Senator: Money not the answer

Mumin stressed to senators on Monday that if the lifeline scholarship or any other voucher program were to be enacted, it would “entail a lot of collaboration and us sitting around the table to look at a proposal or a plan that will be able to satisfy what our students need without the fiduciary impact on our school districts.”

The three senators who voted against Mumin’s confirmation Monday were Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh, Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, and John DiSanto, R-Dauphin.

Coleman, as did several other Republicans, noted concern during Monday’s committee meeting about the state’s flagging proficiency scores in reading and math assessments; Mumin stressed the department’s efforts to work with districts to help boost these while also noting that standardized assessments can be “problematic.”

“Right now they’re too many, they’re too long, and they’re not necessarily aligned to what’s happening in the classroom,” Mumin said.

In an emailed statement to PennLive, DiSanto also voiced concern that achievement was not keeping pace with spending.

“The emphasis is always on more money, when we need fundamental changes in the system,” DiSanto wrote, adding that Mumin “has been part of that system for 25 years, and I don’t believe he’s capable of or interested in making the reforms needed.”

Said Mumin said in a statement after his confirmation: “I am firm in my belief that students learn in different ways, and highly effective educators are leaders who ignite learners’ interest, passion, and focus on meeting high expectations in all educational settings.”

Mumin started his career in 1997 as an English teacher, eventually rising to the administrative ranks and serving as the superintendent of the Reading school system — one of the state’s poorest — and then of Lower Merion, one of the state’s wealthiest.