Teachers Decry 'Extreme' $12 Billion Cuts in Mastriano Education Plan

PENNSYVLANIA — Pennsylvania's teachers union is sounding the warning bell on the education proposal put forth by Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, claiming that the plan would result in mass layoffs and enormous cuts to critical funding statewide.

Mastriano proposes eliminating property taxes, and slicing education funding from $19,000 on average, per student, to $9,000. Funding would be provided directly to parents via "Education Opportunity Accounts," and families could then decide whether they want a public, private, or charter school, or another option.

But according to an analysis by the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the plan would mean a 33 percent overall cut in public school revenue, or a $12.75 billion loss. It would also mean about 118,704 layoffs, or 49 percent of all employees in public schools around the state.

"This man would single handedly destroy public education in Pennsylvania," argued progressive organization Flip the PA Legislature.

While details remain vague, Mastriano has been a leading figure in the populist pushback against certain school policies and curriculum seen as "secular" or "liberal" — battles that played out in dramatic fashion in school board meetings last school year. His education cuts are part of a broader effort to obstensibly empower families and, as he puts it, "shift funding to students instead of systems."

"Parents are pushing back against radical ideologies that are being taught to our kids in public school," his campaign shared in social media messaging last week. "Parents have a right to have a say in their childrens' education, get their kids out of failing schools and into better ones, and find better alternatives. Parents are in charge, not the government..."

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As they eschew details on their education proposal, Mastriano and his supporters have increasingly dialed up the rhetoric on ideological issues in schools. A group of 21 GOP lawmakers in the state House recently called for the resignation of the Secretary of Education over the state website. They alleged the site, which explains terms like transgender, assigned gender, binary gender and includes links to federal agency pages on gender-based violence and equality, is a form of "Gender Theory Student Indoctrination."

The PSEA added that the ratio of students to teachers would more than double under Mastriano's proposal. In order to remain functional, essential services would need to be eliminated. "Programs are going to be lost and class sizes are going to go through the roof," PSEA President Rich Askey said in a statement.

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Heavily populated areas in eastern Pennsylvania bear a brunt of the cuts, with the region boasting most of the districts in the bracket with the largest funding cuts, of 41 to 67 percent.

The union's full analysis is online here, and includes a map that details the impact of the plan by school district.