Dinniman Comes Out Swinging on Corbett Budget

It's a presidential election year and the gauntlet has been thrown down by both major politicial parties from Capitol Hill to the State Capitol in Harrisburg.

In Harrisburg, State Senator Dinniman (D-19), who was elected to a full four year term in 2010, echoed the reaction of many democrats in response to Governor Corbett's $27.1b budget proposal outlined during the governor's budget address Tuesday.

Here is the full text of a press release issued by Dinniman's office on Tuesday:

WEST CHESTER (February 7) – State Senator Andy Dinniman said he is troubled by Gov. Corbett’s latest proposal to cut public-education spending and will convene a public meeting on Thursday to discuss the proposed cuts, their impact on local schools, and the future of public education in Pennsylvania.

Thursday’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and be open to the public. It will be held in the auditorium of Downingtown High School East at 50 Devon Drive, Exton.

“With last year’s severe state budget cuts in education, with last fall’s significant college tuition increases at state universities, with what has happened at the Chester Upland School District these last few months, I question Governor Corbett’s commitment to public education, and today’s budget message did little to change my mind,” Dinniman said. “I don’t think the governor realizes how deeply we value public education and how strongly we believe that providing good public schools for all Pennsylvania children is not only our constitutional obligation but simply the right thing to do.”

“Thursday’s meeting will be a chance to discuss with residents this decrease in state funding of local public education and its impact on our local schools and universities,” Dinniman said. “I want to also talk about what steps we as a Commonwealth can take to improve public schools across Pennsylvania and to maintain the excellent public schools that we have in Chester and Montgomery counties.”

On Tuesday, the governor proposed cutting funding to West Chester University and Pennsylvania’s other 13 state system of higher education universities by 20 percent. Funding to Penn State and the three other state-related universities (Temple, Lincoln and the University of Pittsburgh) would fall by 30 percent.

Funding to local school districts would decrease by $100 million in addition to the $1 billion cut absorbed by local school districts in the last budget. In short, schools are being funded at the 2008-09 levels despite the cost increases since that time.

“While the governor can wave the flag in Harrisburg saying that there are no tax increases, the reality is there will be increases in school property taxes and in tuition at our state and state-related universities,” Dinniman said.

Dinniman said it was particularly troubling that Governor Corbett’s proposed slashing funding to education less than one hour after the Pennsylvania Senate approved a Marcellus Shale impact-fee bill that would tax national and international oil and gas companies at less than half the rate they pay in many other natural-gas producing states.

“Today was a sad day in the Capitol for the children of Pennsylvania. We paid more attention to the bottom lines of Shell Oil and Chevron than we did to the needs of education funding,” Dinniman said.