Democrat incumbent Rep. James Haddock is running for reelection in House District 118. Rep. Haddock says that funding public education is one of his top priorities. According to his campaign website, “[f]or six years, Jim served as Pittston Area School Board Director, where he fought to increase public education funding through grants and additional allocations from Harrisburg. Jim will keep up the fight to secure more funding allocations for our schools and hold the line on property taxes.”

In June, Rep. Haddock voted for HB 2370, which would increase funding for local schools and provide property tax relief to Pennsylvania homeowners.

Haddock says he supports building STEM programs and partnering with vocational schools and local businesses to expand post-high school pathways. 

The Republican candidate in the race is McKayla Kathio. There is very little public information about Kathio’s position on education. Kathio’s campaign website is light on the topic, only stating that “McKayla is committed to bringing Northeast PA values back to Harrisburg and will advocate for commonsense solutions that improve safety, education, and economic opportunities for all families.” 

If elected, Kathio would be joining the Republican legislators who voted for a school voucher bill and against an education funding reform bill.