Cuts to our schools - Pennsylvania State Education Association

This feature is the latest in a series on Kids, Cuts, and Consequences. The series looks behind the scenes at school districts hit hard by
Gov. Tom Corbett’s nearly $1 billion in cuts to public schools. The districts in the series ranged from large, urban to small, rural ones.
Cuts to our schools
S
CONSEQUENCES**
} Positions Eliminated: Nearly 27,000*
} Class Size Increases: 64 percent of school
districts (35 percent in multiple years) **
} Programs Eliminated: 80 percent of school
districts (nearly 800,000 students affected) **
*Source: PA Dept. of Labor & Industry/U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics
**Source: PASBO, PASA survey, October 1, 2012
McKeesport Area SD
State Funding Cuts Since FY 2010-2011
-$2,460,294 or -10.7%
State Funding Cuts Since FY 2010-2011
-$9,391,971 or -7.2%
-$2,394,416 or -10.4%
Bethlehem Area SD
Everett Area SD
State Funding Cuts Since FY 2010-2011
State Funding Cuts Since FY 2010-2011
-$4,693,986 or -13.8%
-$724,146 or -11.1%
N O V E M B E R
E D U C A T I O N
State Funding Cuts Since FY 2010-2011
F O R
Mifflin County SD
V O I C E
Reading SD
T H E
ince 2011, the Kids, Cuts, and Consequences series
has featured the impact that Gov. Tom Corbett's nearly
$1 billion in school funding cuts has had on PSEA
members and the students they teach in school districts
across Pennsylvania.
In this edition of Voice, we have compiled some of those
stories, highlighted the perspectives of a number of PSEA
members, and shown how these unprecedented cuts have
created a school funding crisis in our state.
Taken together, these stories provide a sample of the consequences Gov. Corbett's school funding cuts have had on
the kids we serve every day.
Most of the cuts to public school classrooms made in
Corbett's first budget remain in effect today. The state's most
impoverished school districts averaged cuts more than three
times the size of those in low-poverty districts.
The information on this and the following pages highlights the devastating impact on Pennsylvania’s public
schools.
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Consequences for students
Academic programs eliminated or reduced,
2010-11 to 2014-15
Districts
Affected
Programs
Affected
Students
Affected
(2013-14 Enrollment)
80%
1,153
Total Programs
206 Districts
83%
797,652 Students
Corbett's cuts
to public schools
have forced
school districts to
cut or eliminate
academic and
extracurricular
programs, costing
students critical
opportunities to
learn and grow.
Source: "Continued Cuts: The Fourth Annual PASA-PASBO Report on
School District Budgets," June 2014
McKeesport Area: Block grant funds lost
Before Corbett's budget cuts slashed funding for the accountability block grant program and shut down the
education assistance tutoring program, McKeesport used those state funds to invest in tutoring programs, class
size reduction, and kindergarten.
 Kids, Cuts, and Consequences (March 2012)
“It has really taken me out
of the classroom a lot. I
used to be able to get
into the classroom more
and do some teaching –
things like hand-washing
and other hygiene, dental
health, and anti-tobacco
programs.”
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• McKeesport Area: Elementary art and music education eliminated
• Reading: Middle school technology eliminated
• Everett Area: Elementary library program cut
• Bethlehem Area: Early education center for neediest students cut
• Sharon City: After-school tutoring and science equipment cut
• Harrisburg: Music, library, and kindergarten programs cut
• Pocono Mountain: Exploratory foreign language program
eliminated
• Mifflin County: “Pay to play fee” for after-school sports
Harrisburg: Library program decimated
Educators agree that reading is the most essential skill for a student to possess in
order to be successful academically. Yet for a district that has about 6,600 students,
inadequate state funding forced the district to decimate its library program, leaving
one librarian responsible for 10 schools across the district.
 Kids, Cuts, and Consequences (March 2013)
T H E
V O I C E
F O R
E D U C A T I O N
Becky Garrett
Certified School Nurse, Everett Area
School District (May 2014)
Programs Cut or Eliminated
N O V E M B E R
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Education positions cut
0 50 100
150
200
250
300
McKeesport Area
27,000
LOST
EDUCATION
JOBS
Mifflin County
Pocono Mountain
Reading
since the Corbett cuts took effect
Harrisburg
Source: Kids, Cuts, and Consequences, January 2012-July 2014
“ We’ve had dedicated, committed teachers,
administrators, staff, and support staff
who basically say, ‘No matter what, I’m
going to help serve these kids.’’’
Source: PA Dept. of Labor & Industry/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
“ Our classrooms provide a safety net that
our students don't get anywhere else. They
need these programs. Now, they're losing
them.”
Kalem Calien
Sandra Madeira
Teacher, Harrisburg School
District (March 2013)
Fourth-grade Teacher, Reading
School District (September 2012)
Bethlehem: ESL students fall behind
Amy Wastler only speaks English. Nearly half of the children in her kindergarten classes at Donegan Elementary
School are English As a Second Language students, but she no longer has a Spanish-speaking aide. It “really
hinders the learning process for students,” Wastler says.
 Kids, Cuts, and Consequences (January 2014)
I CE E F FOOR R E ED DU UCCA AT TI O
I ON N
T TH HE E V VOOI C
64%
OF CLASS SIZES RISE
Since 2010-11
Source: "Continued Cuts: The Fourth Annual PASA-PASBO Report on School District Budgets," June 2014
See more of Kids, Cuts, and Consequences at
www.psea.org/kcc. Watch videos of members
telling their stories – and tell yours.
}Your story matters. Tell it. Today.
OUR SCHOOLS
OUR STORIES
N O V E M B E R
S E P T E M B E R
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