Even the Libraries are on the Block.

If you go to the local library, like I did today with my 2 daughters, you can't escape the signs that proclaim doom and gloom for libraries due to budget cuts. At York County libraries, one can even click on a link to keep up with the latest in budget follies.

http://www.yorklibraries.org/budget/letter3.pdf

But, before we storm the marble walls of the Capitol--have libraries become a brick and mortar dinosaur, waiting for the meteor to crash into the Earth? As a library patron, I would miss the low cost options that the library provides, but should the majority of citizens pay for programs that only a minority of citizens use?

This is an old government argument--what obligation does the majority have to fund programs in education? The arts? Can these services be done better privately and can government, through citywide wi-fi and better access to technology, eliminate the need for a fully staffed library?

Perhaps the 2010 PA budget may serve as a beginning of the decentralization of information for libraries. Or, this crisis will draw new appreciation for the government service. What do you think?

The Axe is Sharpened and Ready to Fall

What will it take for the PA State government to learn the fine art of negotiation? The Governor is a lame duck & doesn't mind pushing the state to the brink to get his points from the budget. Now, the targets appear to be the state workers and public service employees.

D-Day is July 17th.

http://www.wgal.com/money/19991469/detail.html

What do you think of the standoff? Should the state be allowed to run under an unbalanced budget, like the national government?

Belly Up to the Video Bar! It's a State Budget Party!

Ed Rendell Challenges YOU! Watch the 4 videos at the video bar, beginning with the last selection: Tom Joyce of the York newspaper's fractured budget fairy tale. After viewing the videos, please answer the following questions:

1. Describe the basic PA budget process and explain the problems and pitfalls along the way.
2. What are the special challenges of the 2010 budget?
3. What are the main objections voiced by Republicans?
4. What are the positive and negatives of the budget as voiced by business leaders?
5. What tax options do you believe are the most fair? Least fair?
6. Comment on other classmates posts.

Play the Budget Game!

Polly sez: Play the Game! www.youbudgetpa.org/

On the surface, its a simple balance the budget game...BUT, there's more!

Answer one all these questions and pose any of your own.

1. Can you spot the bias in the game?
2. How can the game be improved?
3. What is it about PA that makes a budget so difficult to pass?
4. Compare PA to California's budget crisis. Which state is in a worse position and why?

So, You Want to Take AP Government?

Polly says: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/usgov/topics.html?usgovpol

The typical AP government course will focus mostly on the 4 branches of government: legislative, executive, judicial & bureaucracy. These branches account for about 40% of the test.

The most challenging component of the test is the four REQUIRED essays. The structure necessitates the triaging of questions, focusing on the question that the writer has the greatest ability to answer down to the essay that produces heart palpitations. Be mindful of the time and BRING A WATCH! Your cell phone clock canNOT be used.

RIP CFF

What will become of the Classrooms For the Future (CFF) program?

With the Governor cutting CFF funding and the General Assembly committed to NOT raising taxes, the technology initiative established by Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) appears dead. After three years and millions of dollars dealt to over 300 districts, the program is finally being put down. Any districts that were surprised by these developments are naive and overly reliant on the words of politicians that are constrained by the fiscal realities facing all states.

The larger questions for districts:

1. How much staff support will be provided for the technology now that the program has ended and the required accountability is gone?

2. Upgrades? How long will the technology go before it needs replacement?

3. Incentives? Will districts reward staff that implements technology and the goals of the CFF initiative?

When our district became a part of the 3rd wave, I predicted a one year process that would be axed due to budget crunching. Now that the prediction has come true, the real question is....

What Now?

http://www.budget.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=4566&mode=2