HARRISBURG, PA — If he had any to start with, Gov. Josh Shapiro likely lost his Republican friends in the state capital after he changed his mind about supporting school vouchers—also known as “lifeline scholarships.” The broken promise has only created more animosity in an already contentious budget process between the Republican-controlled state Senate and the one-seat-majority Democratic House. Despite the fact that both chambers of the state legislature have passed a spending plan, it will remain in limbo until the state Senate recovenes. At press time, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward has announced no intention of calling her chamber back before September, and it remains as murky as ever when the 2023-24 budget will see the light of day. 

Before the latest drama began, lawmakers had already missed their deadline to pass a budget by June 30. The parties reached an impasse over a $100 million school “PASS” voucher program—something that private school advocates argue would give parents more freedom in shaping their children’s education, and something teachers unions and others argue it would take precious dollars away from the state’s already underfunded public education system.

Education funding was recently brought under a microscope with the Commonwealth Court’s ruling in February that the state’s funding structure disadvantages lower-income school districts and violated those students’ constitutional rights.

It’s a perennial debate in the commonwealth—Republicans have historically been pro-voucher, Democrats have been mostly anti-voucher. That is, until Democratic candidate Shapiro pledged his support for funding a school voucher program while he was running against Doug Mastriano for governor in the last election cycle.

“I believe every child of God deserves a shot here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said on Fox News last month. “One of the best ways we can guarantee their success is making sure every child has a quality education.”

Once elected, Shapiro seemed to maintain his promise. He’d put his signature on the Senate-passed budget that included the controversial voucher program, with the condition that the spending plan also include “historic investments in public education, as well as funding for key priorities like student mental health and special education and universal free breakfast for every student.”

With House Democrats refusing to accept the budget as written, Shapiro sought to resolve the logjam and changed his tune. The governor vowed that if the House passed the Senate’s budget, he’d erase the voucher program via a line-item veto.

The measure worked insofar as it got the House to vote the budget through in a 117-86 vote, including yes votes from Republican Reps. Joe Adams (Wayne, Pike) and Jonathan Fritz (Wayne, Susquehanna). 

“The budget that passed is more fiscally responsible than the budget proposed by Gov. Shapiro and the budget unilaterally passed by House Democrats last month,” Adams said. “No spending plan is perfect... I voted ‘yes’ to continue Corporate Net Tax (CNIT) reductions, invest in workforce development and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, make our communities safer and provide historic funding and choices for our students across the commonwealth.”

Public education advocates applauded Shapiro’s change of heart. “The House passage of a state budget in reliance on Gov. Shapiro’s commitment to line-item veto an appropriation for the controversial proposal to create the ‘PASS’ or ‘lifeline’ voucher program is the only pragmatic outcome to avoid the unacceptable use of public dollars for private schools,” PA Schools Work—a nonprofit involved in the school funding lawsuit—said in a statement. “Democrats in the state House and its leadership team deserve credit for stopping an attempt to ram through this unaccountable giveaway to private schools.”

However, things may have backfired on the governor, now that Republican state senators—who say they’ve been double-crossed—are refusing to reconvene until September. Before Shapiro can sign the budget and make it official, it must receive a signature from lieutenant governor Austin Davis, who presides over the Senate. The lieutenant governor can’t do this until state Sen. Ward calls them back to Harrisburg.

Shapiro held a conference on Thursday, July 6, calling on Republicans to put politics aside.

“Our commonwealth, I believe, should not be plunged into a painful, protracted budget impasse over one provision of this budget, while our communities wait for the help and resources that they need,” he said. “I hope the Senate will be responsible stewards of the public trust and return to Harrisburg to sign this bill.”

Ward, however, has given no sign that she’ll budge.

“Senate Republicans worked in good faith with Gov. Shapiro for nearly two months making concessions and giving him all the goodies he wanted with his promise to work with his party and bring PASS scholarships across the finish line,” she said in indirect response to Shapiro. “The outstanding question is: will Gov. Shapiro deliver on his promise or will he leave Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable kids trapped in failing schools?”