Corbett Lied: There will be funding cuts this year for many public schools
In Corbett's budget address, he accused critics of playing with numbers when talking about last year's $860 million reduction in funding to public education in PA. In his budget address, he claimed he was increaaing funding to public schools. However, he ignored several programs that he is proposing to completely eliminate. Here's excerpts from a new article in the Centre Daily Times (State College):
http://www.centredaily.com/2012/02/09/3083667/educators-pore-over-fine-print.html#storylink=cpy
"But Corbett has also proposed getting rid of several other line items — the largest being the elimination of Accountability Block Grants, which fund full-day kindergarten programs in many districts across the state. That’s a $100 million cut, and it causes a wide variation among school districts.
“Some districts are going to likely get more money and others are probably going to see a lot less,” said Thomas Gentzel, the executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
If the Accountability Block Grants are eliminated then the Philadelphia School District would lose about $5.67 million in total funding.
And the financially troubled Chester Upland School District — which gained national attention in January when it couldn’t afford to pay its teachers — would lose about $795,000.
But other districts would benefit, including some wealthier ones. Central Bucks in Bucks County would gain $247,000, North Allegheny near Pittsburgh would gain $309,000, and Lower Merion (along the Main Line) in Montgomery County would gain $350,000."
The article also notes that the near-bankrupt Harrisburg City schools would lose $705,000 in state funding.
Corbett did add some more state funding to increase the amount of standardized testing.