Today's Child Rallies Against Education Budget Cuts in Sharon Hill, PA

PR Log (Press Release) – Sep 15, 2009 – (SHARON HILL) -- Parents, teachers, education advocates and other administrators have begun to breathe a sigh of relief as three of the four caucuses of the General Assembly announced Friday, that they have come to an agreement on a budget today, possibly bringing the ten week budget impasse to a close. The "Support Education Now!" rally being hosted by Today's Child Learning Centers and its partners in the Southeastern PA Coalition for Essential Services went ahead as planned, even after this hopeful news.

Speakers at the event included: Christine Ambrose of Today's Child, JoAnn Weinberger of the Center for Literacy, Alyssa Goodin of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern PA and Suzann Morris from Public Citizens for Children and Youth.

Anybody in the community who is affected by the lack of funding for education was encouraged to attend the rally, in order to push the legislature to pass a fair budget now. Today's Child Education Administrator Chris Ambrose said, "For every dollar spent in early childhood programs, you save money in special education, healthcare services and correctional costs."

"Children who receive a quality education at an early age.go on to become our teachers, our police officers, our health care workers, and even our politicians," Ambrose said. If a budget passed without proper funding for essential services, thousands of children and adults will lose programs, which were previously available to them. The number of children on the CCIS waiting list would balloon by thousands.

State and federal funds for Adult Basic and Literacy Education programs only reach 53,000 Pennsylvanians, or 1.5% of the population in need. This contributes to youth education, as parents who can read and write raise children who can read and write.

Today's Child Learning Centers has been providing care to hundreds of children in Delaware County, PA., since 1989. Today's Child is currently the largest privately-owned provider of care in the county, with 14 centers in some of the most at-risk areas of the region.

Today's Child is also a member of the Southeastern PA Coalition for Essential Services, a group of almost 80 both non-and-for-profit organizations, which provide essential services to the community. This group has banded together, in response to the current budget impasse, in order to ensure the survival of essential service providers in the commonwealth.