Despicable Teabagger Tom Corbett Blames Teachers for HIS Deadly Budget Cuts!

Governor Tom Corbett (R-PA) has declined to accept any responsibility in the tragic death of another child in a criminally underfunded Pennsylvania public school. Last Wednesday, a 7-year-old first grader lost consciousness in a hallway at Andrew Jackson Elementary and died a short time later at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The exact cause of death is still unknown. In what has become a common practice in Pennsylvania, the school has lost its full-time nurse and must make do with one only six days per month. Although there was a volunteer present that happened to be a registered nurse, efforts to revive the child using CPR were unsuccessful. Principal Lisa Ciarianca-Kaplan said that her staff did everything right, and that having a full-time nurse would not have made a difference in this case, although district officials claim that this remains to be seen.

Last September,Laporshia Massey, 12, died after suffering an apparent asthma attack at Bryant Elementary in West Philadelphia, another school that was forced to forego a full-time nurse because of Corbett’s Draconian budget cuts. Philadelphia schools are currently operating with a $216 million funding gap as a result of Corbett refusing to adequately fund the state’s public schools. His budgets have cut more than $1 billion from education, resulting in the loss of over 20,000 public school positions. What makes these cuts even more intolerable, is Corbett’s complete refusal to impose a severance tax on Marcellus Shale drilling like almost every other gas-rich state, losing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars that could be going into public education. While this sweetheart deal is insulting and enraging, it is somewhat more understandable when considering that the industry contributed well over a million dollars to Corbett’s campaign war chest.

A Pennsylvania public school teacher, Steven Singer, has had enough:

“The deaths of these two students are direct consequences of Corbett’s education policies! He slashed education funding by close to $1 billion every year for the last 3 years! This resulted in 20,000 teachers being laid off, class sizes skyrocketing, the elimination of art, music and extra curricular activities – and, yes, school nurses! If this is not the time to address the issue of his malfeasance, when is!? Once people have time to forget? He did nothing after the first student died. Hadn’t the time come yet to address that issue before the second one died!? Will there be time to address the issue before another child dies? Would rushing to judgement after three years be too uncouth!?”

He decided to write Gov. Corbett a letter asking him to fulfill his constitutional duty and fund the public schools adequately. He didn’t really expect a response at all, let alone one that puts all of the blame on the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Here is Corbett’s disgusting response:

“Putting the safety and educational needs of our students first must continue to be our top priority. There is an appropriate time and place to call for education policy discussions. Right now, our thoughts should be with the child’s family, friends, school and community who have all been through an extremely traumatic situation.

I am deeply troubled that the union leadership of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers – and by extension the American Federation of Teachers – would use the recent tragedy at Jackson Elementary as an opportunity to make a political statement. For more than a year, we all have asked the union leadership – who are disconnected from the great teachers in Philadelphia who are in the classroom every day – to come to the table and engage in meaningful negotiations to assist in the financial recovery of the Philadelphia School District. 

The Commonwealth, the School District, the School Reform Commission and City Council are all working to contribute to the success of Philadelphia’s schools and students. I will continue to ask the union leadership to put the children of Philadelphia first and engage in a meaningful dialogue and a shared vision for the future of the children of Philadelphia.

Tom Corbett”