Rendell Announces a New Round of Budget Cuts

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Pennsylvania Governor's ResidenceAs promised, Governor Rendell released a line by line list of an additional $500 million in cuts to the 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Budget. These cuts combine with previous reductions to bring his overall reductions to just over $2 billion. It is important, now more than ever, to contact your legislators to ensure that important programs are not cut. Please ask your legislators to preserve the Governor’s numbers on Child Care and Industry Partnerships and to reverse the cuts to important programs such as Adult and Family Literacy, State Food Purchase, Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood, and others.

The good news is that in his proposal are no cuts to key investments for early childhood education. The Governor has also committed to continue to fund the important Industry Partnerships program that provides employers the tools to improve and expand their workforce by bringing together companies committed to the development of their workforce.

The bad news is that revised budget plan impacts 80% of the 628 General Fund line items, of which 26% will be completely eliminated, including Classrooms for the Future, Office of Safe Schools Advocate, and Education for Indigent Children, among others.

Some of the major cuts include:
  • $1 million reduction in the State Food Purchase
  • $1 million reduction in Adult and Family Literacy
  • $1 million reduction for Career and Technical Education
  • Reductions in all of the state’s commissions (including $77,000 reduction for the Commission for Women, $48,000 for the Juvenile Court Judges Commission)
  • $1 million reduction for Higher Education for the Disadvantaged
  • Elimination of the Office of Safe Schools Advocate at a savings of $175,000
  • $632,000 reduction for education at Youth Development Centers
  • $170,000 reduction for Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood
  • $2.6 million reduction for Homeless Assistance
  • $1.309 million reduction for Evidence-Based Prevention (Safe Children)

Please ask your legislators to preserve the Governor’s numbers on child care and Industry Partnerships and to reverse the cuts to important programs such as Adult and Family Literacy, State Food Purchase, Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood, and others.

Tell your legislators that particularly in these tough economic times programs that help Pennsylvanians with job training, child care, education, and general support, are programs Pennsylvania cannot afford to cut.

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