Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett said on Tuesday his budget proposals lay the groundwork for making tough decisions leading to “the prosperity of tomorrow.”
There are some strong disagreements about the budget decisions the governor is making.
"Homeowners will pay higher taxes because of Tom Corbett's budget and families will pay more for college because of Tom Corbett's budget,” said Jim Burn, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman.
Corbett’s proposed $27.1 billion fiscal 2012-13 spending plan calls for steep cuts for the state’s 14 state-owned universities of about 20 percent, with higher state aid cuts of about 30 percent for Temple University, Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh, which are not directly controlled by the state.
University leaders faced similar cuts last year, leading to tuition hikes of 5 to ten percent.
The governor is appointing a panel to examine higher education funding, to be headed by Rob Wonderling, a former state senator and current head of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Corbett said the group must report back to him by Nov. 15.
State Senate budget hearings are set to begin on Monday and the House will begin hearings on Feb. 21. The fiscal year begins July 1.
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Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes (D-Pa. 7th District) said in a statement on Tuesday that the governor’s budget proposal hurts the state’s economy and its people.
“While we are in dire need of investments, the governor has chosen to cut critical programs and services our middle and low income families have come to depend upon, while making zero effort to create jobs and boost economic development,” said Hughes. “Job creation and economic must be our top priority moving forward.”
State Sen. Mike Stack (D-Pa. 5th District) called the Corbett proposal “a slap in the face to the middle class.”
“The average family will continue to dig deeper into their pockets while wealthy corporate interests sit back and watch their bank rolls grow,” said Stack. “The budget also fails to fund the state’s growing transportation infrastructure crisis.”
State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Pa. 17th District) called on the governor to provide detailed plans for helping struggling school districts.
“He mentioned nothing about his plans for education in his speech despite evidence that the funding crisis is spreading: the issues faced by Chester-Upland are soon projected to affect at least ten other schools,” said Leach. “When that happens, the students will suffer and the taxpayers will pay.”
A statement from the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers was also critical about how the budget proposal may impact local school districts.
“The governor is continuing down the ill-advised budget path he charted last year that pushes more and more of the costs of our public schools onto the backs of local taxpayers,” said Ted Kirsch, President, Pennsylvania AFT. “While the governor may be taking a smaller step backward than he did in his first budget, he is still moving in the wrong direction.”
A coalition of taxpayers, voters and community groups from across the state traveled to Harrisburg to protest the budget address.
Organizers say the protesters were snubbed by Pa. budget secretary Charles Zogby after his budget briefing on Tuesday. The group of about 200 chanted “Shame, shame” as they approached Zogby with their concerns.
The group rallied at the state Capitol to call on the governor and lawmakers to end tax loopholes for the rich and enact a tax for Marcellus Shale gas extraction, the protester say could add nearly $1 billion in state revenues over the next year.
The protest was organized by groups from across the state including Fight for Philly, Occupy Temple, Philadelphia Economic Advancement Collective, and Philadelphia Unemployment Project.
