GOOD MORNING! Welcome to the first installment of our monthly edu-lection newsletter, a new feature of our POLITICO series “All Policy is Local: Education.” Over the next five months, we’ll keep you in the know on all the ways education plays out in key races at the local, state and federal levels. We’ve got a full slate of stories planned, too, so check in often at the series home page for updates: http://politico.pro/SQHp9R. You might also want to bookmark the POLITICO Polling Center, which tracks the latest in races across the country: http://politi.co/1lOM3kb.
This month, we’re going to take a close look at the governor’s races. We’ve already seen nasty nicknames flying, attack ads airing, money pouring in…and cute kids being used as backdrops in TV spots. In other words: Buckle up.
OUR FIRST STOP: PENNSYLVANIA, where polls show Republican Gov. Tom Corbett is in trouble – and unions smell blood. The American Federation of Teachers and its local affiliates have been relentless in attacking Corbett all spring and a senior AFT official told us this race is their No. 1 target for the fall.
– Education polls as a top issue for Pennsylvania voters and unions see it as a huge vulnerability for Corbett. They accuse him of slashing $1 billion in education spending to pay for a tax cut and point to districts across the state that have laid off teachers, increased class sizes, eliminated full-day kindergarten and more. Democratic challenger Tom Wolf has put forth a detailed education agenda [http://bit.ly/1llmers and also http://bit.ly/1q9aFF8 ] that draws sharp contrasts with Corbett. In the K-12 arena, he wants to crack down on the state’s low-performing online charter schools. In higher ed, he’d like to offer in-state tuition and extensive support for veterans at state colleges and universities. Wolf also wants to build partnerships with the private sector to provide more financial aid and counseling for low-income and first-generation college students.
– Corbett rejects the slam that he’s cut funding. On the contrary, he notes that Pennsylvania is spending more than ever on basic education. (His opponents say that’s because the total sum includes mandatory state contributions to the underfunded teacher pension plan – money that technically supports education but doesn’t go into the classroom.) Corbett’s campaign has sought to win over parents by reminding them – in this video [http://bit.ly/1m58V02 ] and others – that the silver-haired governor used to work as a public school teacher (for one year, before he went to law school). Corbett has also proposed a big jump in education funding in the coming budget, including $25 million for college scholarships for the middle class.