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Remarks by Senator Robert C. Jubelirer (R-30)
Educational Improvement Tax Credit Celebration
HARRISBURG -- This
is an A+ gathering to support an A+ education program. This sort of impressive
issue advocacy and involvement deserves extra credit. What makes this special
for us is that it is one of the rare education events where everyone has a smile
on their face, where families and educators are grateful for the education
funding received.
Each birthday in a child’s life is a milestone.
Kids get bigger and they get better. So it is with this third anniversary of
the Educational Improvement Tax Credit. The program gets bigger and better,
with the best still to come.
The best education takes place when kids are excited
about learning, and when parents are involved in the process. Judging from the
size and enthusiasm of last year’s crowd, and the exceptional turnout again this
year, we have hit upon a winning approach with the Educational Improvement Tax
Credit.
The important thing is that it works. It is making
a difference for an increasing number of kids in my district. And we can see
the impact, and the benefits, in community after community, across
Pennsylvania. The numbers on participation -- the organizations donating money,
the kids who get the chance to receive an education in a setting of their choice
-- are impressive. This approach works exceptionally well for the 20,000
participants, for their parents, and for the 1900 public contributors.
Our assignment in the General Assembly is simple --
to keep this program going. And we need to build on it so that more kids and
more families have the chance to make a choice about their education. Each
birthday, we hope to add candles atop the tax credit cake.
This celebration should be larger. The so-called
education advocates ought to be here, but they fail to see the good in this
program. The critics say that we cannot afford to do this. What I see here
today clearly underlines the opposite -- we cannot afford to forgo this
approach.
For all the kids in the crowd, here are your
assignments -- keep up your enthusiasm for learning, keep up your grades, and
keep coming back for the celebration of this educational success story.
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Sen. Bob Jubelirer
tells a rally of homeowners in the Capitol rotunda on May 11 that "it is
time the taxpayers win one" in the debate over property tax relief.
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