PHILADELPHIA,  Aug. 18, 2013 – The following statement was offered today by Senator Christine M. Tartaglione, Democratic Chair of the Senate Labor and Industry Committee, in support of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools rally advocating for Full, Fair Funding for our Schools:

 

“It has been said that ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’

I truly believe that.

 

Our village is our parents, our community and most importantly the teachers in our schools.

Children deserve the best teachers we can give them, and an equal opportunity at a bright future

It is unfair to children, parents and teachers to balance the school budget on the backs of the teachers.

 

These teachers are the ones that have the most daily contact with our children – we should want to offer the most competitive salaries and benefits, in order to attract the most talented teachers.

 

We should want the smartest, brightest, and best teachers to stay in Philadelphia.

Funding education properly now will create a stronger city and Commonwealth, and will save our community money in the future.

 

Our funding system is broken and in need of serious repair. Concessions from employees will not fix this, finding various things to tax at various times will not fix this. It needs a major overhaul and that is where the attention and effort needs to be focused

 

These children are our job creators for our future.

 

They will start businesses, dream up new ideas, cure our illnesses when we are old and aging, and move us toward reaching our full potential as a community.

We sabotage our own futures if we do not provide proper education for our children now.”