Students from the Philadelphia School District say they will march in Center City Friday to protest proposed school budget cuts that will lay off hundreds of teachers and cancel all extracurricular activities.
“We will not sit back as our elected officials make our schools worse and set more of us up to go to prison” said Philadelphia Student Union members. “We are working with Youth United For Change, POWER, Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower & Rebuild, and many others to tell Governor Corbett to fund our schools."
The students are planning to march from LOVE Park to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s office at 200 South Broad Street at 4 p.m.
The Philadelphia School District announced that a total of 3, 783 employees -- including teachers, noon-time aides, secretaries, and counselors -- were being laid off as the district faces a $304 million budget deficit. The proposed budget cuts will also eliminate school clubs, athletics, art, and music programs for the 2013 - 2014 school year.
School district officials have been asking the city for an extra $60 million and the state for $120 million. They are also seeking more than $100 million in labor givebacks.
A final budget is due on June 30.
