Relief and Resignation as Schools Welcome Gov. Wolf’s Temporary Budget Solution

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Dr. Cathy Taschner.
Dr. Cathy Taschner.

While the solution is far from permanent, the latest announcement by Governor Tom Wolf that he would use his line-item veto authority to allow parts of the state budget to flow to schools and social services has been received with both relief and resignation by many officials from public schools.

“Each year, we seem to find ourselves in this same conversation,” said Cathy Taschner, superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District. “It’s difficult because on one hand, there is this extreme financial burden on schools and we need financial relief. But on the other hand, we don’t want to accept a budget that sells the children of this commonwealth short.”

The latest move will ensure that schools in the Philadelphia region stay open after January 29th, said Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., but anything for the future still remains a huge unknown, as the fight between the Democrat Wolf and Republican legislative leaders continues.

“I don’t think we can get through a school year with only half of a state budget,” he said.

Despite this, Hite expressed his appreciation for what the Governor is trying to do, noting that he understood the tough spot Wolf was in, when trying to get both the right budget and at the same time, provide the funding for agencies that try to keep the more vulnerable members of the population afloat.

“I’m in support of what the governor’s attempting to do in terms of trying to ensure that there’s more money for public school districts across the commonwealth,” Hite remarked.

Hite is not alone in his support for Wolf’s position, as the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and its union were key in helping get the Governor elected, and its president, Jerry Jordan, is continuing to express his support for the governor, saying that Wolf was right to use the line-item veto to deal with “the travesty of a budget” that was hastily passed by the GOP-controlled House.

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