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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Jay Purdy |
State Rep. Flo Fabrizio |
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Fabrizio hails bipartisan rejection of Senate education cuts
HARRISBURG, July 6 – State Rep. Flo Fabrizio, D-Erie, today welcomed the bipartisan House rejection of Senate cuts in an education funding bill.
The Senate made numerous significant cuts to vital programs and initiatives that were contained in the original education budget passed by the House. Thursday the House unanimously rejected the Senate’s cuts.
“The cuts made by the Senate were draconian,” said Fabrizio. “The approach was willy-nilly without consideration for the wisdom of particular investments."
The bill (H.B. 842) included a provision originally sponsored as a separate bill by Fabrizio that would have provided $2 million to assist in the creation of technical colleges in areas of the state without ready access to post-secondary technical programs.
“Improving the availability of technical programs at community colleges is a commitment that would help students to prepare for jobs that require specific technical skills, training that students in underserved areas would otherwise not be able to access,” Fabrizio said. “This relatively modest investment would have far-reaching returns, both for the person in being better prepared to pursue a living-wage job and in the addition of another skilled employee to Pennsylvania’s workforce.”
“I urge the Senate to put aside partisan politics and work with us to hammer out an education funding blueprint, and in fact, a complete budget for the new fiscal year that reflects careful consideration and responsible compromise.”
Wirth the House rejection of the Senate amendments, the education funding bill goes to a House-Senate conference committee in hopes of resolving the differences.
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