POTTSVILLE -- The governor spent part of his day talking with students in a fifth grade science class at Lengel Middle School in Pottsville.
His visit highlighted the science of extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale region, and the politics of getting state lawmakers to support a severance tax on the money made by natural gas drillers..
"We have an opportunity with what we have in natural gas, and if we do this right, and have a very healthy natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, and put a modest tax on it, we could actually use that to fund our schools," said Governor Wolf.
The governor`s plan to earmark that severance tax money for education has the support of teachers in Pottsville, where in recent years the district has struggled to avoid cuts and layoffs.
"We are hanging by a thread, and we are an island here in Schuylkill County. We are very very lucky we haven`t furloughed dozens of teachers yet," said Diane Howe of the Pottsville Area Education Association.
But Republican lawmakers aren`t sold on the tax.
Representative Mike Tobash questions the taxing of drillers at a time when natural gas prices, profits, and demand are all falling.
Tobash says much of the money raised for education will actually be used to shore up teacher pension funds.
"We find ourselves in 55 billion dollars in debt. We have to work our way out of it. And there`s a steep increase in employer contributions that is robbing our classrooms of valuable dollars," said Tobash.
"Let`s not forget, pensions go into the classroom. Pensions are held by teachers who teach in the classroom, so that is a classroom expense," said Wolf.
