Corbett's+Education+Chief+Defends+Budget+Cuts

=Corbett's Education Chief Defends Budget Cuts=



==HARRISBURG -- Facing a bipartisan barrage of criticism, the state's education chief Tuesday defended Gov. Tom Corbett's proposal to slash $1 billion in aid to school districts, saying money won't make better schools.==

Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who are in the process of reviewing Mr. Corbett's 2011-12 spending plan, predicted dire consequences for some school districts if the cuts go through as proposed.
==Sen. Lisa Baker, a Republican who represents six counties in the state's northeast corner, said officials in one Sullivan County district told her that it might have to close if the current level of cuts go through.==

Other legislators said school districts might be forced to lay off hundreds of teachers, eliminate successful programs and raise property taxes.
==The unease that members of both parties have voiced regarding Mr. Corbett's proposed funding reductions is the strongest sign yet that a budget battle might loom between the new Republican governor and the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Education cuts include nearly 10 percent to schools and 50 percent to state-supported universities.== =="It would be difficult to get the votes in the House and Senate. I told the governor that," House Speaker Sam Smith, R-Punxsutawney, said in an interview. "A 50 percent cut to higher education is not 'belt tightening.' Let's see what else we can squeeze elsewhere in the budget."== ==Mr. Corbett unveiled his $27.3 billion state budget in early March. The spending plan would eliminate $1 billion from the total basic education funding, including $250 million in grants that paid for programs such as full-day kindergarten, in order to help repair a $4 billion deficit without raising taxes.==

The total K-12 education funding proposal is $5.2 billion, an amount that would be a rollback to 2008-09 school funding levels.
==Mr. Tomalis -- during six hours of testimony before the House and Senate appropriations committees -- blamed part of the state's education fiscal woes on the end of federal stimulus money and higher teacher and staff costs.==

Some legislators begged to differ.
=="You're taking more from school districts that had very little to begin with," said Rep. Mario Scavello, a Republican from Monroe County, which has 3,000 foreclosed homes. "I'm begging you to do something."==

Later, Mr. Hughes said he believed there was a disconnect in Corbett administration philosophy that seeks to give tax breaks to corporations while strangling schools.
=="Money is relevant," he said, alluding to Mr. Tomalis' primary message of the day. "If it's not about money, let's tax Marcellus Shale." Mr. Corbett has pledged not to tax the extraction of the natural gas.== ==Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, said that while he represents some fiscally healthy school districts, others have no surpluses to fall back on. He fears lower income property owners would be hit with tax increases they can't afford.==

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