My View of Our Educational System

By Alfonso Gambone, Jr.

Education should prepare our children to become productive members of society and not dependent on it. A family's economic status should not dictate the level of their child's ability to achieve academically.

My view on education is simple and straightforward--support great schools, close low performing ones. Taxpayers deserve the efficient use of their dollars and the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse.

Education should prepare our children to become productive members of society and not dependent on it. A family's economic status should not dictate the level of their child's ability to achieve academically. It is clear that at this point in our state's history our educational system is failing our kids.

One-third of all Pennsylvania's students score below the standard in reading and math. Approximately 30,000 students drop out of our high schools each year and never earn a diploma. As a criminal defense attorney, I have witnessed, firsthand, the correlation between a person who drops out of high school and the likelihood that this same person will commit a crime later in life. Every child deserves the right to attend a good school, staffed with motivated teachers who will inspire children to achieve their full potential; anything less is unacceptable.

We need to properly fund our educational system but it is equally important that our state government ensures that taxpayers' dollars are spent efficiently and effectively. Traditionally, our state has funded schools and not its students. While this model may work in those schools operating well, it is not working in all of them. We have some outstanding schools in this state that we should recognize and replicate those institutions. These educators and administrators are producing results. In those schools, however, where they are not meeting the standard, we need to identify the reasons, provide them with an opportunity to make changes, or provide their students with an opportunity to move on with their educational goals.

For those schools which consistently fail to meet the appropriate standard, we need to make educational funds portable so that funds follow the student, not the school. While I am a product of private education, I firmly believe in a strong public education system. While I do believe in vouchers to those students whose schools are failing them, I do not support the blanket use of vouchers. I am, however, supportive of providing families with choices regardless of a school's performance.

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) provides families with this choice by providing scholarships to students to pursue other educational goals and advanced learning opportunities. The decision to attend a private school is personal and these families deserve this option. If a family wants to pursue another educational option, public or private, our state should provide a means for that option.

In addition to private options, charter schools provide opportunities for students of failing schools and also those who may learn differently. While I support charter schools, I do not support an education system which refuses to hold these new institutions to the proper standards. We need to therefore establish a statewide charter school approval board and an oversight committee dedicated to monitoring and, if needed, intervention. As with traditional public schools, funds should follow students.

My view on education is simple and straightforward--support great schools, close low performing ones. Taxpayers deserve the efficient use of their dollars and the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse. In closing, it is important to keep in mind that regardless of the educational program or model, our focus must always be students. We need to dedicate ourselves to quality educational institutions which are held accountable and that are transparent to our citizens.

For more information on my views and our campaign visit http://WWW.VOTEGAMBONE.COM