Corbett's Budget Cuts Cost 14,000 Jobs in Public Schools in the last year, + 1,000 in universities

[JPZenger]

Last edited Sat Feb 11, 2012, 10:36 PM - Edit history (2)

http://articles.mcall.com/2011-09-15/news/mc-pa-teacher-job-cuts-20110915_1_school-jobs-federal-stimulus-tom-corbett

According to the above source, over 14,000 jobs were lost in public schools alone in the last year. In addition, 900 jobs were eliminated in the state-owned universities plus hundreds at Penn State.
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http://keystoneresearch.org/media-center/press-releases/public-sector-job-losses-put-brakes-pennsylvania%E2%80%99s-recovery

Excerpt:

"Public-sector job losses are putting the brakes on Pennsylvania’s economic recovery, endangering private-sector job gains and squandering the state’s job growth advantage coming out of the recession, according to a new policy brief from the Keystone Research Center.

Over the last year, Pennsylvania has lost 21,000 public-sector jobs, including some 13,000 education jobs. Among the 50 states, Pennsylvania saw the sixth-largest decline in state and local jobs in the last year.

The impact is being felt well beyond the public sector, slowing the pace of private-sector job growth as the ripple effects of out-of-work teachers and laid-off government workers takes a toll on the broader economy, researchers noted."

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http://www.passhe.edu/inside/ne/press/Pages/default.aspx

Statement from the State system of higher education, which serves 120,000 students.

"... our joint goals are at risk as a result of the budget ... which provides only $2 million more than the system received 24 years ago in 1988-89. During that period we have added 23,000 students.

“The proposed budget represents the latest in a cascade of reductions to the State System in the past 18 months. If this proposal stands, we will have lost more than $170 million in state and federal education and general funding, compounded by a 50 percent reduction in our capital allocation and the loss of Key ‘93 funding dedicated to deferred maintenance. Taken together, these reductions now mean that we must increasingly decide whether to renovate and maintain our existing physical plant or provide students the courses and programs they require to graduate.

“We do our part. We have reduced our operating costs by more than $230 million during the past decade and will continue to seek additional efficiencies through collaboration. Since 2010, we have over 900 current vacancies and/or eliminated positions throughout the System. We continue to review our academic offerings; we have eliminated or put into moratorium hundreds of programs."

[jschurchin]

1. not to mention that local property taxes are rising

Because of the cuts made to education. My mom and stepfather are seniors on fixed incomes and they are struggling to afford the rise in their local property taxes. I told them both, dont bitch, you voted for this fucking idiot. I tried to tell them this is what Republican budget cutters do. But hey, what do I know.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. Why does saying "I told you so" not make you feel better?

I am pissed at all the people who voted him into office too, but since I am also getting screwed, it doesn't feel like a victory to be right.

[badhair77]

3. 7 people from my small district are retiring.

Current plan is to replace only 1 and hire another position half-day. That means the person who was furloughed last year will not get to come back also.

Corbett's legacy will be budget cuts and support for the natural gas industry. If he gets his voucher program he will have the trifecta. Then there's always the possibility of privatizing the state stores. I don't see him building anything. It's all about cutting with only his friends/associates benefitting.

[JPZenger]

4. He delayed privatizing the state stores to starve the state of money

When Corbett was elected, he and the legislature were all hot on privativing the state store system. They claimed it would take in one billion for the state. Then all of the sudden they stopped. I really believe it was because Corbett wanted to starve the state of revenue and wanted to force through budget cuts.

[JPZenger]

5. Thousands of jobs in Phil schools

The Phila. School District eliminated a few thousand jobs, with more to come. The Allentown School District laid off over 100 school teachers plus eliminated about 100 other jobs. The Bethlehem Area School District eliminated over 100 jobs, including tens of teachers.

The Allentown Superintendent recently said that if they have to eliminate more jobs "they will not be able to function." So many classes were cut that students are often packed into huge study halls in the auditorium.

[JPZenger]

6. Universities are major generators of new jobs in PA.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11062/1129237-109.stm

Excerpts:

"Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Lincoln University and Temple University together... employ more than 68,000 people, with a combined economic impact estimated at nearly $30 billion a year. Penn State is one of Pennsylvania's largest non-government employers, with 44,000 full- and part-time employees who generate more than $800 million in research spending each year. It ranks in the Top 10 nationally in science and engineering research expenditures, including more than $100 million annually in industry-sponsored R&D. Penn State generates more than $17 billion a year in economic impact.

Pitt was awarded $737 million in research funding in fiscal 2009, more than $700 million of which came from non-Pennsylvania sources. Aside from offering tremendous opportunities for research, that funding alone also supports more than 26,000 jobs in Pennsylvania and represents a $4 return on every $1 of Pitt's state appropriation.

.. the federal government announced that a research consortium headed by Penn State (including Pitt) bested more than 100 competitors nationwide to earn a $129 million grant to develop an "energy innovation hub" at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. This grant -- the largest in the university's history -- is aimed at developing sustainable technologies that save energy and reduce pollution. Experts believe these technologies will create new businesses and as many as 100,000 "green sector" jobs in the next decade.

At Pitt, which ranks in the Top 10 of university recipients of federal science and engineering research awards, the Office of Technology Management is creating new business opportunities out of ideas emerging from the lab and classroom. Over the past seven years, OTM's efforts have helped start 40 companies in Pennsylvania -- start-ups that create employment and generate tax revenue for local and state coffers. During the past three years, the university has averaged $140.7 million in construction projects annually, which generated 1,300 jobs and $51 million in personal income."