Sen. Hughes to School Parents: 'Make Some Noise'

In front of a mural that read "It takes a village to a raise a child," state Sen. Vincent Hughes posed for a photo with the Village.

That village supplied its student with paper.

That village paid for two lunchroom aides out of its own pocket.

That village has had enough.

Parents, students and staff led the Democratic lawmaker around their Roxborough elementary school Friday afternoon and kept asking the same question: What can we do to stop education cuts?

"The only way we're going to stop this is by folks making some noise," Hughes said.

in January, Hughes—the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee— to discuss education and particularly cuts to the Roxborough school.

From Roxborough to Harrisburg

On Friday Cook students delivered handwritten letters to Hughes, which he promised to get into Gov. Tom Corbett's hands. The Republican governor increased state dollars to schools by 3.4 percent in his proposed budget. In the nearly $10 billion allotment for public school, $5.4 billion is slotted by basic education and another $1 billion for special education. However, many point out that the increases just offset pension obligations and won't reach the students.

Elected in 2010, Corbett is in the second year of a four-year term. One parent, HSA president Carol Haslam, said parents felt they were unimportant to the governor.

"It's very frustrating to call or write, and know for a fact that the person who is taking the call is not writing it down," she said.

Hughes encouraged them to keep at Corbett.

"One of the things he cares about the most is reelection. So make your voice known to him," Hughes said.

With a major hand in the General Assembly's budget process, Hughes said Democrats have identified $750 million that can go toward education.

Specifically, Hughes highlighted two areas Democrats will harp on as the budget process intensifies: delaying (or halving) a $275 million corporate tax break and saving money by condensing the state-employee prescription drug program.

Parents also spoke out about inequalities in funding for the School District of Philadelphia—compared to other districts statewide and also to charter schools.

"We've done our share locally. We've raised property taxes in the City of Philadelphia for the past two years. Now it's time for the state to step up," Hughes said.

The Impact on Cook-Wissahickon

Parent Rebecca Poyourow introduced two lunchroom and school aides that members of the public retained by reaching into their own pockets.

"(These people) are single-handedly keeping our school together at several critical points. I feel like I trust my kids here because (they) see them," she said. 

That doesn't stem the cuts to librarians, music teachers, athletics and the assistant principal, which students brought to Hughes' attention.

"These kids deserve smaller class sizes. These kids deserve a whole lot better breakfast than a doughnut. These kids deserve to have the kid of technology" that enhances their classroom experience, Hughes said.

The HSA thanked its teachers and staff, but was concerned about their well-being.

"The big difference that I feel that worries me a lot is how to make things work for the staff. Because there's only so many hours in a day," Principal Karen Thomas said. "And I worry about burnout."

Hughes emphasized continued participation.

"You can take all the information you got today and do something with it, or you can sit on it," he said.

The state senator said budget hearings would be live streamed on his website. Click here.

For the Cook-Wissahickon HSA, click here.