Devastating Effects- PA GOP Education Cuts Hit Schools Hard

Results from a recent survey of school districts show that the nearly $930 million in drastic education cuts that were passed in the Republican state budget earlier this year are in fact hitting school districts hard.

According to the data released by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), responses indicate that students will see fewer faculty, larger class sizes, and outdated learning materials.

The Executive Director of PASBO, Jay Himes, was quoted in the report as saying, “We have not seen personnel and program reductions of this magnitude in education for decades. This is not a one year problem. The disinvestment in education combined with increasing pension costs next year means there will be more painful decisions for schools when the 2012-13 budget process starts later this fall.”

Below are some specific examples of what the Republican cuts have done to school districts across the state:

• 8,365 positions were eliminated by the responding school districts
• Of those positions, 3,556 were teachers
• Nearly one third have reduced or eliminated extracurricular activities such as sports programs
• More than 7 in 10 respondents indicated that reserve funds were used to balance their budgets, with many not having any reserve funds left for next year which will result in even more personnel cuts

 A total of 294 out of 500 school districts, or 59%, participated in the survey.

 The budget for 2011-2012 was passed and signed at the end of June with only Republican members voting for it.