Welcome to the back-to-school installment of Broad + Liberty’s Candidate Spotlight Series! Each week, we reach out to candidates all across the Commonwealth up for election to public office — an equal number of Democrats and Republicans; incumbents and challengers. We ask one question per week about public policy pressing to you. Those who choose to respond will have their answers shared on our website every Wednesday through Sunday.

Today, Pennsylvania’s nominees for Governor discuss school choice.

If you are a candidate for public office in Pennsylvania and would like to participate, please reach out to lsattler@broadandliberty.com.

This week’s question: What are your thoughts on the Lifeline Scholarship Bill, which would provide students in the bottom 15% of the commonwealth’s lowest performing public schools with almost $7,000 in scholarship funds? Do you consider yourself a proponent of school choice?

Josh Shapiro (D)

School choice is an issue on many parents’ minds as they try to provide the best for their children, and I support increasing choice and opportunities for students. I believe parents deserve to be empowered to ensure their kids receive a good and quality education and have options to put their children in the absolute best position to succeed. That requires fully funding our schools and adding opportunities like these scholarships — providing resources for children to receive the books, tutoring, and technology they need to learn and ensuring students in our most challenged schools receive the education and care they deserve.

I know just how difficult the past two years have been for parents, students, and teachers, and that education is the key to our future as a Commonwealth. We must do more to ensure that parents have choices and innovate to give our children every opportunity to succeed.

That’s why as Governor, my priority will be to ensure every child receives a quality education, no matter what zip code they are born in. Every student deserves the opportunity to shape their own future, and parents deserve to have a real voice in their kids’ education.

As Governor I will put parents on the state Board of Education, end our reliance on standardized test scores, empower parents to make the best decisions for their children, fully fund our schools to guarantee that our buildings are safe, put at least one mental health counselor in every single school, and provide all students with vocational, technical, and computer training.

Come back tomorrow to read the response from Josh Shapiro’s running mate, Austin Davis.

Doug Mastriano (R)

The Mastriano campaign chose not to respond.

Come back tomorrow to read the response from Doug Mastriano’s running mate, Carrie Lewis DelRosso.

Broad + Liberty is a nonprofit media endeavor dedicated to sharing voices and stories that are shut out of other media outlets. @BroadAndLiberty