Retired school teacher Ann Schott of London Grove is challenging state Rep. John Lawrence for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives seat in the 13th District.
Lawrence, a lifelong resident of Southern Chester County, is married with two young daughters. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in business, worked at JPMorgan Chase for 10-plus years. He said his attention turned to politics after the infamous midnight pay raise, when the state General Assembly voted themselves a huge pay raise in the middle of the night. He said he was so disgusted with the state of affairs in Harrisburg that he ran for office himself to stand up against the status-quo. He has turned town taxpayer funded pension, state car, state cellphone and per-diems.
Schott is recently retired from the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District where she taught social studies. Her career as a public school teacher started in Newark, Delaware, in the 1970s, and in 1984 she was hired by UCFSD. She is married to Eric Schott and has lived almost all of her life in Chester County.
Lawrence said he believes education funding and significant property tax relief is the most pressing issue for Pennsylvania.
“I strongly believe we must address the untenable school tax situation, which is evicting seniors from their homes,” he said.
He was one of only 59 out of 203 state representatives to vote “yes” to abolish the school tax, instead moving to a model funding education through the sales and income tax.
Schott said she is likewise concerned about school taxes. “Certainly as I traveled throughout the 13th District the most frequently asked question or concern was the issue of property taxes as well as how to fund our public schools in such a way as not to be an undue burden on the tax payers. Unlike much of the state, our county faces a growing population and the school funding under Governor Corbett does not take this factor into account,” she said.
On the issue of drilling for natural gas in the state, Lawrence said he has voted to institute an impact fee on it. He said to date this has brought in over half a billion dollars that has cost local municipalities.
“Significant funding from the natural gas impact fee has also come back to the County Conservation Districts. I am not opposed to a severance tax, but I would question any effort to remove the impact fee, and the associated monies going to environmental needs statewide, and replace it with a severance tax that dedicates no money to environmental causes,” he said.
Schott said she is in favor of taxing the gas companies to help support the education system. “Knowing that the shale wells are predicted to run dry in about seven years, I also feel the need to set aside funds for the potential environmental clean up that we could face once the gas companies pull out. We are the only state that does not have a severance tax on the extraction of this gas,” she said.
A widely discussed issue in the state is paying for pension funds of state workers and teachers.
Lawrence said it is amounts to an almost $50 billion unfunded liability. “It is important to note that state workers and teachers have always contributed what was required, but under Gov. Rendell the state vastly underfunded pension contributions for years. Since Gov. Rendell left office, the legislature has drastically increased funding to the pension systems – $2 billion in this last year alone,” he said.
Lawrence said the promises must be kept to current workers and retirees, but he supports moving all new hires to a defined contribution 401(k)-type plan.
Schott said one solution she would suggest is to offer an incentive to teachers that would encourage them to leave their money in the pension system instead of withdrawing it in one lump sum upon retirement. She also thinks that PSER’s should stop investing with hedge funds. These funds have a very high cost and they are inherently risky.
Heavily traveled Route 41 runs right through the 13th District and has been the subject of much debate on how to improve conditions.
Lawrence acknowledged that proposals for bypasses around Chatham and Avondale have been fiercely opposed by local officials. He said he supports PennDOT’s efforts to evaluate the intersections of 796, 926 and 841 and come up with community-supported improvements. He said he also works with PennDOT to address bridges along the route that have been posted with weight limits.
Schott said the issue of Route 41 has been a source of contention for the past 20 years and is an example of how boroughs and crossroads communities have a differing vision as to what is important in regard to safe travel, congestion, travel flow and safeguarding undeveloped land.
“Every one of the issues has a constituency, a position and facts to buttress that view. I am not in favor of a two- or four-lane bypass that cuts through the farmland in London Grove township. I am in favor of traffic calming, roundabouts and expanded internal and external turning lanes,” she said.
The candidates were asked what stirs their passions the most.
“I am passionate about my family, especially my two little girls. The opportunity to serve our community in the state Capitol, and the opportunity to leave a better Pennsylvania to our children is one of the key drivers in my service as an elected official,” Lawrence said.
Schott said she has great concerns about education.
I am most passionate about the future of public education specifically the funding of education. We need to fairly fund our schools, we need to get the best teachers in our schools and in turn we need to keep those who are dedicated to the profession. We need to provide schools with the resources they need to fund the arts and extracurricular programs most of us grew up expecting. Too many schools across our state have cut librarians, nurses and aides that are critical at both the elementary and high school level.
“I am dedicated to making sure that early childhood education does not suffer the fate of so many good programs especially in poorer regions of Pennsylvania. More and more frequently we see the young teachers leaving after three to five years and moving on to another profession. It is possible they no longer see teaching as their chosen profession, but I also know it is because of the growing demands placed on them. I think we could do far more to ensure that we have good teachers stay in classroom and get the help they need to advance their teaching practices and talents,” she said.
The 13th District includes the municipalities of Atglen, East Fallowfield Township, East Nottingham Township, Elk Township, Franklin Township, Highland Township, London Grove Township, Londonderry Township, Lower Oxford Township, Modena, New London Township, Oxford, Parkesburg, Penn Township, Sadsbury Township, South Coatesville, Upper Oxford Township, West Fallowfield Township, West Grove, West Nottingham Township and West Sadsbury Township.
