saturday as expected, the party would appear divided with its top state official, Street said. That’s opposite to the reality in the state party, which is unified in reelecting President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, whom the party unanimously endorsed Saturday.

“We understand the moment and we understand the mission, which is to make sure that Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda don’t win,” Street added.

Street declined to say who from the DNC reached out to him to table the resolution.

Kristy Moore, a Democratic state committee member and public school teacher in Lancaster County, said she appreciates that Democrats can disagree on issues. But everyone should agree to oppose vouchers.

“Our public schools and our students need to come first,” Moore said. “It’s always been our position that we are pro-public education and anti-school voucher. I don’t understand why we could not come together over that.”

The drafters of the resolution said they’d continue to advocate for its approval at all future state committee meetings, including those in 2024. They noted that the national party already opposes school vouchers as part of its platform.

Chuck Pascal, one of the drafters of the resolution and the chair of the Armstrong County Democratic Party, said he has opposed school vouchers since former Gov. Tom Ridge first introduced them in 1995.

“It’s still bad policy, and I don’t care who the governor is,” Pascal added. “We’re not here to have a slavish agreement with any elected official.”

Republican leaders in Harrisburg have tried for years to create a program using state dollars to send students in low-income areas to private schools to give parents more choices of where they can send their students. While most Democrats advocate for teachers’ unions and public education, school vouchers remain a complicated issue for some Philadelphia Democrats, who recognize the many challenges in the chronically underfunded School District of Philadelphia and want students to have more opportunities to succeed.

The General Assembly approved a 40% increase, or $150 million, to the state’s existing tax-credit scholarship programs that allow donors to pay less in taxes if they fund tuition for students at private schools, as part of an expansive budget deal.