Last week Governor Wolf visited Dodd Elementary School in Allentown to promote his Restore Pennsylvania proposal, which is to be funded by a severance tax on natural gas extraction. Approximately 80% of this tax would be paid by other states, not by Pennsylvanians, according to the governor.
This initiative would benefit all Pennsylvanians in numerous and meaningful ways, but specifically the children of Allentown. The majority of Allentown School District schools were built before the dangers of lead and asbestos were known to cause brain damage and lung diseases. Every time repairs are done to these buildings, about one-third of the money allocated must be used for expensive and mandatory remediation costs. Restore Pennsylvania funds would be used to cover these expenses and more. This would enable our already cash-strapped district to focus more of our resources on improving academics and other student services.
Our children’s safety, health, education and future should be more important than increasing the already full pockets of the gas industry CEOs and the political coffers of some of our elected officials. We have difficult challenges in the Allentown School District, but learning in safe, healthy school buildings shouldn’t be one of them.
Sharon Billington
Allentown
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