HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania will spend nearly 40% of its $50.8 billion budget on education this year. The size of that obligation, and its impact on children, teenagers, and college students across the commonwealth, make it an enormous part of annual spending talks. Unsurprisingly, it’s a prominent issue in the 2026 race for governor. Incumbent Democrat Josh Shapiro has spent his governorship threading a needle on education. He has backed big spending increases, particularly for the commonwealth’s most inadequately funded public school districts. At the same time, he’s supported a taxpayer-funded private school voucher program – something many Democrats oppose. Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, like many in her party, strongly supports public school alternatives. On higher education, she also focuses on tuition freezes, transparency, and industrial job creation to retain local talent. Shapiro’s own higher education platform focuses on state coordination, expanded grants, and initiatives aimed at helping more Pennsylvanians earn degrees.
The issue can be complex. Here’s a look at where the major party candidates stand on key debates about K-12 and higher education.
Higher education: The governor exercises wide-ranging authority over public postsecondary policy – from proposing higher education line items in the annual budget to sitting on university governing boards. The commonwealth has persistently lagged the rest of the nation in higher education support. Pennsylvania ranks 46th nationally in per-student state appropriations to public colleges and universities, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. At the same time, its undergraduates face some of the heaviest debt burdens in the country, according to national rankings, leaving the next governor to inherit a system under intense pressure from students, parents, and taxpayers alike.
Vision for Pa. colleges and universities: In his 2024-25 budget, Shapiro established the State Board of Higher Education, which brings together education, business, and government leaders from across Pennsylvania to improve coordination and ensure public and state-related universities align with workforce needs. The board unanimously approved a 10-year strategic plan for higher education, which aims to increase credential attainment, control student costs, and align academic programs with high-priority economic sectors.
“Governor Josh Shapiro believes that if you work hard and want to build your future in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth should open doors – not put up barriers,” said Sam Reposa, a spokesperson for the Shapiro campaign, in an email to Spotlight PA. The governor’s team noted that his budgets delivered a 6% funding increase for Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) schools and community colleges, alongside $120 million in expanded funding for student grants and scholarships.
“Pennsylvania’s students deserve access to quality higher education opportunities that help them get ahead instead of holding them back with a lifetime commitment to paying off debt,” Reposa said.
Garrity focuses her higher education vision on ensuring students have immediate job opportunities after graduating. In an emailed statement to Spotlight PA, Garrity’s campaign said her administration will work to reverse the migration of residents leaving the state, to ensure that “those who attend a college or university in the commonwealth have a place they can build a career, build a family, and build a home.” “One of the best ways to achieve that goal is to ensure job opportunities exist for new graduates,” the campaign said. “For instance, under Josh Shapiro, we are not maximi
