Noting that the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ half-billion dollar budget is higher than the City of Pittsburgh’s operating budget, and that school board trustees determine how spending it affects more than 26,000 students and 3,000 employees, the education advocacy group A+ Schools wants voting for those trustees to be a priority. And they’ve launched a campaign to do just that because last year, while voter turnout was 43 percent, only 20 percent of voters cast ballots for school board.
Supported by leaders from the Urban League, including its President and CEO Esther Bush, the Black Political Empowerment Project, the Pittsburgh Project, Lawrenceville United, and the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young People, A+ Schools announced the launch of its “Vote School Board First” campaign with a presentation at the Hill House on March 23.
“Whether you have children in the district’s schools or not, this issue affects you,” said A+ Board Chair Tracey Reed Armant. “It affects housing, economic development, property values and public safety. The district has a bigger budget than the city.”
Bush said voting for the school board is critical to the African American population.
“We have to take this seriously because education determines our future,” she said. “In these times of uncertainty at the federal and state level, it is critical for African Americans to be informed about school board candidates. Vote School Board First because the future of Black Pittsburgh is tied to the success of our schools.”
Tim Stevens, B-PEP president and CEO chanted “bottoms up” to remind people to look at the bottom of the ballot first because that is where school board races are typically placed.
About Post Author
