Parents,+students+brave+cold,+protest+education+funding

== = = = = =By Len Barcousky= =Published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette= =2/12/12= = = = = = = =Each time Jordan Montgomery shouted "Budget cuts," the crowd of 250 gathered in Schenley Plaza yelled back, "I've had enough."= =Jordan, a junior at Pittsburgh School for Creative and Performing Arts, was one of a half dozen student speakers at a rally Saturday in Oakland to oppose Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget.= =The outdoor event was held under a tent set up between the Carnegie and Hillman libraries. Many participants, ignoring snow showers and 25-degree temperatures, carried hand-made signs with messages like "More Schools, Fewer Jails" and "Some Cuts Don't Heal."= =The Republican governor's $27 billion spending plan for 2012-13 would increase aid to local school districts slightly, but most of the new money would go toward increased pension obligations.= =Organizers of Saturday's event warned that the effects of the proposed budget would be larger classes, staff layoffs and fewer programs in areas like early education, art, music and foreign languages.= =Christine Chirdon, a sophomore at Shaler Area High School, said she and her fellow students already faced overcrowded classrooms in core subjects and outdated textbooks. The governor's 2012-13 spending plan now placed important electives like Japanese at risk, she said.= =Rally participants were asked to write letters and send postcards to the governor and to their state representatives requesting more money for public education.= =While the Legislature will have the final word on the budget, both the House and the Senate are controlled by the GOP, and many members, like the governor, have taken no-new-tax pledges.= =Jessie Ramey, of Point Breeze, was one of the event organizers. State leaders were being short-sighted, she said.= =The budget proposed by Mr. Corbett has pushed financial problems onto local governments and school boards, she said. In response, elected officials have raised property taxes as they have picked up more of the costs for programs that had been funded by the state.= =Parents and supporters of public education from 20 schools in the Pittsburgh area took part in the event, organizer Cassi Schaffer, of Oakland, told the crowd.= =The event was sponsored by a group of parent volunteers who also maintain a website at yinzercation.wordpress.com.= =When Mr. Corbett released his budget proposal on Tuesday, he called it "lean and demanding." The result is slightly smaller than the current year's spending plan, with the most severe cuts proposed in state aid for colleges and universities.= = Read more: [|http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209698-298.stm#ixzz1mBCvGC8Q] = = = = = =News= =home=