NORRISTOWN — Public support for Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget was scarce Friday afternoon outside Montgomery County Courthouse, where a number of passersby were surveyed as to their reaction to Tuesday’s address before the General Assembly.
Among the most controversial of the governor’s plans are to cut funding for public schools and universities, while not implementing any new taxes.
“Obviously, like anybody else, I like the fact that he’s not looking to raise taxes, but I’m certainly not happy with the fact that he’s cutting public education,” said Frank Genovese of Gilbertsville.
“I think that’s our most important resource for our children for the future, so we can have a strong economy in the future. It seems to me it’s almost like cutting off your nose to spite your face, to say ‘I’m not going to raise taxes but I’m going to cut funding for public education.’”
This year, the Dept. of Education will operate with a budget of $11.5 billion, and Corbett asked teachers to be willing to take more furlough days when necessary. If passed, the budget also includes cuts to the Higher Education Assistance Agency and public colleges and universities.
“My feeling has always been, concerning education, that that should be a Number One priority in the Commonwealth,” said Steve Schreiber of Ambler.
“So, they cannot cut like they want to cut education. They have to find the money somewhere else. I’m not all for raising taxes, but this is critical for higher education.”
The Corbett-proposed budget of $27.3 billion for FY 2011-12 is .9 billion less than the $28.2 billion allocated, but also includes cuts to the Dept. of Community and Economic Development. The DCED will receive $114 million less than it did in the current fiscal year, leaving it with a $224 million operating budget.
Eric Cohen of Norristown said proposed cuts to education would be detrimental to present and future public school students.Continued... 1 2 See Full Story
View reader comments (1) » Comment on this story »
“Cutting the budget for schooling is going to take away from present students and future students,” he said.
“And as far as not raising taxes, that really doesn’t make sense to me. If you’re not going to do the one, than you should at least do the other. There has to be an even balance in both to make society continue to be relevant.”
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment