Reactions to Governor Corbett's Education Budget

Posted Tuesday, February 5 2013 5:30 pm
Last update at 9:30 pm
This posting may be updated further this evening.

PDE Press Release February 05, 2013
Governor Corbett Calls for Four-Year, $1 Billion Investment in Schools
2013-14 Education Budget Increases Funding $338 Million; Invests in Rigorous, Student-Focused Initiatives  

Harrisburg – Governor Tom Corbett today unveiled his 2013-14 state budget that invests an additional $338.1 million into education and ensures that schools provide student-focused educational programs.  In total, $11.7 billion, or 41 percent, of the state’s General Fund budget is slated for early, basic and higher education and public libraries.

“Governor Corbett has proposed to invest a historic level of funding into public education to ensure that students are offered high-quality academic programs,” Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis said.  “Since education is the foundation of the state’s economy, Pennsylvania’s students deserve to have access to quality programs that will ensure their success in the future. The appropriate skills and academic credentials will afford our students the opportunity to remain competitive in a global economy.”  Read more

Very cool Word Cloud view of Governor’s Budget Address

WATCHBLOG: Corbett’s budget, word-for-word

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent February 5, 2013

HARRISBURG — When Gov. Tom Corbett delivered his budget address to lawmakers on Tuesday, he certainly had a lot to say.  Aside from the $28.4 billion spending plan and ambitious policy changes Corbett put forth, the speech topped 5,500 words and took nearly an hour.

Of course, that is largely typical for a speech of this momentum – the budget address doubles as a “State of the State” address that some governors in other states give. It kicks off the budget season that must wrap up by  June 30 – and gives the governor a chance to lay out his agenda.

Much will be said about Corbett’s proposal in the coming months as lawmakers and issue advocates pour over the line items, praising and cursing the decisions the governor has made. But can anyone consider Corbett’s priorities by looking at the very words in the speech?

Probably not, but we’re going to try anyway.

When we put Corbett’s speech into visualization generator Many Eyes, we found out that the favorite word in his budget address was, not too surprisingly, “Pennsylvania,” and its counterpart, “Pennsylvanians.”

http://paindependent.com/2013/02/watchblog-corbetts-budget-word-for-word/

Lawmakers give muted response to Corbett budget

By Robert J. Vickers | rvickers@pennlive.com 
on February 05, 2013 at 5:55 PM, updated February 05, 2013 at 6:26 PM

The only thing missing from lawmakers' underwhelming reaction to Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed $28.4 billion budget Tuesday was the sound of crickets chirping during strategic pauses in his annual budget address.  “The room itself seemed to lack energy all the way around,” said Dave Patti, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Business Council, and a staunch Corbett ally.

At key points in the speech, Patti acknowledged, “You could hear a pin drop.”

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/02/lawmakers_give_muted_response.html

PSBA Special Report:  Gov. Corbett’s 2013-14 State Budget Proposal

Join PSBA on Thursday, Feb. 14, at noon for a complimentary web conference to discuss the impact of the governor’s proposed 2013-14 state budget, as well as provide updates on pension and charter school reform issues. Details are at the end of this report.

Today Gov. Tom Corbett presented a $28.4 billion state spending plan for 2013-14, which is a 2.4% increase over 2012-13. The budget provides $9.55 billion for K-12 education. Funding for the Basic Education Subsidy would receive a modest $90 million, or 1.7%, increase, bringing the total to $5.5 billion. The largest increase in the education budget once again is allocated to pensions. The budget includes $1.08 billion, an increase of $223.9 million, or 26.2%, for school employees’ retirement costs.

Other specific education items under the governor’s plan are:

http://psba.bmobilized.com/?task=get&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psba.org%2Fissues-advocacy%2Fissues-research%2Fstate-budget%2Fbudget_announced_02-05-2013.asp

PAP4C: Gov. Corbett's 2013-14 Budget Begins to Make Pennsylvania's Children a Priority

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children Press Release February 5, 2013

PA Partnerships for Children Lauds Investments in Education, Health Care

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children President and CEO Joan Benso today made the following comments on Gov. Tom Corbett's 2013-14 budget proposal:

"Governor Corbett's spending plan begins to move Pennsylvania in the right direction when it comes to common-sense investments in our children, who are without question Pennsylvania's greatest resource.

"Budgets are ultimately about priorities, and with this budget, the governor rightfully recognizes that Pennsylvania's 2.7 million children must be a priority," Benso said. "He wants to invest more in programs ranging from pre-kindergarten to health coverage to K-12 education that will build our commonwealth's human capital. When it comes to economic development, that's the smartest investment we can make."

http://www.papartnerships.org/news/gov-corbetts-budget-begins-to-make-pa-children-a-priority

Reactions to Corbett's education budget

by thenotebook on Feb 05 2013 Posted in Latest news

Here are some reactions, so far, to Governor Corbett's newly unveiled education budget, which calls for a $90 million increase in basic education funding. 

http://thenotebook.org/blog/135611/reactions-corbetts-education-budget?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=twt&utm_campaign=social

“By mid-afternoon Tuesday, two senior Senate Republicans were already pushing back.

In a briefing with reporters, Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi and Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman, said Zogby and the administration was entitled to his opinion that any cash lost by the failure to enact pension reform should come out of school spending.”

Pennsylvania Budget Analysis: Tom Corbett's gamble

Published: Tuesday, February 05, 2013, 3:51 By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com 
Gov. Tom Corbett did something artful in the budget proposal he rolled out to a joint session of the state House and Senate on Tuesday.

He tied legislative authorization of two of his key priorities – pension reform and liquor store divestiture – to education funding, thus making majority Republicans in the House and Senate an offer they’ll have a hard time finding a way to refuse.

