ABC27 WHTM Will Gov. Corbett cut public education in budget again?

Will Gov. Corbett cut public education in budget again?

Governor Tom Corbett will make his yearly budget address Tuesday afternoon, and public educators are anxiously awaiting more possible cuts.

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association said they are bracing for another tough year. Last year, Corbett cut nearly $900 million to Pennsylvania's public schools.

Insiders tell abc27 that this time around, they expect the same amount will be budgeted, meaning already struggling schools will be forced to dig even deeper.

Conservative lawmakers blame it partially on rising pension costs for teachers, but Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman Wythe Keever disagrees.

"Pension costs amount to less than two percent of the average district's operating budget, so instead of arguing about the two percent, we ought to be talking about the 98 percent that goes to educate students," he said.

The Commonwealth Foundation, a fiscally-conservative think tank, said districts have been overspending for years and should have planned for federal stimulus dollars to run out. President and CEO Matt Brouillette said schools need to be realistic about where they are allotting money.

"We underpay a lot of our good teachers and we overpay a lot of our teachers who ought to go find another line of work, so these are some of the reforms that we need to have happen," Brouillette said.

Many local municipalities are facing massive cuts and even layoffs in the wake of Corbett's funding cuts, including Cumberland Valley, Central Dauphin, Derry Township and West Shore school districts.