In yesterday's Capitol Ideas Blog, John Micek of the Allentown Morning Call provided these details of the House Republican Budget Plan:
Increase overall state funding for kindergarten through 12th grade education by $210 million. This would ensure every district receives at least as much money as it did in 2008-09, a spokesman said. Under Corbett's plan, not all would.
Appropriate $100 million for Accountability Block Grants, which districts use to fund after-school tutoring, full-day kindergarten and other programs. State support for those grants was eliminated in the administration's budget proposal.
Set aside $43 million to help school districts meet their Social Security payments.
Read more: http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2011/05/house-dems-corbett-house-gop-should-use-surplus-to-restore-budget-cuts.html
Teachers, kindergarten on block in Bristol Township
Posted: Tuesday, May 10, 2011, PhillyBurbs.com
By CHRIS ENGLISH staff writer
Bristol Township Schools - A 2011-2012 preliminary budget passed 7-0 by the Bristol Township school board Monday night includes the layoff of 90 employees, including 78 teachers, and the elimination of kindergarten.
Board members and solicitor David Truelove characterized the preliminary budget as "worst case" and hoped a final budget that has to be passed by June 30 doesn't contain such drastic cuts.
Even though it's preliminary, one woman in the audience couldn't believe the district might have to eliminate kindergarten. "Are you kidding me?" she called out.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/teachers-kindergarten-on-block/article_c87fdc38-42f9-54fa-bf5c-6810e1b0fee9.html
Posted on Tue, May. 10, 2011
House Republican plan may mean more funding for Pennsylvania schools
By Angela Couloumbis, Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG - The curtain on Act II of the state's budget negotiations is about to be drawn. And this part of the drama, at least, may play better with school audiences.
House Republican leaders on Tuesday are expected to offer details of their alternative to Gov. Corbett's $27.3 billion spending plan, which contains steep cuts to public and higher education.
Posted on Tue, May. 10, 2011
Corbett makes case for school vouchers in Washington speech
By Amy Worden, Inquirer Staff Writer
WASHINGTON - Gov. Corbett, making his first appearance on a national stage since taking office in January, told an audience at an education conference Monday that providing families with an alternative to failing public schools was a "moral obligation."
But as Corbett touted the virtues of vouchers in Washington, a state Senate vote on the bill to create vouchers in Pennsylvania was being put off for a third week.
Corbett, in his speech, acknowledged the difficulty he was having getting the voucher bill through the General Assembly.
"It's not an easy battle; there is opposition," he said. "I can't understand it, but there it is."
Corbett pushes school vouchers in Washington
Monday, May 09, 2011
By Daniel Malloy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett laid out his vision of education reform before a sympathetic audience of school choice supporters here today.
As protesters chanted outside the Washington Marriott denouncing Pennsylvania's pending bill that would create a statewide school voucher program for low-income students, Mr. Corbett touted the proposal as a way to improve failing schools by making them compete for students.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11129/1145280-100.stm#ixzz1LsrmpniECorbett Singles Out Teachers Unions in Speech to Pro-Vouchers Group
By Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor, PoliticsPA, Monday, May 9th, 2011
Governor Tom Corbett singled out teachers unions today in keynote speech today to the National Policy Summit of the American Federation for Children, a D.C.-based pro-vouchers group.
Several dozen protesters, including representatives of teachers' unions, also the made the trip from Pennsylvania.
The bulk of Corbett's remarks focused on what he said was the main problem with public education: teacher's unions.
http://www.politicspa.com/corbett-singles-out-teachers-unions-in-speech-to-pro-vouchers-group/24085/The American Federation for Children who hosted the conference, was founded by Michigan billionaires Dick and Betsy DeVos with a focus on influencing the political process to promote the privatization of public education. Here is more info on the DeVos's
Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools
Pro-Voucher Astroturfing Campaigns Across Nation Coordinated by DeVos, Funded by a Few Mega-Donors
Betsy DeVos Announces PA Governor Tom Corbett Will Keynote Pro-Voucher National Policy Summit
Strategy for Privatizing Public Schools Spelled Out by Dick DeVos in 2002
Concerned about the Education Budget? Let Governor Corbett Know
Governor Tom Corbett Phone: 717-787-2500, Fax: 717-772-8284, Email: governor@state.pa.us
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