Education+Rally+Held+in+Harrisburg

= **Education rally held on the steps of the state Capitol in Harrisburg ** = Published: Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 12:39 PM Updated: Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 1:25 PM By **JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News** The Patriot-News = James P. Testerman, President of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, speaks to the crowd during a rally protesting proposed education cuts in the budget. The rally was sponsored by the Pennsylvania NAACP and held on the steps of the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday April 26, 2011. CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News =

= = = = =By **JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News** = =Published in The Patriot-News = =4/26/11 =

=Students, parents, educators and community leaders from around the state — Harrisburg, York and Philadelphia among them — came to Harrisburg to deliver a message to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and state lawmakers: Save Our Schools. = = = = Chanting that phrase with fists pumping in the air, they called for **Corbett's proposed $1.2 billion cuts for K-12 education** to be rescinded. They called for the proposed cuts to public universities to be reversed. And they called for funding for prisons to be cut. = = = = “Misplaced priorities is why we’re here. We have to find a way to stop putting so much money into the incarceration system and put more money into our education system,” said John Jordan, direct action chair for the Pennsylvania NAACP. = = = = The rally drew two marching bands that could be heard inside the Capitol and a crowd that filled dozens of rows of the front steps of The Capitol and spilled into shaded areas under nearby trees. Jordan said it was his organization’s call to action that will be followed by meetings with legislators and phone calls from constituents. = = = = “We just can’t sit back and allow this to happen to our children,” he said. = = = = The national NAACP recently issued a report that showed a trend of high incarceration rates in areas surrounding poor-performing schools. NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference President Jerry Mondesire said directing money to schools will help reverse that. = = = = To the crowds of children standing before him, he said, “This is your civil rights struggle in the 21st century. ... You do not have a chance to excel without a good education.” = //This story has been updated from an earlier version. //

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