Northwestern Pennsylvania is being ignored by Harrisburg –– again.
This time, Gov. Tom Wolf is off on a “Schools that Teach” tour across the state. Well, pretty much everywhere except our neck of the woods.
On Wednesday, Wolf visited Clairton Elementary School in the Clairton School District and Altoona Area Junior High School in the Altoona Area School District, where he talked about two paths Pennsylvania can take.
“We have a choice in Harrisburg,” he said. “We can choose a path that funds our schools, eliminates our deficit, and puts Pennsylvania back on track. But if we choose to continue to ignore reality, we will be forced to make drastic cuts to education and in turn face billions in local property tax increases.”
Also on Wolf’s tour are the more-populous areas, including around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The only school districts closer to us that are part of his journey are a school near Erie –– General McLane High School –– and Robb Elementary School at the Keystone Central School District in Clinton County.
But what about school districts in McKean, Potter, Cameron and Elk counties? Local school districts are more than deserving to be among Wolf’s tour stops.
Take for example the Austin Area School District, the smallest public school system in the state, which recently played host to educators from China who learned about teaching classes about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM.
In fact, Superintendent Jerry Sasala said, “It is a very exciting and inspirational opportunity.”
But apparently it’s not too exciting for a visit by Wolf.
Austin was the second in the state to launch a STEM lab, the first being Bradford. Other STEM labs are in operation at Otto-Eldred and in Port Allegany.
For Austin’s STEM lab, students starting in elementary school can learn about electronics, pneumatics, programming, robotics, flight simulation, Photoshop, 3D design, App Inventor, bridge design, digital animation and solar energy.
Our region has other noted accomplishments, too.
Otto-Eldred School District Superintendent Matt Splain represented rural Pennsylvania at the state capitol in June, joining the fight for fair education funding. He rallied with hundreds of parents, students, clergy, community leaders, teachers, other educators and members of the Campaign for Fair Education Funding to encourage state legislators to put in place a basic education funding formula.
Splain is also a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Rural and Small Schools, and so is Northern Potter School District (Ulysses) Superintendent Scott Graham, who has also fought for a sustainable, predictable funding formula.
What’s more, last year, Sasala focused on a basic education funding formula when he spoke during a Basic Education Commission hearing in Mercer County.
We may not be as populated as Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, but education is clearly taken seriously in northwestern Pennsylvania, and it shows.
Even Wolf himself said, “Since taking office, I have traveled our state visiting schools, talking with teachers and parents, and sitting with students in classrooms. I’ve seen dedicated teachers and committed students who simply do not have the resources they need. That’s why my budget reprioritizes education in Pennsylvania and gives our kids the tools they need to learn and succeed in the 21st century.”
So, to that end, Gov. Wolf, will you add school districts in our four-county region to your “Schools that Teach” tour? I certainly hope so.
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Davis, a news reporter for The Era, can be reached at a.davis@bradfordera.com.
