Gerrymandering and school funding
Gerrymandering is a slick and sneaky political tactic that has been used by politicians since 1812. It is a ploy used by a state legislature’s controlling political party to stack the deck in its favor by manipulating the boundaries of electoral districts. Whichever party is in power, Republican or Democrat, plays this game by rearranging boundaries so their party can stay in power.
The term gerrymandering was named after American politician Eldridge Gerry, who as governor of Massachusetts in 1812, signed a bill that created a partisan district in the Boston area resembling an awkward looking salamander, inspiring a name for this corruption of the democratic process.
Gerrymandering may be used to help or hinder a particular demographic, such as political, ethnic, racial, religious, or class groups. Gerrymandering can also be used to protect incumbents, by allowing the politicians to draw the congressional and senatorial lines, picking their voters instead of the voters picking the politicians. “Redistricting is like an election in reverse,” said Thomas Hofeller, former redistricting Chair of the Republican National Committee in reference to the 2000 US Census. “It’s a great event. Usually the voters get to pick the politicians. In redistricting, the politicians get to pick their voters.”
Political lines should be drawn to increase competitive elections, and create districts where either party has a chance to win. County and town, borough, city, all municipal splits should be kept to a minimum.
Pottstown, in Montgomery County, is a perfect example of what is wrong with this process. The town is 5.5 square miles, yet has two state representatives from two different political parties representing it, which really means no one can represent Pottstown’s interests fully. The school district, which consists of the entire town and is extremely underfunded, should be represented by one person who carries forth the mission of seeking to fulfill the needs of the students, town, and its people. One state representative totally devoted to Pottstown could assist with helping the town achieve education funding equity much better than two representatives on opposite sides of the table.
Over the years, the fight for fair electoral districts and the fight for fair school funding have continued without getting much traction in PA. Strong bi-partisan support in Harrisburg for both of these issues has produced numerous bills, but they have not been moved forward from committee because the committee chair has not brought them to the floor for a vote.
In Harrisburg, the committee chair has the sole power to decide if a bill will come to a committee vote, and the chairpersons are chosen by the Speaker of the House, who basically rules the roost. In the senate, there is a similar process, meaning things can come to a compete standstill even though there is bi-partisan support on an issue.
The system allows bi-partisan sponsored bills to just sit with no action being taken to move them forward, even though members of both parties support them. This is particularly apparent with bills that attempt to address school funding equity. The politicians in Harrisburg admit there is a deep problem with the way Pennsylvania public schools are funded, but have not moved forward to address the problem in any meaningful way. Pennsylvania is 45th in the nation in regard to state funding of public education, and 50th, the bottom of the barrel, in regard to the state funding underfunded schools.
As long as politicians in power are allowed to draw the county and municipal boundaries to choose their own voters, and committee chairs are allowed to stop bi-partisan bills from coming to the floor for a vote, unfair school funding will remain entrenched in Pennsylvania.
As redistricting begins in Harrisburg, it should be nonbiased citizens who draw the maps with strict criteria guiding the process. Two organizations, Fair Districts and Draw the Lines have had exceptional maps drawn by citizens that offer better representation than anything to come out of the political world of Harrisburg. Let’s look at those maps and choose one of the best for this purpose. Our children are suffering from the outrageous failure to properly fund schools, a failure enabled by gerrymandering. This terribly backward state of affairs in Pennsylvania must stop.
Dr. Myra Forrest is a former teacher and administrator in Pottstown; former superintendent of Owen J. Roberts School District, and former executive director of The Foundation for Pottstown Education. She is currently an education advocate for the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation.