State Sen. Daniel Laughlin Voted for Voucher Bill, Defunding Public Schools

The Republican candidate for Senate District 49 is incumbent Sen. Daniel Laughlin. According to his campaign website, Sen. Laughlin believes that “the very foundation of society is education.” He states that “[w]e must start with the basic contract between society and our children that each child has access to a quality Pre-K through 12 education” and that “[d]ecades of underfunding threatened to shutter Erie’s schools.” 

Despite this apparent concern for underfunded schools, Sen. Laughlin has also supported school vouchers, voting for HB 479, a bill that would “provide taxpayer-funded private school tuition vouchers to children in low-performing school districts,” according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. According to The Tribune-Democrat, “[c]ritics fear vouchers will take funds away from public schools.”

Jim Wertz, the Democratic candidate for Senate District 49, lists “funding education” as one of his top priorities. Wertz, a teacher, says that he “knows the real costs of education” and that “[s]chool funding for pre-K through high school sets the path for success.” According to his campaign website, “[a]ccess to higher education, including the Erie County Community College, trade schools, and union apprenticeships expands professional opportunities and strengthens our workforce, building a stronger economy and a stronger community.”