Really Great Analysis of Corbett's Pennsylvania Budget, and What It Really Means to People

[JPZenger]

8. Devastating Education Cuts Leave Trail of Consequences Across Pennsylvania

http://neatoday.org/2012/03/01/devastating-education-cuts-leaving-trail-of-consequences-across-pennsylvania/

“In my building alone, we furloughed approximately 30 teachers last year,” said Kristen Cole, a teacher from the Pocono Mountain School District, where nearly half the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Corbett’s cuts are also yielding distressing consequences for kids in the McKeesport Area School District, where programs designed to keep students from dropping out have met the ax, thanks to $2.9 million in state funding cuts. The poverty rate in McKeesport is more than twice the state average. “Our tutoring program is basically non-existent at this point,” added district educator Linda Cosgrove.

The situation is no better in the York City School District, which lost $8.4 million in funding and furloughed 123 educators this year. Programs like elementary art, music and physical education were eliminated. The cuts have left educators with more challenges than ever, as they scramble to meet the needs of the district’s predominantly lower-income students.

“Public schools can not function on skeleton staff,” said furloughed educator Laura Baum. “And this is even less than skeleton staff.”