Updated: Gov. Corbett takes questions from Pitt students

In light of a $4.2 billion deficit, Pennsylvania lawmakers had no choice other than to…

In light of a $4.2 billion deficit, Pennsylvania lawmakers had no choice other than to make tough cuts, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett told a tense audience at Pitt Friday morning.

“I was elected to govern and make tough decisions, and to be here to answer your questions today,” Corbett said as some audience members shook their heads and a few shouted back. “I understand that you are angry.”

Corbett spoke as part of GPSA and SGB’s Breakfast and Politics events to a crowd of around 300 people that included Pitt undergraduate and graduate students, Pitt administrators and community members.

The event started out with a breakfast of pancakes for attendees before Corbett’s speech in the Assembly Room at the William Pitt Union. Corbett gave a speech for about 20 minutes and then answered pre-screened questions for 25 minutes.

During the speech, Corbett asked for universities to not increase their tuition and added that he’s looking for universities to control their costs

“Don’t raise tuition. Don’t raise it on students and families. Find some cuts. Obama is a Democrat and I’m a Republican and we probably don’t agree on a lot of things, but we do agree that the cost of higher education has gotten out of control. And it has to be controlled,” Corbett said.

Last year Pitt faced Corbett’s proposed 50 percent state budget cut before the state government signed a 19 percent cut into law. This year the University faces a 30 percent proposed budget cut.

Because of these cuts, Pitt and Penn State administration officials have both discussed the possibility of moving from state-related to private institutions.

“I would be disappointed if [Pitt and Penn State] had to [privatize], but I would understand if they did do it,” Corbett said.

Corbett insisted that he wasn’t an opponent of higher education in the state. He noted that his daughter is a graduate of Pitt Law, and that he used to attend football games at Pitt Stadium.

Corbett added that public education as a whole accounted for 40 percent of the state’s budget, while 38.9 percent goes to the Department of Welfare, 7.3 percent to Corrections/Probations and Parole and 13.5 percent covers all other areas of the budget.

He used visual aids such as bar graphs and pie charts to show how the budget was divided. Corbett frequently compared the state budget to a pizza pie.

“Pennsylvania looks at education as its number one priority,” Corbett said. “When the pizza pie goes from an 8 inch pie to a 6 inch pie you still have that percentage, but not enough money.”

Corbett’s budget calls for 30 percent cuts in funding toward public colleges in the state of Pennsylvania. Pitt, a state-related university that receives partial funding from the state, would get $95.2 million in state funding, down from the $136 million it received from the state this year.

When facing an economic crisis of the magnitude currently faced by the state of Pennsylvania, Corbett said raising taxes wasn’t an option. He said that in order for the state to make up the deficit, income taxes would need to be raised by an average of $920 per family.

Corbett said that in the two years prior to his election as governor, Pennsylvania received supplemental funding from the federal stimulus package that went directly into the state budget. He said that during those two years, state funding toward education actually decreased. He added that during his administration, funding for higher education reflected that of the 2008 state budget.

In addition to the increased cuts of higher education, Corbett said the increasing costs of pension plans for state employees added separate funding issues for the state. He said the current state budget allocates $1.6 billion toward state employee pension plans, with costs expected to rise to $4.2 billion by the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

“This isn’t because I like you or don’t like you,” Corbett said in regard to the state budget. “This is because these are the numbers.”

During the question and answer session, Corbett briefly addressed a question regarding House Bill 934, the Photo Voter ID bill, which he signed into law Wednesday. The Photo Voter ID bill requires Pennsylvanians to show valid government-issued photo ID before they vote at the polls, starting this November.

“A million dollars have been set aside if necessary. I don’t believe it is a disenfranchisement to show who you are,” Corbett said.

Robert Beecher, chairperson of SGB’s Governmental Relations Committee, said he thought Corbett seemed composed while delivering his prepared portion of the presentation, but struggled with the question and answer session.

“His main weakness was his inability to respond to student questions,” Beecher said. “He was unresponsive to many of the questions.”

Pitt’s Dean of Students Kathy Humphrey said she was impressed with the students’ questions.

“In general, I was pleased with the students,” Humphrey said. “They brought real facts for the governor to consider. I thought the questions were well thought out. I hope this will encourage the governor to reconsider his proposal.”