{"id":2265698,"date":"2024-06-12T08:13:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T12:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dozens-of-black-pastors-ask-shapiro-to-embrace-school-choice\/"},"modified":"2024-06-12T08:20:45","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T12:20:45","slug":"dozens-of-black-pastors-ask-shapiro-to-embrace-school-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dozens-of-black-pastors-ask-shapiro-to-embrace-school-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Numerous black pastors urge Shapiro to support school choice"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdozens-of-black-pastors-ask-shapiro-to-embrace-school-choice%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2265698&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>More than 50 religious leaders from Black Pastors United for \u200dEducation submitted an open letter to Pennsylvania Governor Josh \u2062Shapiro, pressing him to\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-donalds-speaks-out-against-democrats\/\" title=\"Rep. Donalds speaks out against Democrats\">support school choice<\/a> and \u200cprioritize \u2064educational freedom. They \u200curged the \u200bgovernor\u2064 to treat education as a bipartisan issue, \u200bto\u200b move\u200d past political \u2064obstacles,\u2064 and to \u200dfully\u2062 support and fund opportunities that enhance educational freedom. The \u200bappeal coincides with public\u2063 endorsements \u2064of school vouchers by celebrities like Jay-Z, and legislative debates concerning the funding of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-back-to-school-season-celebrate-the-boom-of-educational-choice\/\" title=\"Celebrate the educational choice boom this Back-To-School season.\">charter \u2063schools<\/a>. Amidst\u2064 these developments, \u2063Governor Shapiro faced criticism for retracting initial support for school choice, which led to a significant budget delay. The pastors advocated for\u200d increased funding for \u200cpublic schools, the\u200c establishment of Lifeline Scholarships for students in underperforming schools, and opposition to budget cuts affecting online\u200d charter schools \u2062that cater to a large number of low-income and minority students. The group emphasized the need for Pennsylvania to become a\u2064 leader in providing educational opportunities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2014 More than 50 religious leaders sent an open letter on Tuesday to Gov. Josh Shapiro asking him to support school choice and educational freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Black Pastors United for Education, the nonprofit group, urged Shapiro to \u201cmake\u00a0education a non-partisan issue, boldly dismiss the politics that prevent progress, and\u00a0comprehensively fund and secure educational freedom and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/12QhVrGcGzgN_rPnaenFCKz2Oub5Ng5cU\/view\">open letter<\/a><\/strong> comes as Jay-Z announced <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/jay-zs-school-choice-initiative-draws-left-wing-fury\/\">his support for school vouchers<\/a><\/strong> in Pennsylvania and House Democrats passed a bill to rework the student funding formula that would <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_d358642a-2813-11ef-b9c6-43277802eb80.html\">hit charter schools hard<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Shapiro\u2019s first year as governor, his initial support for school choice sparked a months-long budget delay after he walked it back, with Republicans accusing him of breaking a promise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is time for Pennsylvania to lead our nation in educational opportunity,\u201d\u00a0Black Pastors United for Education argued.\u00a0\u201cWe must work intentionally, collaboratively, strategically, and compassionately for our children and our state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The group asked Shapiro to \u201cfully and properly fund our public schools,\u201d create <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_c498f6f0-0c9b-11ee-b72f-0b8b21510b6d.html\">Lifeline Scholarships<\/a><\/strong> to give students in the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californias-poorest-students-dont-need-newsoms-300-million-plan-but-transparency-legislative-analyst\/\" title=\"California\u2019s Poorest Students Don\u2019t Need Newsom\u2019s 0 Million Plan, but Transparency: Legislative Analyst\">lowest-performing schools<\/a> the ability to enroll in another school, and oppose funding cuts to online charter schools, which serve higher percentages of low-income and non-white students than traditional schools.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that every child in Pennsylvania deserves educational options curated to their unique needs and interests,\u201d BPUE wrote. \u201cWe empower the voices of parents and\u00a0guardians, as well as community and religious leaders, to tell lawmakers that every child in Pennsylvania should have access to a quality education, regardless of zip code, background, or circumstance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rev. Joshua Robertson, senior pastor at The Rock Church in Harrisburg and BPUE\u2019s founder, noted that they have bipartisan support on properly funding public schools, but getting agreement on Lifeline Scholarships and preserving cyber charter school funding is trickier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I explain what Lifeline Scholarships are or explain alternatives, I haven\u2019t met one parent \u2014 not one \u2014 who is in any opposition ever,\u201d he said. \u201cIf adding educational choices negatively impacts our public schools, then I think we have a larger conversation about a broken system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He offered himself as an example of someone who went to public school but read at a second grade level upon graduation. Though he was a success in football, he didn\u2019t catch up academically until a bishop in North Carolina mentored him and got him on track for a bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy life changed because somebody inconvenienced their entire life to make sure I had a chance,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cThe easy thing to do is to say more money equals success. But I think we have a 30-year history in Pennsylvania and beyond that shows that increased funding doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to better education.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Students and parents want more opportunity and choice, he argued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need our lawmakers to put politics aside and do what\u2019s right for kids,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cGovernor Shapiro, whom we believe in and are praying for, we\u2019re looking for him to lead the Senate and House to comprehensively fund education options and choices in Pennsylvania. We\u2019re looking for him to lead that charge and not allow politics to get in the way of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over 50 religious leaders, under the banner of Black Pastors United for Education, penned an open letter to Governor Josh Shapiro on Tuesday. They urged him to champion school choice and educational freedom, advocating for education to transcend partisan politics, and called for comprehensive funding and security for educational initiatives<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2265699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24107715647301-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2265698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24107715647301-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2265698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2265699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2265698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2265698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2265698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}