Corman concerned with educational appropriations

By MATT WUNSCHE
Collegian Staff Writer

Centre County's new state senator said he hopes to keep the cost of attending Penn State as low as possible and expand funding options for public schools.

Following his inauguration on Jan. 5, Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, was appointed to six different senate committees, including the influential Finance Committee, which is instrumental in determining Pennsylvania's tax policies.

"It is the committee which determines how the Commonwealth obtains its money," Corman said.

Corman said he hopes to buck the current trend of Penn State's appropriations steadily declining.

The percentage of its funding Penn State receives from the state has been going down during the past 20 years, said Christy Rambeau, Penn State news bureau manager.

"We would like to see the decline lessened," Rambeau said. "Pennsylvania is (one of the) lowest supporters of public schools in the nation."

The Penn State 1999-2000 Budget Plan and Appropriation Request calls for an increase of $21.87 million, or 7 percent, in the total appropriation and a basic operating cost increase of $11.89 million, or 4 percent, Rambeau said.

"The request is based on a modest tuition increase," she said. "We are aware that the Commonwealth has many requests and limited funds."

The tuition increase was 3.7 percent last year, and this year's should be a similar figure, Rambeau said.

The amount of appropriations Penn State receives has a direct effect on the tuition increase. The lower the appropriation amount, the higher the tuition increase will be, Rambeau said.

Corman, however, is "optimistic" about Penn State receiving adequate state funding for this year.

"The greatest crime we can have is a student who is prepared to go to college but can't afford to go. I want to work to eliminate that problem," he said.

Corman also said he hopes to use his position to expand the means through which public schools can receive monetary support.

He said he expects to take an active role in reforming the state's current tax laws, which limit how Pennsylvania public schools can collect funds.

Patricia Best, assistant superintendent of the State College Area School District, said a wider tax base would benefit the district. The proposed funding methods would be equitable, Best said, because no one group would be burdened with unreasonable taxes.

Currently, Pennsylvania school districts can raise money only through property taxes, but Corman hopes to expand the collection ability to include other forms of taxation, including earned income, he said.

Pennsylvania is one of 18 states that constrain public schools' funding to property taxes, he said. Corman wants new legislation allowing each county to decide its own method of collection through public referendum.

"We're very interested in working with legislators for a fair, equitable and stable resource base for the district," Best said.