When education funding is cut.....

Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett has slashed funding for education in his state. Here is a sample of how he made those cuts----

Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia:

A new analysis by the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia shows that lower income students and minority races are affected in significantly greater amounts compared to other students by the Corbett Administration cuts.


In 2011 Governor Tom Corbett cut $1 billion in public school funding.  As a result of these cuts 70 percent of school districts have increased class sizes, 44 percent slashed extracurricular activities and 35 percent eliminated tutoring programs. He has maintained this cut for the past two budgets and now proposes to increase public school funding by a mere $90 million. This still leaves a massive funding gap that 75 percent of public schools must account for by continuing to lay off teachers and staff this coming year. Because of this gap, Philadelphia school district is $300 million short of the budget needed to maintain its current minimal programs, forcing it to lay off 3,800 persons and strip its schools of all except mandated teachers and a principal; allowing no counselors, aides, or even a secretary to answer the phone....

Philadelphia's public schools are in terrible shape. With the reduction of teachers and support staff, larger class sizes and safety problems have created chaos.

Here is a recent article about Philadelphia's Bertram High School, as reported by Philly.com:


When Alphonso Stevenson was knocked unconscious by a student at Bartram High recently, staffers were shocked by the assault on the tall, genial man whose job was to keep the school calm. But many were not surprised.

The school, by many accounts, can be a frightening place, where fights and drug use are common and large groups of students often roam the hallways....

....this year, the Philadelphia School District's budget crisis has hit hard - Bartram absorbed 100 students from a school that closed, yet still has fewer staffers. Over the last few years, it has lost assistant principals, a disciplinarian, librarian, counselors, and others....


I suggest that if you care about public education, that you read the entire article at the link.

This is what happens when a governor cuts funding to schools to appease his right wing, pro-charter school contributors. Public schools deserve adequate funding. Students deserve a safe school with proper materials and qualified teachers. Those who refuse to adequate fund public education are not thinking about our children and their futures.