#1
Last night I attended a meeting of the Palmerton Area School Board. Diane Danielson, director of the Palmerton Area Library, explained that if the School Board limits its aid to the library, the state will cut its subsidy, since the state money is dependent on local contributions.
Retired Palmerton District teacher Marian Hoffner then told the Board that when she started teaching, the District had five administrators. It now has ten, each with a secretary. Ms. Hoffner noted that the student enrollment has not doubled in the interim, and suggested that if cuts have to be made, no part of the budget should be exempt, including the administration. Her remarks were wildly applauded.
The problem school districts across Pennsylvania are facing can be traced to Governor Corbett. Many of us saw this coming last November. We have a governor who has an ideological position, cast in concrete, not to raise taxes. With the deficit the state is facing, it is inevitable that the cuts will be passed down to municipalities and school districts. They have two choices: cut budgets or raise taxes. The governor, meanwhile, abdicates all responsibility. What a jerk.
#2
My partner attended a Lou Barletta town hall at the Amvets in Lansford tonight. Although the people with the T-shirts with the chopped-up snake were there in force and tried to shout her down, she confronted Barletta on his support for the Ryan budget proposal. That a congressman would even dare to come to Lansford and suggest giving tax breaks for the rich shows that Barletta is living in an alternative reality.
#3
We do need to speak truth to power at these events. Rep. Heffley is holding an open house from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Lehighton Borough Annex, 2nd floor, 110 N. 3rd St., Thursday April 28. He is holding another one from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 29, at Frosty Mountain Plaza, 2681 State Route 903, Unit 3, Albrightsville. Be there or be square.
Note: In an earlier post, I discussed the Arizona legislature’s bill to allow guns on college campuses. I am pleased to note that Gov. Brewer vetoed not only that bill, but also a second bill to require presidential candidates to provide birth certificates or evidence of circumcision. Thank you, Gov. Brewer.
I've noticed that in all the articles I've read about the financial crises in our local school districts, all of the solutions have been cutting teachers and freezing salaries and cutting programs (usually in the arts). I have yet to see that they're laying off administrators. No admins are taking a cut in their huge salaries or even taking pay freezes. I applaud Marian Hoffner for her remarks and agree wholeheartedly. Palmerton was better off when the district wasn't so top-heavy with administration.
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