To: The Pennsylvania State House, The Pennsylvania State Senate, and Governor Tom Wolf
Do NOT Cut State Funding to PA’s Public Schools in the 2014-2015 Budget
We respectfully ask Governor Corbett and our state legislators to retain state funding levels proposed in Governor Corbett’s budget and to allocate ALL new state dollars to Basic Education Funding so that our school district can spend these dollars supporting the programs and services that our children need the most.
We also respectfully ask that the charter school reimbursement line item be restored. This state funding was eliminated at the same time that stimulus funding disappeared when Governor Corbett took office. This has resulted in the loss of more than $1 million in STATE funding to SASD since 2011.
We also respectfully ask that the charter school reimbursement line item be restored. This state funding was eliminated at the same time that stimulus funding disappeared when Governor Corbett took office. This has resulted in the loss of more than $1 million in STATE funding to SASD since 2011.
Why is this important?
Since 2010, inadequate levels of state funding have forced the Shippensburg Area School District (SASD) to repeatedly raise property taxes and eliminate 65 full-time teaching and support staff positions.
SASD has eliminated the middle school shop and family and consumer science programs, many kindergartners sit in classrooms crowded with 26 students, young children who struggle to read have lost their reading teachers, and many class sizes are have increased to levels where effective teaching and learning are becoming a serious challenge.
Our community and our children cannot afford another year of inadequate state funding to our schools. Our quality of life and the future of our children are dependent on the legislature’s ability to do the difficult work of governing and adopting a responsible budget that meets the needs of our communities.
SASD has eliminated the middle school shop and family and consumer science programs, many kindergartners sit in classrooms crowded with 26 students, young children who struggle to read have lost their reading teachers, and many class sizes are have increased to levels where effective teaching and learning are becoming a serious challenge.
Our community and our children cannot afford another year of inadequate state funding to our schools. Our quality of life and the future of our children are dependent on the legislature’s ability to do the difficult work of governing and adopting a responsible budget that meets the needs of our communities.