Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shaprio was in Pittsburgh Tuesday promoting his plan to invest more in education.
Speaking at Pittsburgh Colfax K-8, Shaprio reiterated a proposal in his budget that would give a personal income tax credit of up to $2,500 a year for new teacher, nurse or law enforcement officer in an effort to combat a worker's shortage.
"10 years ago, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania certified 20,000 teachers that year. Last year, we certified just over 6,100 teachers," Shapiro elaborated.
Shaprio unveiled his plan in his first budget proposal earlier this month. It calls for an increase in education spending of nearly $570 million. There's also more than 38 million for universal free breakfast, 500 million for environmental hazard remediation and $500 million for mental health services.
He said money needs to be invested in these areas of education, "No child can be expected to learn on an empty stomach. We need to make sure that children all have the chance to come to schools that are safe, environmentally safe as well as physically safe. So, we've got lots of repairs that are needed."
One other note Governor Shapiro made was doing away with standardized testing. He claims it undermines the classroom experience for kids.
