County Republicans hold event to defend Governor’s education record
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Sheriff Bunny Welsh speaks at Monday’s press conference defending Gov. Corbett’s record on funding education.
WEST CHESTER – At a press conference at the Historic Courthouse on Monday morning, Chester County Republicans said that under Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania has spent more money on education than ever before.
Republican Committee of Chester County Chairman Val DiGiorgio, County Commissioner and Co-Campaign Chair Terence Farrell, Co-Campaign Chair Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh, former teacher Karen Hermann, taxpayer Barbara Albright, and former West Chester Area School Board Member Maria Pimley spoke on Corbett’s record on education spending and responded to Gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf’s campaign attacking Corbett’s record.
“Under Gov. Tom Corbett’s leadership, our state spends more on education than at any other point in our state’s history,” said Farrell.
Farrell pointed to former Gov. Ed Rendell’s usage of federal stimulus money as a point of contention. In 2009, the federal government passed a $1.2 trillion stimulus package that Ferrell said was to be used for “shovel read” projects such as roads and infrastructure. Rendell used about $1.7 billion of Pennsylvania’s portion to supplement education. Ferrell pointed out that these funds would not be renewed.
Welsh reiterated these points, comparing Rendell’s actions to a family depending on lottery money to supplement its budget.
“Would you plan your budget assuming that you would buy another lottery ticket and win another $10,000?” she asked.
Welsh pointed out that Corbett raised state funds for education from $8.5 billion to over $10 billion over his two years in office and called Wolf a “puppet” of public sector unions.
“Secretary Tom Wolf and the public sector unions are certainly entitled to their own opinions, but they aren’t entitled to their own facts,” she said.
Retired teacher Karen Hermann, who taught in West Chester for 20 years said that she was annoyed that Wolf’s literature was being distributed in teacher mailboxes. She called the practice “unethical.”
“Gov. Corbett did not reduce it [state education funding], he increased he increased state funding of education without raising taxes,” said Albright.
Pimley said that Rendell’s use of stimulus money to supplement education was only a temporary solution.
“They [stimulus dollars] were plugged in like you would plug a hole in a dike; they ran out,” she said.
