Rep. Brian Munroe Says Education is One of His Top Priorities

The Democratic candidate for House District 144 is incumbent Rep. Brian Munroe. Rep. Munroe says that education is one of his top priorities. According to his campaign website, Rep. Munroe states, “[t]here needs to be a major overhaul in how our schools are funded. In my home district of Centennial, local property taxes account for between 75-80% of funding. This is simply not sustainable. Firstly, we need to overhaul how our state funds and approves Charter Schools, especially Cyber Charters.”

In June, Rep. Munroe voted to increase school funding and provide property tax relief for Pennsylvania homeowners.

HB 2370 would, among other things, allocate $5.1 billion to chronically underfunded schools and give back $1 billion in property tax relief to Pennsylvania families.

Rep. Munroe says that he supports student loan debt relief and exploring free community college, stating he believes that “easy access to a college education and technical training schools is a conduit to a stronger economy” and that he knows “how college debt can set you back a decade before you enter the workforce.” He also states that vocational-technical schools “deserve proper funding.”

The Republican candidate is Daniel McPhillips. According to his campaign website, “Dan has a passion for local schools and has worked hard to be a positive impact on the next generation.” He attended both public and private schools. 

McPhillips says on his campaign website that he supports “fully funding public schools.” He also appears to imply support for school choice, saying he supports “additional money for kids trapped in any failing schools so that families can choose the best public and private schools for their children.” It is also worth noting that he would be joining the Pennsylvania House Republican legislators who voted in support of a school voucher program, which would divert funding away from public schools to private and charter schools.