Causer: Funding is Fair, Reasonable

HARRISBURG - Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) today refuted claims by the Rendell administration that the House Republican budget proposal cuts funding for schools. "Every lawmaker in Harrisburg recognizes that educating our students is absolutely a top priority. We owe it to the kids, and it is vital to our Commonwealth's future success," Causer said. "Our plan does NOT cut funding for schools, and I am deeply disappointed by the misinformation being spread by this administration and some in the education community." Causer acknowledged that Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed a greater amount of school funding in his plan but pointed out that it requires an income tax increase of at least 16 percent. Also, his use of the federal stimulus funds in addition to increased state funding will undoubtedly lead to a huge hole in the state budget when stimulus funds expire in 2011-12. "I've heard from many people locally who are opposed to higher taxes, and thousands of Pennsylvanians have voiced their opposition to the plan at StopPATaxHike.com," Causer said. "We have developed a plan that uses a mix of state funds and federal stimulus dollars to fund our schools in a fair and reasonable way without further burdening the taxpayer.
Following is a breakdown of funding by district under the GOP plan. Please note these percentage increases are higher than the districts received in last year's budget. The top figure is the amount of proposed funding. The bottom number is the percentage increase over last year.
Austin Area $1.4 million7.9 percent
Bradford Area $15 million7.6 percent
Cameron County $6.1 million5.4 percent
Coudersport Area $4.8 million4.7 percent
Galeton Area $2.4 million6.6 percent
Keystone Central $23.8 million7.5 percent
Northern Potter $4.9 million7.3 percent
Oswayo Valley $4 million6.1 percent
Otto-Eldred $6.2 million5.5 percent
Port Allegany $8 million5.4 percent
Smethport Area $7 million3.9 percent
"Funding public education is a priority, but school districts have to live within their means just like everyone else does," Causer said. "I wholeheartedly support our schools and the good work they do to educate our students, but in a year when we are proposing to cut almost every other budget line item, I consider our plan to be more than fair."