Tag Archives: Tom Corbett

Reports: Corbett expected to propose level funding for Temple

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Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to announce Friday that he will propose flat funding for Temple and the other state and state-related universities in Pennsylvania as part of his 2013-2014 budget proposal which he will announce Tuesday, according to PennLive.

PennLive reports that Corbett has invited representatives from the 14 state universities and four state-related universities in Pennsylvania to join him at a news conference at the capitol in Harrisburg at 1 p.m.

If Temple were to be flat funded for the 2013-2014 fiscal year, its state appropriation would remain at $139.9 million. Corbett requested a 30 percent cut to Temple’s appropriation for the 2012-2013 budget, but the state ultimately kept the university’s appropriation on par with what it received in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

In his first budget proposal as governor, Corbett proposed to cut Temple, and the other three state-related universities’ appropriations in half for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Eventually, the cut was altered to a 19 percent appropriation reduction, bringing its state funding from $172.7 million in 2010-2011, to $139.9 million, which it stands at today.

For a full recap of today’s announcement click here.

Senate committee’s bill would keep Temple’s funding at current level

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Tweets from the university’s government affairs Twitter account went live about an hour ago, offering a bit of hope for those fighting against cuts in Temple’s state funding–or at least those in the Twittersphere.

The Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a bill that would restore the proposed funding cuts to the university, the tweets announced, which were outlined by Gov. Tom Corbett in February. The bill would keep Temple’s funding for the next fiscal year at its current amount.

When Corbett introduced his proposed budget for fiscal year 2012-13, he called for a 30 percent cut to Temple’s funding–reducing the appropriation from $139.9 million to $97.9 million. Although Temple stood to receive $139.9 million this year, 5 percent, or approximately $7 million, was held due to a shortfall in state revenue.

Ken Lawrence, senior vice president for government, community and public affairs, said he has been working with the senators on the appropriations committee these past few months to introduce this Temple-specific bill. Bills for Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh, also facing proposed cuts, would be separate, he said.

The bill still needs to be passed by the senate, the state house of representatives and the governor. But while it’s far from set in stone, the bill is a step in the right direction, Lawrence said.

“What the bill the demonstrates is that the state senate considers higher education a priority in the budget and does not want to see a cut,” he said. “[The bill] puts us in a much stronger position than we were in last year at this time.”

Lawrence added that Temple has maintained that the 20 percent cut to its funding last year should be considered a two-year cut.

An estimated 10,000 people have utilized Temple Advocates Legislative Outreach Network, or TALON, to contact legislators on behalf of Temple, since Corbett’s proposed budget address, Lawrence said.

“This is not the end,” he said. “We still have a long way to go.”

The Twitter account, @TUGovtAffairs, concurred.

Gov. Corbett proposes to cut state appropriation for state-relateds in half

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In his budget address today, Gov. Tom Corbett proposed a $27.3 billion budget. But the overall budget – which stood at $28.2 billion last year – may be decreasing in a way that directly affects Temple students.

Temple, the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University and Lincoln University may lose more than 50 percent of state funding if the budget is agreed upon by the legislature and the governor in the coming weeks.

Last year, Temple received $178.5 million in state appropriation funding. Cut in half, that is just $89.25 million.

On Oct. 21, Temple sent its annual appropriation request to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the 2011-12 fiscal year, asking for a 6.4 percent increase in state appropriation funds, which would total approximately $189 million.

AP, Inquirer report Tom Corbett is next Pa. governor

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The Associated Press and Philadelphia Inquirer declared Republican Tom Corbett the winner of the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race. With 82 percent of the precincts reporting, Corbett is in the lead with 53 percent of the vote versus his opponent Democrat Dan Onorato’s 47 percent.

Corbett, currently the state attorney general, will follow eight years of Democratic leadership by Gov. Ed Rendell, who will finish his two terms as governor in January. Prior to Rendell, Republicans Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker held the Pa., governor’s seat from 1995 to 2001 and 2001 to 2003, respectively.