SHARON HILL — Amie Mansaray knows exactly what will happen if the proposed Pennsylvania state budget passes in its current form.
“We wouldn’t be able to make it,” the Sharon Hill resident said as she picked up her twin sons from Today’s Child Learning Center on Sharon Avenue. “My salary isn’t enough for groceries and preschool and everything else they need. I don’t know how we could do it.”
Monday evening, Mansaray joined about 30 parents, teachers and education advocates — and another 30 or so children from Today’s Child — in an after-school rally condemning the proposed state budget, which they say would take funding away from pre-K and literacy programs and deny local children a chance at a quality education.
Carrying signs declaring “Pre-K Counts Because Children Count” and “No Child Should Fall Through the Cracks,” the adults listened attentively, while the smaller attendees sang pre-rally songs and marveled at airplanes soaring overhead.
“Children who receive a quality education at an early age — just like the very children here on this lawn — go on to become our teachers, our police officers, our health care workers, and even our politicians,” said Today’s Child Education Administrator Christine Ambrose. “They’ll pay taxes, create jobs, own homes and have families. Would we rather perpetuate a cycle of poverty by cutting educational funding, or do we want to give these kids the best possible start for the future?”
Noting that Today’s Child serves some of the most economically depressed areas in the county, Ambrose said any budget passed without proper funding for education services — such as adult basic and literacy education, the state Child Care Information Services subsidized child care program, and the Pre-K Counts quality kindergarten program — would deny opportunities for thousands of children and adults throughout the state.
“If these programs are cut, 113 of our 126 students wouldn’t be able to attend our school through either CCIS or Pre-K Counts,” Ambrose said, adding that the child care center has already cut its budget, asked employees to take a voluntary pay cut, and laid off several workers in an attempt to keep its own services running.
The center has not received any federal funding in months, she said, due to the state budget impasse.
“You don’t need me to tell you that this budget doesn’t do what we need it to do,” said Suzann Morris of Public Citizens for Children and Youth, who said more than 17,000 children are on waiting lists for child care support. “We need to provide the services that lay the groundwork for our children to become happy, healthy adults and productive members of society.”
Morris urged those in attendance to contact their local lawmakers. With the exception of state Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley Park, who is currently serving in Iraq but sent a representative from his office to the rally, no local politicians were on hand for the event.
“Having (Miccarelli) send someone means a lot,” said Alice Peterson, executive administrator of Today’s Child. “We know he’s fighting a war, but we’re fighting a war here, too. The children need them.”