What does Chris Thomas support regarding education and fair school funding?
Chris Thomas supports a fully and fairly funded public school system where a child's zip code or family income does not dictate the quality of their education. Education is central to his campaign because he has been in the room as a teacher trying to stretch what little the system gave to make sure every kid had what they needed to learn. This is not an abstract policy issue for him; he lived it.
Thomas comes from a family of educators, so teaching was not just a job—it was a continuation of something he had watched his whole life. But when he got into the classroom, he saw the daily gap between what people believed education should be and what Harrisburg was actually funding, and it landed directly on the kids.
He was buying supplies out of his own pocket, just as most teachers do.
He was managing classroom sizes and demands that made it harder to give every kid the attention and opportunities they deserved.
He watched kids show up ready to learn inside buildings and systems that were not ready for them.
Thomas points out that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is one of the most inequitable in the country. The state relies too heavily on local property taxes—which means wealthy districts get more and working-class districts get less. That is not a gap that hard-working teachers can close on their own; it is a Harrisburg failure.
In Harrisburg, Thomas will fight for:
A fully and fairly funded public school system where every child in SD-24 deserves a quality education regardless of their zip code or their family’s income.
A funding formula that actually distributes state dollars equitably, rather than entrenching the advantage wealthy districts already have.
Real investment in the educators, counselors, and support staff who make schools work—not just line items that look good on paper.
Increased attention on families with children living with disabilities who are not getting the support they deserve.
He left the classroom to go fight for change where change actually gets made, and he has not forgotten why he left.
