With the passage and signing of the 2010-2011 Pennsylvania budget, with its $250 million increase in education funding over last year's budget, Pennsylvania is moving in the right direction in support of public education. The budget grants over $33 million to the Norristown, Methacton, Perkiomen Valley and Spring Ford districts, an increase of $1.86 million, or 6% overall. But this increase does not cancel out state cuts to education of prior years, and local school districts still have less state (and federal) money to work with than in the past. Many districts have had to cut important programs because of cuts in state and federal revenue. We need to make public education in Pennsylvania one of our top priorities again. Pennsylvania students score slightly below the national average on standardized tests such as the SATs. We can and must to do better. No matter that the economic times are tough: our children are our future, and their education is an investment in that future. We need to work together across party lines to ensure that every child in this district and this state has access to quality education. As your state representative, I will work hard to make that happen.
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