B-W School Board President George L. Pry Comments on State Budget Cuts

After for Pennsylvania’s 2011-12 fiscal year on Tuesday, March 8, Baldwin-Whitehall residents began asking themselves what the cuts would mean to them.

While Corbett’s proposed cuts meant no increase of state taxes nor the addition of any new state taxes or fees, Baldwin-Whitehall school board President George L. Pry pointed out that Corbett’s stance puts a burden on local municipalities to offset a lack of funding.

“Gov. Corbett came on with a political-campaign promise that he wasn’t going to raise taxes,” Pry said during an interview after a school board meeting on Wednesday night, “and I think, while he’s trying to maintain expenses and bring us back to some level we had before the previous administration, in essence, he’s also pushed the locals to raise taxes.”

Corbett’s budget plan calls for drastic cuts to many areas, including basic education, which is being reduced by approximately $500 million.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association reports that the , specifically, stands to essentially lose $1,555,278 in state funding under Corbett’s plan, down from $10,356,550 in 2010-11 to $8,801,272 next fiscal year.

Because of the proposed cuts in state funding, the B-W school district could be faced with the possibility of raising local taxes this coming fiscal year – the opposite of what it has done in each of the past three years – or cutting certain programs that the district offers.

“While he’s (Corbett’s) not personally raising taxes,” Pry said, “he’s putting the burden on the back of all of the locals … My belief is, while he’s literally true – he’s not raising taxes – I think it’s a cop-out.”

Last year, the B-W school board approved a small decrease of 0.1 in its district’s millage rate, down from 23.5 to 23.4. The year before, the rate fell 0.11 mills. The rate was cut by a full mill the year before that.

Each mill generates approximately $1.5 million in funding for the district.

Pry spoke about whether Corbett’s proposed budget cuts will allow the B-W school board to approve another reduction in district millage for next fiscal year or to at least avoid an increase.

“I think there’s going to be every movement on this board not to raise taxes,” Pry said. “Now, can we get there? It’s too soon to tell. But I will tell you that there is a popular belief on this board that we want to get through this next budget without increasing taxes, and we’re looking for ways to make that happen.

“If it doesn’t (happen), okay, but we believe we owe it to the district to really try to make that happen.”

Pry spoke about the tough decisions facing Corbett when he designed his state budget plan. 

“He’s (Corbett’s) left with what many states are left with,” Pry said. “How do you look at pensions? How do you look at all of the issues that are arising across the states? There has to be some way to put our arms around it, and I feel sorry for the guy because there are no easy answers to that.”

In his Tuesday budget address, Corbett also called for no taxing of the extraction of natural gas from Marcellus Shale areas in Pennsylvania despite a gas severance tax like that being common in many other states.

“There has been much pressure to tax the gas being drawn from the Marcellus Shale,” Corbett said in his address. “The Marcellus is a resource, a source of potential wealth, the foundation of a new economy. Not just something new to tax …

“What Pennsylvanians will gain is the jobs, the spinoffs, and if we don’t scare off these industries with new taxes, the follow-up that comes along.”

However, given that potential money raised from a Marcellus Shale severance tax could offset some of the cuts to education funding that Corbett proposed, Pry was asked for his reaction to Corbett’s position on that topic as well.

“You have two factions on Marcellus Shale,” Pry said. “You have the faction that is saying we really have to look after the environment. We have to produce a land that is safe for the children.”

Pry was referring to the risks involved with Marcellus Shale drilling, such as water pollution.

“On the other hand, when you look at what the options of the state are to raise taxes … I mean, look at the state of Texas. They have to raise very little taxes because the oil industry pays a major chunk of it. And I still believe that we need to control our environmental-protection plans to make sure that we’re doing everything safe, but I believe, in these economic times, we need to look to find ways so that the state of Pennsylvania isn’t as tax-poor as we are now.

“We pay significantly high taxes. Now, it may not be as high as New York’s, but we have a resource that we need to – I hate to use the word ‘exploit’ – but we need to take every advantage of.”