Santora and McGarrigle Work to Restore State Education Funding
HARRISBURG – At a press conference held in Drexel Hill today, Rep. James R. Santora (R-Delaware) and Sen. Tom McGarrigle (R-26) voiced their support of
House Bill 1821, which would restore the more than $3 billion in funding for Pennsylvania schools that Gov. Tom Wolf cut. The legislation was drafted by Santora.
“It is irresponsible – as public servants – to place our own, personal needs above those of the people we work for, and yet, that is exactly what Gov. Wolf is doing,” Santora said. “I tried to work with the governor to increase Basic Ed Funding by $350 million. I refuse to sit idly by as the governor plays politics with children. The $100 million increase in the budget the governor blue lined is not insignificant. He should be ashamed that he would fund the prisons but cut school funding. No one can tell me that isn’t making our children pawns, and I won’t have it.”
Because all of the state funding needed for schools is currently available in the state Treasury, this manufactured crisis can be ended quickly with the support of the governor.
“We are calling on the governor to stop using state education funding as a negotiating tool. A man in such an executive position should be focused on the greater good, not what his position can accomplish personally,” McGarrigle said. “Gov. Wolf must honor his core campaign promise and allow the schools to teach.”
The budget that the General Assembly sent to the governor included a historic level of state aid for schools. It allocated more than $5.6 billion to the state’s Basic Education subsidy, which represented a $100 million increase over the funds appropriated in the previous year’s budget.
The governor cut several education line items totaling more than $3 billion, including half of the Basic Education Funding allocation schools would receive for 2015-16. As a result, schools received only six months of funding. Recently, Wolf distributed checklists to the schools with step-by-step instructions on how to close.
“School districts in the 163rd District have suffered a loss of more than $3.26 million as a result of Gov. Wolf slashing funding, but our students still need an education,” Santora said. “Our goal is to drive funding out via House Bill 1821. However, if Gov. Wolf vetoes that bill, schools must ignore the closure checklist the governor sent them. If schools have the ability to borrow money to keep their doors open, that’s what must happen; we owe it to the students.”
Representative James R. Santora
163rd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Evans
717.260.6206
aevans@pahousegop.com
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