Public schools have become a politically sensitive subject in Harrisburg over the last two years. And there’s an argument to be made that the state Senate GOP lost legislative ground in 2012 because of its support for cuts to school funding.

http://blog.pennlive.com/capitol-notebook/2013/02/pennsylvania_budget_analysis_t.html#incart_flyout_opinion

Senate Majority Leader Pileggi and Senator Corman (Chairman of Appropriations Committee) discuss Governor’s Budget

Mp3 runtime: 25:25

http://av.pasenategop.com/budget/2013/020513/cormanpileggi.mp3

About PABudgetNews

PA House Republicans on the 2012-13 Pennsylvania state budget process.

http://www.youtube.com/PABudgetNews

House Education Committee Minority Chairman Roebuck: Corbett budget would take 10 years to restore education funding - Also points out smaller percentage increases for low-income schools

HARRISBURG, Feb. 5 – State Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila., Democratic chairman of the House Education Committee, said he was disappointed in Gov. Tom Corbett's budget proposal today.  "The governor's comments on K-12 education funding were again misleading – his cuts went beyond the loss of the federal stimulus funding, and at his pace, it would take 10 years to get back to the funding level our children's schools had in 2010-11. The first Corbett budget cut about $900 million from categories such as kindergarten, early childhood education, tutoring and reimbursement for charter schools.

"The governor's proposed 1.7 percent increase for basic education would only represent flat funding, due to inflation – and to add insult to injury, wealthier school districts would get larger percentage increases than lower-income districts."

http://www.pahouse.com/roebuck/PAHouseNews.asp?doc=28743

House Democratic Policy Committee Chairman Sturla: governor’s budget proposal places privatization over Pennsylvanians

HARRISBURG, Feb. 5 – State Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee, offered the following statement regarding Gov. Tom Corbett’s third budget address before a joint session of the state legislature at the state Capitol on Tuesday.

“In the preceding weeks, Governor Corbett traveled the state hinting at the bold policy initiatives he’d be introducing as part of this year’s budget proposal, but today all we were left with were timid approaches to Pennsylvania’s biggest challenges that are Band-Aids at best and wholly inadequate at worst,” Sturla said. “Pennsylvanians believe our problems are surmountable, but they require real leadership from the governor that is sorely lacking.

“The governor’s budget proposal favors selling off state assets to large, multinational corporations at the expense of our children’s education, senior programs and locally and family-owned businesses. His liquor and lottery privatization plans have failed to even appeal to members of his own party, because they provide one-time only injections of cash rather than the recurring $550 million our liquor industry pays into state coffers every year and the $1.06 billion our lottery generates annually for our seniors.

http://www.pahouse.com/Sturla/PAHouseNews.asp?doc=28737

Statement: Governor's Budget Relies on Speculative Funding, Does Little to Restore Cuts of Last Two Years

PA Budget and Policy Center

HARRISBURG, PA (February 5, 2013) – Sharon Ward, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, issued the following statement on Gov. Corbett’s 2013-14 budget proposal:

“The governor’s budget does little to reduce the trend of disinvestment in Pennsylvania schools and communities. It relies heavily on speculative and one-time sources of funding, and proposes expensive new corporate tax breaks that will continue to shift costs to local taxpayers. The budget fails to provide sustainable funding to reduce class sizes in public schools, keep college affordable for middle-class students, and ensure working families can obtain basic health care.”

K-12 EDUCATION

“The governor’s budget will add only 1.7 percent to the basic education subsidy, doing little to reverse $840 million in education cuts 2 years ago. A new block grant, called "Passport for Learning," is entirely speculative, relying on liquor privatization that has failed to pass the General Assembly twice. The governor has an obligation to today's students to restore cuts that affect their lives and livelihoods. Progress on education funding should not be dependent on the outcome of other political debates.

"Many education funding increases are also conditioned on pension savings and, therefore, are in jeopardy. Lawmakers did not respond with applause to the governor’s pension plan during his budget address, suggesting those savings may be hard to come by."

http://pennbpc.org/statement-governors-budget-relies-speculative-funding-does-little-restore-cuts-last-two-years

Infographic: Education Funding in 2013-14 Budget

PA Budget and Policy Center website February 5, 2013

Total Pre-K through 12 education funding in Pennsylvania will reach $10 billion under the Governor's proposed 2013-14 budget. Classroom funding inched up slightly from 2012-13 but remains well below 2010-11 funding levels.

http://pennbpc.org/infographic-education-funding-2013-14-budget-0

Education Voters PA Response to Governor Corbett’s Budget Address

Statement from Executive Director Susan Gobreski:

Over the past two years, Gov. Corbett has led the effort to cut nearly $2 billion in investments in the education of our children, causing program cuts, increases in class sizes and reductions in services like tutoring, library access and more. Along with the loss of dollars, under this administration we have lost significant ground on fixing a broken system for how schools are funded.  Nearly all of the progress that was made to fix that has been lost.  There are still terrible disparities from one community to the next and a ridiculous over-reliance on property taxes.

http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/response-to-governor-corbetts-budget-address1/

Text of Gov. Corbett's 2013-14 budget address

February 5, 2013 By WHYY NewsWorks staff

Gov. Tom Corbett's office provided this "as prepared for delivery" text of the 2013-14 budget speech, which was delivered in Harrisburg on Tuesday.

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/50555-text-of-gov-corbetts-2013-14-budget-address?utm_source=dlvr&utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=test&utm_campaign=social-inbound%0A

To see how much state taxpayer funding would be provided to your school district, select the district's name in the drop down menu below.

PDE’s website February 5, 2013

Governor’s Corbett’s proposed 2013-14 budget would provide Pennsylvania’s school districts with more than $9.83 billion in taxpayer assistance, representing the largest amount of state funding in Pennsylvania history.

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/7234/p/1100265