VOTE+ON+VOUCHER+BILL+DELAYED!!!!

= = = = =By Tracie Mauriello and Laura Olson= =//Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette//= =//April 12, 2011//=

=HARRISBURG -- A bill to create a school vouchers will be waiting a bit longer before it goes up for a Senate floor vote.= =The measure, which was poised to pass the state Senate today, will be getting some "minor" changes after lawmakers return to session in two weeks. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said the bill's main components would remain the same.= =Under the proposal, vouchers initially would be available to low-income students in poorly performing public schools. Eligibility would expand during the first four years to include students at all schools and from higher-income families.= =Opponents have been outspoken on concerns they have about the costs and other outcomes of such a plan, and three Republicans opposed against the measure in a committee vote Monday. Gov. Tom Corbett, who supports crafting a voucher program, spoke briefly to GOP senators during a lengthy caucus meeting on the bill Tuesday.= ="The governor expressed his strong support for Senate Bill 1 and his strong interest in the bill, and offer his assistance in the process of moving the bill from the Senate to the House to his desk," Mr. Pileggi said.= =Mr. Pileggi expressed confidence about the measure's support in the Senate, and on the ability for lawmakers' to pass the legislation "at the same time that we pass the budget or before we pass the budget."= =Earlier today, several hundred students, parents and teachers converged on the Capitol steps to advocate for the voucher bill.= =Some wearing Catholic school uniforms, others wearing "School Choice" T-shirts, the young activists carried signs with slogans such as "Don't be a sloucher. Give us our vouchers."= =All were lobbying for a bill that would provide public money for tuition at private schools or public ones outside districts where students reside.= =Vouchers initially would be available to low-income students in poorly performing schools. Eligibility would expand over four years to include students at all schools and from higher income families.= =Funding for the vouchers would come from per-pupil state funding now being sent to public schools.= =Most children at the rally already attend private schools.= ="A lot of us are struggling to pay, and vouchers would really help," said Gina Iacoboni, an eighth grader at St. Sebastian Regional School in Belle Vernon.= =Classmate Lydia Perozzi said everyone should have the same education choices she's had, regardless of income.= =Dilmert Delorbe, a sixth-grader at Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in West Philadelphia, was among the most fervent activists at the rally.= ="My parents work a lot of hours for me to get a good education, and I want some of the money they pay for taxes to be used for my education," he said.= =Voucher opponents say public money shouldn't go to religious schools and fear the loss of funding will cause public schools to struggle to pay teachers, maintain buildings and pay utility bills.= =Parents at the rally said they've long paid taxes to fund public schools even though they don't send their children to them. To them, vouchers bring fairness.= ="I think we pay enough taxes that they should be able to make the public schools work" even with the voucher program in place, said Ray Iacoboni, Gina's father.= =Dawn Chavos, executive director of Students First, said voucher proponents aren't against public schools.= ="We support public education. This isn't about public vs. private," she said. "We support quality education. This is about having the best options possible."= =The rally was sponsored by a consortium of pro-school choice groups.= =Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tracie Mauriello: 717-787-2141 or tmauriello@post-gazette.comLaura Olson: lolson@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254.= = = =Read more: [] =

= = = Senate GOP needs more time on school-voucher bill = = =

=//By the Associated Press//= =//Published in the Beaver County Times//= =//4/12/11//= = =

=A bill in the state Senate that would allow more children to attend private schools in Pennsylvania with taxpayer help is encountering trouble.= =Gov. Tom Corbett briefly addressed Republican senators behind closed doors Tuesday after some senators said it wasn't clear whether the bill had enough support to pass or whether the governor supports it.= =The bill had been scheduled for a Senate vote hours after hundreds of private school students, shepherded by parents and teachers, rallied at the Capitol for its passage. A vote will be put off until at least April 26.= =Corbett wouldn't tell The Associated Press what he told senators. But Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi says Corbett expressed support for the bill, but Pileggi says it'll need to undergo some changes.=

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