In the wake of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s brutal 2011-2012 budget proposal—a measure which eliminates $1.2 billion in state education money—the Philadelphia school district is now facing an expected deficit of $629 million.
The district has responded to Corbett’s budget by announcing that it will have to increase class sizes, scale back on “fluff” such as arts and humanities classes, replace full-day kindergarten programs with half-day ones, and fire 3,820 employees. Bus transportation and SEPTA passes for 45,000 students at both public and private schools will disappear as well, making it harder for some students to attend their remaining classes.
It is hard to overstate the enormity of the cuts to education that will sweep across the state July 1 under Corbett’s budget. An April survey distributed by the Philadelphia Inquirer received responses from slightly more than half of the state’s 500 school districts and, of the districts that participated, 71 percent are planning to cut instructional programs in 2011-2012. Most of these will be elective courses, tutoring services, and summer school programs. A comparable percentage of school districts will be reducing or eliminating extracurricular activities, and the overwhelming majority (86 percent) will see increases in class sizes. About 25 percent may have to close some of their schools. Layoffs are expected in virtually every one of the districts.
Although the cuts will be felt nearly everywhere, working-class areas will be hit the hardest. In a worst-case scenario, school officials in Bristol Township predict that kindergarten, Advanced Placement, and elementary art and music classes will simply evaporate, along with 60-90 percent of paid employees. These losses will be coupled with a 1.8 percent tax increase on area residents.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/may2011/penn-m24.shtml
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