http://www.postgazette.com/pg/11068/1130622-454.stm

Newly elected PA Guv, Tom Corbett, announced a balanced budget for the Commonwealth today.  His budget included:

-Substantial increases to welfare spending, and state police
-Roughly a 9% cut to state subsidies for local school districts
-Cut the allocations to Penn State and Pitt by 50% (Penn State and Pitt are not state universities, they just sponge off the state)
-Cut the Department of "Economic Development" boobdoggle by roughly 1/3.
-No new taxes
-No proposals with regard to changing collective bargaining priveledges
-No changes in funding for the Port Authority in Picksburgh (another sponge of the taxpayer dollar)

The budget should pass fairly easily as the GOP controls both houses of the State Legislature and the Governor's mansion.

Kudos to Corbett for not being afraid to call out the Economic Development Department (which is corporate welfare) and the two featherbedded colleges (who have not a clue about cost controls).  I wish he had cut the DCED even more, but a 1/3 cut is a good start as it was simply "walking around money" that politicians used to pay off their supporters.

Critics are already coming out of the woodwork, aghast at the prospect that school districts should actually have to pay for the operation of their own schools.

Critics are already coming out of the woodwork, aghast at the prospect that school districts should actually have to pay for the operation of their own schools.


Up go property taxes!
::)

Up go property taxes!
::)


Well if the local school districts want to spend lots of dough on their schools, then they can raise the money themselves.  The idea of the "state" funding community schools is nothing less than confiscation.  I don't know how it works in other states, but here in PA the commonwealth simply accepts that we have too many school districts, too many featherbedded school administrator jobs, too many school buildings, and simply doles out more money (confiscated from taxpayers statewide) to fund it all.

We have a school district nearby that is gonna spend $1,000,000 to install a new press box at their football field.  :o  Why should the state be giving them ANY money when they waste it on stuff like that.  Besides, their teams regularly suck so its not like they are some powerhouse team.

Well if the local school districts want to spend lots of dough on their schools, then they can raise the money themselves.  The idea of the "state" funding community schools is nothing less than confiscation.  I don't know how it works in other states, but here in PA the commonwealth simply accepts that we have too many school districts, too many featherbedded school administrator jobs, too many school buildings, and simply doles out more money (confiscated from taxpayers statewide) to fund it all.

We have a school district nearby that is gonna spend $1,000,000 to install a new press box at their football field.  :o  Why should the state be giving them ANY money when they waste it on stuff like that.  Besides, their teams regularly suck so its not like they are some powerhouse team.


When I was in school, the athletics was like the Pentagon and phys ed was like the army.  The varsity teams got everything they wanted even while they were laying off gym teachers.  Not that I gave a rat's ass about gym!  We didn't have "gym," btw, we had a "field house."
;D

Well if the local school districts want to spend lots of dough on their schools, then they can raise the money themselves.  The idea of the "state" funding community schools is nothing less than confiscation.  I don't know how it works in other states, but here in PA the commonwealth simply accepts that we have too many school districts, too many featherbedded school administrator jobs, too many school buildings, and simply doles out more money (confiscated from taxpayers statewide) to fund it all.

We have a school district nearby that is gonna spend $1,000,000 to install a new press box at their football field.  :o  Why should the state be giving them ANY money when they waste it on stuff like that.  Besides, their teams regularly suck so its not like they are some powerhouse team.


Sounds like what went on here at Newton North High.  Newton is one of the richest communities in Massachusetts.  They decided they needed a new high school..campus really, got international architect Graham Gund to design it, started building, got over their heads and came to the state to bail them out.  Being a wealthy community they didn't have any problems getting the state house to fork over 50 million in state funds to finish a 200 million dollar high school.

This morning the ribbon was cut to a sunlit, zigzag-shaped building that features two theaters, a 25-yard-long pool, a print shop, an auto body shop, two gymnasiums, and a student cafe.

...“It’s been embarrassing to hear the school called the ‘Taj Mahal,’ ’’ Lappin said.

Embarrassing, but I'm sure they'll find a way to live with it.

http://www.principalspage.com/theblog/wp-content/uploads//2008/08/newton-north-hs.jpg

http://www.principalspage.com/theblog/wp-content/uploads//2008/08/newton-north-hs.jpg


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