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Politics & Government

Former State Rep Critical of Corbett Budget

Governor's agenda would hurt students, Republican Karen Beyer says.

Making an impromptu visit to a  on education held in Easton on Saturday, former State Representative Karen Beyer strongly criticized fellow Republicans' plans to cut state spending on education by $1.1 billion and institute a voucher system in Pennsylvania.

“Next week, the budget will be debated in Harrisburg,” Beyer told an audience at Greater Shiloh's church in Easton. “These are dangerous times. $1.1 billion is on the table.”

Beyer was handing out cards from thePennsylvania School Funding Campaign, which bills itself as a "coalition of more than 30 statewide and regional education and advocacy organizations...advocating for adequate and equitable funding of Pennsylvania’s public schools."

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She said that unlike the Rendell administration, which made education a priority, Governor Tom Corbett is only interested in pursuing a political agenda.

“It's very simple. The governor wants to privatize public education. He wants to break the back of the unions,” said Beyer, who represented the 131st district from 2005 to 2010. “And he wants to make a profit on it.”

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At a speech earlier this month in Washington, Corbett called school reform "a moral obligation," and argued vouchers are the way to bring about that reform.

 "The answer is not to blow up the system," Corbett said in the speech. "The answer is to change it, and the only way I see to do that is to make funding portable."

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Corbett's visit was met by about 100 protestors --many of them teachers -- holding signs with the slogan "Vouchers aren't the answer."

Easton Area School Board president Kerry Myers said the proposed school voucher system would be devastating for local school districts and wouldn't help students.

“If a voucher system is passed, this child could, say, go to Saucon Valley, (but only) if Saucon Valley accepts him,” Myers said.

He noted that under the proposal the local school districts would still be responsible for transporting students to and from school, at their own cost, as well as transferring local school tax dollars to the other school system, to the detriment of those students who remain in their home district.

The added distances and destinations would greatly increase transportation costs for each district, he added.

“Just because you have a voucher doesn't mean your child will go to a better school,” Myers said.

Beyer said the solution is to contact their local elected officials in Harrisburg and clearly let them know their feelings.

“You must be involved, You cannot let the 10 to 15 percent of the voters who bother to vote control the situation,” she said. “These are serious issues, and we need to pay attention."

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