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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski |
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15,000 tell Gov. Corbett to restore education funding in the state budget
HARRISBURG, June 25 – More than 15,000 statements and petitions requesting that Governor Corbett and Republican lawmakers restore public education funding in the 2012-2013 state budget were presented to the governor today.
State Reps. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne, and James Roebuck, D-Phila., Democratic chairman of the House Education Committee, delivered the materials to the governor’s office. State Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis met them to accept the materials. Capitol Police blocked the large media contingent from entering the Governor’s Reception Room.
"The people are standing up against Gov. Corbett’s attacks on public schools and property taxpayers," Pashinski said. "Students, parents and taxpayers fought back against his agenda for proposed cuts this year and the governor is starting to take notice.
"This will still be a terrible year for public schools and property taxpayers. The Republican budget deal continues last year’s devastating education cuts for another twelve months. This will be a second year of the governor failing to support public schools and will force another round of property tax hikes, more layoffs, larger class sizes and the elimination of vital academic and nonacademic programs."
Since Gov. Corbett took office he has slashed Pre-K to 12 classroom funding by more than $1 billion and Accountability Block Grants for early education have been cut by 60 percent from $250 million to $100 million.
With another disastrous education budget looming, hundreds of school districts in recent weeks have announced property tax increases and layoffs of an additional 1,000 teachers and support personnel. More than 14,000 jobs were eliminated last year.
"The governor is using accounting gimmicks to mislead the public about education spending. Unlike governors before him, Corbett deceptively considers the state’s legally required payments for transportation and Social Security as education. The truth is the state spends less on classroom education now than before the federal stimulus and it’s harming students and taxpayers," Pashinski said.
"The numbers don’t add up. If we were funding public schools appropriately then school districts wouldn’t be going bankrupt.
Pashinski, who participated in a large education rally in the Capitol Rotunda last week, said this continued reduction in state funding means the burden of paying for public education gets placed squarely on the backs of homeowners and small businesses.
"The governor has turned his back on the kids and the property taxpayers. The governor is shirking his duties, and passing the buck back to the locals, to those people who can least afford the tax hikes. In the long run he is doing a disservice to the people of Pennsylvania and he is jeopardizing the future success of our children."
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