League of Women Voters: Indiana County, Pennsylvania

The Board meets monthly. Meetings are open to any member. There are two general membership meetings a year—a pot luck dinner in January and our Annual Meeting in May. We have several active committees who meet regularly and often schedule information meetings for our members.

The Education Committee studied cyber schools in Pennsylvania last year, and this year they are focusing on early childhood education and equitable funding for public education.

The Diversity Study/Civic Participation Committee has surveyed municipalities in the county and plans to sponsor a “How to Run for Office” workshop in the spring.

The Environmental Issues Committee has been working with other partners in applying storm drain markers in local communities to remind residents of the hazards to the drinking water supply when folks dump oil, garden chemicals, etc into drains.

Along with Phi Delta Kappa, AAUW, the NAACP and the Indiana Reading Council we sponsor fall and spring meetings every year relating to current issues in public education.

We produce an online Indiana County Voters Guide for November elections and hold a Candidates Night prior to Election Day co-sponsored and broadcast by local radio stations. See CALENDAR dates and times.

Members of the League also offer their services as moderators for school board candidate forums in Indiana and Armstrong counties.

The Spring gathering of Partners Supporting Public Schools (PSPS) will focus on aspects of emerging interest in pre-kindergarten education, also known as ‘K4’—Kindergarten for Four-year-olds. These public school programs are voluntary, but should be available to all children without regard for private financial resources.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 30, at 7:00 pm in the Oak Room West (lower level of Foster Dining Hall on the IUP Campus). Free parking is available across Grant St. in the IUP Parking Garage. Teachers and administrators from Marion Center and Penns Manor school districts will describe existing K4 programs in their school districts.

The context of public education is changing, and the issues of K4 are growing in important. The testing that underlies the federal No Child Left Behind Act makes reading and mathematics success by grade three critical. Consequently cognitive skill development is high lighted now in kindergarten. K4 programs help to level the playing field, especially for children who have not had strong learning environments at home.

This program is not just for early childhood specialists; it’s for all who see strong early support as vital to the development of a well-prepared workforce and citizenry.

The PSPS partners include Phi Delta Kappa/IUP, the American Association of University Women, NAACP of Indiana County, and the League of Women Voters of Indiana County. All these groups are interested in encouraging more support for public education in our county.

Here we are at the end of November, five months late with a state budget. The League of Women Voters—along with anyone who cares about education—is especially concerned about the dilly-dallying in Harrisburg and its effect on public education funding. We feel compelled to speak up on behalf of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens, our children.

We are particularly upset that the education funding proposal from Senate Republicans (reported in newspapers November 21) guts funds for preschool programs and all-day kindergarten. It includes new money for tutoring, only. It is critical for the economic welfare of this state that we prepare children for success in school, rather than concentrating state dollars on catch-up remedial programs. Just as successful businesses invest in up-front development and quality production, Pennsylvania needs to invest in preschool and full-day kindergarten programs and early elementary support, including small class size. By third grade the math and reading skills measured by the No Child Left Behind Act testing must be firmly in place. When a child is identified as in need of tutoring, it is already too late. If children are not ‘on track’ by third grade, they face an ever up-hill battle to achieve success in school.

We believe it would be far more fiscally responsible and educationally sound to provide dedicated state funds to districts for preschool programs and to set standards requiring certified teachers and strong curriculum. Alternative House bills would provide block grants and allow districts to chose how they would provide preschool programs. This results, at the minimum, in the loss of an economy of scale. Unique programs in each district would cost more, and fewer children would benefit.

Parents, grandparents, churches, community groups—even the business community—want and expect young people to get the best education available. Our representatives get elected by promising “economic development” in the form of high salaried jobs and improved infrastructure. We need to remind them that workforce development and economic stability are based on an educated, productive citizenry. Children need to come to school ready to learn. Classrooms need to have the latest technology for our young people to be properly prepared and available for the high tech jobs we are attempting at attract into the county.

We do not agree with those who say state taxpayers are “taxed out” and unwilling to pay more for good schools. Legislators neglect to tell us that the proposal passed by the House to increase the state Personal Income Tax (PIT) by a minimal amount—16% of 2.8%-- would not harm senior citizens on fixed incomes or low-income working families.

These groups pay little or no PIT. A PIT increase would provide more funding to school districts so that property taxes could be reduced, which is what seniors have been clamoring for.

What takes priority in Harrisburg? What do lawmakers really value? We are asking our elected representatives to take a stand in support of opportunities for our children rather than to follow blindly the path set for them by caucus leaders. We remind them that votes are earned by wise attention to the public interest. Adequate, equitable and timely funding for public education—including support for high quality preschool programs—is in everyone’s best interest.