Shapiro saved Billy Penn, but focus on key issues needed, too

All eyes are on the Keystone State in 2024.

Whoever wins Pennsylvania, the nation’s largest swing state, will likely occupy the White House. Unsurprisingly, President Joe Biden and his administration were eager to work with Gov. Josh Shapiro recently.

However, the outcome of this collaboration will probably surprise you. No, Shapiro was not seeking Biden’s help to curb record inflation, stop rampant crime, or address Philadelphia’s deadly opioid crisis.

Instead, Shapiro used his political capital with the leader of the free world to “save” a statue.

The National Park Service released initial plans to rehabilitate Welcome Park in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood. The plan drew scrutiny when a draft proposal revealed plans to remove a statue of the commonwealth’s founder, William Penn.

Subsequent reports revealed that the preliminary plan lacked approval. Within a few hours, NPS withdrew the proposal. Thankfully, Billy Penn is safe, for now.

That didn’t stop our constantly campaigning governor from jumping on social media to tout this monumental win. Shapiro shared his success on X, formerly Twitter, detailing his contact with the president’s team throughout the day to ensure no one would remove William Penn from his (second most famous) home.

While I am as glad as the next Philadelphia native to protect our city’s rich history, I’d prefer to fix the problems destroying not only our city but also our state in the first place.

Since the start of the new year, there have already been 10 homicides in Philadelphia. Even worse, more than 40 crimes were reported within 1 mile of the William Penn statue. These crimes range from aggravated assault with a firearm to multiple motor vehicle thefts.

And, the nearby failing schools show policymakers are abandoning the city’s next generation. The Philadelphia School District has more than 62,000 students trapped in failing schools, namely those ranked in the bottom 15% in statewide testing.

Some Philadelphia schools have no students proficient in math and reading.

While protecting our history is great, what does it matter if the next generation can’t read their history textbooks in the first place?

The city’s educational crisis is especially infuriating considering Shapiro’s statue stunt. The governor’s victory lap seems more important to him than achieving meaningful change, such as keeping his campaign promise to save students from failing schools.

Shapiro has repeatedly teased proposals to offer a Lifeline Scholarship Program, also known as the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS), to students in these failing schools.

However, when he had the chance to deliver on this promise in July, he caved to political pressure from his party. Imagine what Shapiro might have accomplished if he had similarly picked up the phone to call House Majority Leader Matt Bradford about Lifeline Scholarships/PASS.

Unfortunately, this is par for the course for the Shapiro administration: Actual policy solutions to real-life challenges fall by the wayside for catchy, clickbait opportunities.

The governor and his public affairs apparatus constantly produce new content, touting the administration’s “getting stuff done” ethos. Yet, Shapiro has consistently hesitated to take on the big battles that will have a lasting impact on all Pennsylvanians.

Shapiro should shift his attention to the actual issues facing our state. Protecting our history is honorable and makes for a great headline, but Billy Penn’s people are more concerned about their livelihoods, safety, and children’s education.

A governor who can work with the president of the United States to reverse course on a bad idea in one day can surely work with state lawmakers to make life better in the commonwealth.