Gov. Tom Corbett says the blame for laying off teachers rests with Pennsylvania school districts, not the deep cuts in state aid in his newly enacted budget.
Answering reporters' questions after an address to a statewide police chiefs group, Corbett said Tuesday that he regrets seeing anybody get laid off, but he also asserted that school districts should have budgeted more conservatively.
The state's 2011-12 spending plan cuts roughly $900 million from state aid for public schools. Pennsylvania had about $1 billion in one-time federal funding to use last year and in the upcoming school year to help it weather the recession's effect on tax collections.
Corbett says districts spent the federal money knowing it would disappear. Thousands of teachers have been laid off, with districts still finalizing their budgets.
