Gov. Corbett delivers budget address with Rep. Sam Smith (center) and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley looking on. (Associated Press)
I’m not really sure what the priorities are for Governor Tom Corbett but clearly Philadelphia and its young people are not it. Recently Corbett announced his first budget-talk and many of the recommendations to come would hit Philadelphians where it hurts the most…in our pockets. Below is a video of State Senator Vincent Hughes giving a quick review of some of the cuts right around the corner.
2011-12 Budget Reaction (click on LINK)
Below are a few of the cuts that I’m most concerned about:
▪ Statewide charter-school reimbursements: $224 million to zero. Philadelphia has the state’s most charters, with 74. In fact, Philadelphia’s charters – with 43,574 students – are considered the state’s second-largest school district and account for nearly $310 million of the district’s $3.2 billion budget. District officials rely heavily on receiving the expenditure from Harrisburg.
▪ High School Reform: $1.8 million to zero. In 2005, the Legislature approved several million dollars for preliminary efforts at high-school reform because of abysmal graduation rates and poor college readiness.
▪ Education for Homeless Children and Youth: $375,000 to zero
(Supplied by JH)
▪ Corbett’s budget would trim $625 million, or about 50 percent, from funds meant for the 14 state-owned universities and the four “state-related” universities, including Temple and Lincoln.
Currently those are just recommendations for the Governor’s budget, which still need to be approved by the General Assembly, NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT. I urge everyone, students, parents, teachers, administrators, bank teller, street cleaners, whoever, WRITE LETTERS AND CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!!! Many people in our community were silent during the November election, which resulted in Tom Corbett being elected Governor in the first place. The question I ask now, can you afford to be silent again?
