HARRISBURG, February 8, 2006 - State Sen. Michael Stack praised the 2006-07 state budget proposed today by Gov. Ed. Rendell for its strong focus on education in Pennsylvania.

“The next generation of Pennsylvania workers must be competitive in the global marketplace,” said Stack (D-Philadelphia). “This budget’s emphasis on public education will help create this new generation of workers, thinkers, and leaders.”

Philadelphia schools would receive a 5 percent basic education funding increase to a total of over $826 million. Philadelphia School District would qualify for over $18 million as a poverty supplement and nearly $4 million based on the district’s number of limited-English-proficiency students.

Statewide, the Rendell budget would invest $20 million next year to put a laptop computer on every student’s desk in 100 high schools. The budget would also include $6 million to help train teachers in using this technology more effectively in their classrooms.

“Today’s schools need to be more than reading, writing, and arithmetic,” said Stack. “We need to prepare our children to use computers, and we need to help our teachers utilize the newest technology.”

The “Science: It’s Elementary” initiative in the 2006-07 budget would provide $10 million to enhance science education in up to 150 elementary schools across the state. This project would expand a pilot program currently running in 48 southwestern Pennsylvania school districts that are partnered with ASSET, a non-profit education initiative established by Bayer Corporation.

Also, the Rendell budget would increase library funding by $14.1 million to a total of $75.5 million.

Higher education would also get additional support under Rendell’s proposed budget. With an extra $3.7 million provided to the New Technology Scholarship Program, 500 more college students would receive grants to pursue degrees in bioscience, engineering, genetics, polymer science, and robotics. These students would commit to working in the state for several years after attending a Pennsylvania college or university.

Building on last year’s historic investment in Pennsylvania’s community colleges, this year’s budget would provide an additional $12.6 million to these schools. This increase includes a 10 percent increase in capital project funding.

Stack was also impressed with “World Trade PA,” a budget proposal that would invest $15 million to help Pennsylvania businesses expand into foreign markets.

“Pennsylvania is home to many small and medium-sized businesses that could grow if they had assistance with reaching into the global marketplace,” said Stack. “In this case, what’s good for Pennsylvania’s businesses is particularly good for Philadelphia, which has been growing as an import and export hub.”

Other important initiatives in the Rendell budget include the following:

*Cover All Kids - $14.6 million program to provide health coverage to 15,000 children who are presently uninsured

*PACE Plus Medicare - $224.8 million plan to ensure current PACE participants do not pay higher prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D and help 120,000 more seniors with their drug expenses

*State Police - $8.1 million to fund 90 additional troopers and bring the state police complement to its highest level ever

*Nursing Shortage - $10 million to address the state’s shortage of health-care workers

*Business Tax Cuts - $221 million in tax cuts to improve the state’s business climate

*No new state taxes or tax increases.
 

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