Rally+for+Nonprofits+Calls+Corbett's+Budget+to+Task

= = = = =By Olivia Garber= =//Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette//= =//5/19/11//= = =

=Supporters of nonprofit organizations that are facing looming budget cuts rallied in Market Square on Wednesday to pose a question: Why?= ="Why cut what works?" the crowd shouted frequently, some waving signs that decried Gov. Tom Corbett's budget proposal. About 100 people gathered to hear leaders of state and local nonprofit organizations talk about how proposed budget cuts threaten their programs.= =But the question they posed Wednesday - Why cut what works? - was more than just a rallying cry. It's the name of a statewide coalition of community foundations and nonprofit organizations that are against Mr. Corbett's proposed budget cuts to education and human services.= ="What [the coalition] wants to do is make it clear to them that they shouldn't be cutting programs that work," said Bob Nelkin, president and CEO of United Way, which partnered with The Pittsburgh Foundation to help lead the coalition.= =Cuts to early education programs and services that help abuse victims and low-income families were the focus of the rally.= =Michelle Figlar, the executive director of the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, said quality education is key to improving children, their families and their communities.= =Mr. Corbett's budget proposal would reduce two of Pennsylvania's pre-kindergarten programs - Head Start and Pre-K Counts - by 1.9 percent each, for a total of $38.6 million.= =It also would eliminate funding for the Education Accountability Block Grant, which Pittsburgh Public Schools relies on for pre-kindergarten programs.= ="These are not numbers on a spreadsheet," Ms. Figlar said. "These are our children."= =Elaine Harris-Fulton, the chair of Community Voices, said a struggling economy made her organization's family centers all the more important.= =Funding for community-based family centers was completely eliminated in Mr. Corbett's budget proposal - a $6.3 million cut.= =Ms. Harris-Fulton said this could force the centers to reduce their services or shut down entirely.= ="In a time when people are in need, why cut what works?" she said.= = = =Read more: [] =

= = = = =News= =home=