Rendell pitches reform program
Gov. Ed Rendell told an auditorium full of Laurel Highlands High School students on the verge of entering the work force that the state’s unemployment rate is at a near-record high, Pennsylvania ranks 47th in job creation and the state’s economy grew in the boom time of the 1990s at only half the national average rate. “So, we have a lousy economy. No question about it. We’ve had a lousy economy for a while. We’ve got to change this,” he said.
Rendell has been traversing the state to talk about his “Plan for a New Pennsylvania,” which features education funding reform. He vetoed the education portion of the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, in an effort to change the way the state doles out money to its public schools He proposes cuts in local property taxes, to be made up by taxes on legalized slot machines at racetracks and a hike in the personal income tax.
On Thursday, he made Laurel Highlands High School the latest among the schools he has visited, spending about an hour there talking first for about 25 minutes to 10th- through 12th-grade students, school district and community members. He lingered to chat individually with audience members and spent some time at a reception in the school.
Superintendent Dr. Ronald Sheba gave the governor a Laurel Highlands gym bag and a few mementos. School board President Edward S. George introduced Rendell, calling him “a man big enough” to effect education reform.
Rendell’s words of hope concerned a $2 billion economic stimulus plan that he proposes to use as leverage for private investment in the next 24 to 36 months.
“That will help the seniors and juniors, because if we can get our economy hopping, there will be jobs for you to fill – good jobs for you to fill,” he said.
He said education and economic development go together in the sense that “what we graduate from our high school is our work force.”
Unfortunately, he said, 51 percent of the state’s 11th-graders failed the basic math and 41 percent failed the basic reading tests of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment. Schools, he said, are failing to give their students a quality education.
“I believe it is our moral obligation as governor, as educators, as adults, as parents, to you to have an education system that will allow you to reach your full potential,” he said.
The education system has to be more accountable to the students, he said, and that means changing the way schools operate. One of those changes would be to stop paying teachers for longevity but on their students’ achievement.
He said early-childhood education, full-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes in kindergarten to third grade are among the cornerstones of his education plan. He listed other items to improve the quality of education, including after-school tutoring and teacher training.
Acknowledging that these ideas need money, Rendell proposes adding $1.3 billion over three years to the state education budget, which last totaled about $4 billion for the current fiscal year. He said all of that extra money is meant for proven education programs and not for administration, salaries or benefits.
Using Laurel Highlands as an example, Rendell said that under his plan, the district would receive about $4 million more over three years in basic education, special education and vocational education subsidies, and property owners would realize corresponding property tax relief of about $2.5 million.
He said those who end up paying more overall if their increase in the personal income tax is more than the reduction in their property tax still should not expect to pay much more in taxes.
He insisted the increase ultimately would be worth the improved schools.
“I would submit to you the cost of doing nothing is much more than the cost of this plan,” he said.
Rendell got a standing ovation at the beginning and end of his address.
Eleventh-grade student Jolene Darnell said she agreed with what Rendell had to say and thought the smaller classes would be most effective.
Lara Kozerka and Jackie Wells, 11th-graders, took photos of Rendell for the yearbook and even got in a shot themselves.
“I thought it was really interesting. He made some good points,” Kozerka said.
Wells said the governor’s visit was a good opportunity for her and her classmates.
“He plans to do a lot for the students,” she said.
Noting that the governor was the most influential person to visit the school in the three years he has been there, principal John Diamond said the visit was a “fantastic” opportunity for the students to witness part of the policy-making process that will have an impact on their education and their future.
After the Laurel Highlands address, the call of the wild proved too strong for Rendell to ignore when he visited Early Head Start of Fayette County.
To the delight of youngsters and adults alike, Rendell got down on his hands and knees and crawled into one of the little tents clustered among camping paraphernalia at the Early Head Start of Fayette County center in the Family and Community Partnership Building on Coolspring Road, North Union Township, where the Head Start of Fayette County program also is housed.
Rendell was a special guest for the fourth annual Literacy Night, stopping there briefly during his tour of Fayette County.
He spoke briefly of his plan’s provision for early-childhood education.
“Only half of the eligible kids in Pennsylvania get into Head Start, because the state does not provide one dollar to match federal funds,” he said.
Rendell said his plan calls for enough matching state money to provide 45,000 more children with Head Start services. He said pre-kindergarten education is “step one” in his plan for a better education system, and he believes full-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes in the early grades would get the state’s children off to a good start in their schooling.
High-fiving the children, shaking hands and pausing for photos, Rendell stretched his visit out a little longer by listening in with the children to a storyteller before aides whisked him away for another engagement.
Early Head Start offers services to children 3 years and younger, and Head Start picks up with children 3 to 5 years old. The county has 10 Head Start sites with 24 classrooms, while Early Head Start primarily is a home-based program delivered from 15 areas in the county.
Head Start/Early Head Start Director Collette Sandzimier said the federally funded program would benefit greatly from the addition of state money, explaining Early Head Start has a waiting list of 200 children in Fayette County and Head Start has a waiting list of 300 to 400 children.
Sandzimier said children learn through play and structured activities from certified teachers.
“Children are ready to learn very early. We work with literacy and kindergarten readiness. It’s important to reach children at a very early age when they are in the early learning mode,” she said. “Gov. Rendell supports early childhood education and that could mean a lot to a lot of children in the state.”