Scarnati: Linking Gaming to
College Education is Poor Policy
By ANNE HOLLIDAY
WESB/WBRR News Director
Lt. Governor Joe Scarnati is in favor of finding more money for education, but he doesn't think legalizing video poker is the answer.
Scarnati spoke to the media prior to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford's commencement exercises Sunday.
Among the issues he discussed was Governor Ed Rendell's proposal to legalize video poker in bars to pay for the cost of higher education.
But, Scarnati said, the money "would not be used uniformly across all avenues of higher education. Pitt-Bradford would not be included in that proposal that the governor put out."
The governor's proposal includes the 14 state-owned universities, but not the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State, Temple or Lincoln which are state-related institutions.
"Fundamentally, I have a problem at this time with expanding gaming any further in Pennsylvania," Scarnati said.
He said the casinos in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are not operating yet and the state should wait until they are operational, then evaluate where they are with gaming money.
He added that he thinks linking gaming to college education is "poor policy."
"I'm here to throw a bucket of cold water on that proposal," Scarnati said.
He also said he's pleased to see that Rendell "continues to fund community colleges very well … but that doesn't help us north of Interstate 80. We don't have a community college here."
He added that he started a consortium that has been working "to put together a community college aspect north of I-80."
Among the people working on that are Pitt-Bradford President Emeritus Dick McDowell, Dr. Fran Grandinetti of Ridgway and Helene Nawrocki of the Potter County Education Council.
As for the education councils, Scarnati said he was "dismayed" to learn during budget hearings that state Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak and others "fail to understand the role (education councils) play."
"I don't want to be critical of (Zahorchak and others), but they just don't know what we're doing here," Scarnati said, adding that he will be working to try to restore funding for the education councils.
While working on that he says he'll also be working on a budget that includes responsible spending and no tax increase
He recalled 1991 when the state found itself with a billion dollar hole in the budget and raised taxes $3 billion.
"That made Pennsylvania one of the most non-competitive states in economic development and job creation," he said.
He said lawmakers have continued to dig their way out of that and, during the last several years, lowered business taxes a ¼ of a billion dollars each year.
He did give Rendell credit for making some cuts to the spending plan, but said much more needs to be cut to balance the budget.
"Working families can't take another tax," Scarnati said, "and it would render Pennsylvania, once again, extremely non-competitive in the economic arena."
WESB/WBRR News Director
Lt. Governor Joe Scarnati is in favor of finding more money for education, but he doesn't think legalizing video poker is the answer.
Scarnati spoke to the media prior to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford's commencement exercises Sunday.
Among the issues he discussed was Governor Ed Rendell's proposal to legalize video poker in bars to pay for the cost of higher education.
But, Scarnati said, the money "would not be used uniformly across all avenues of higher education. Pitt-Bradford would not be included in that proposal that the governor put out."
The governor's proposal includes the 14 state-owned universities, but not the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State, Temple or Lincoln which are state-related institutions.
"Fundamentally, I have a problem at this time with expanding gaming any further in Pennsylvania," Scarnati said.
He said the casinos in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are not operating yet and the state should wait until they are operational, then evaluate where they are with gaming money.
He added that he thinks linking gaming to college education is "poor policy."
"I'm here to throw a bucket of cold water on that proposal," Scarnati said.
He also said he's pleased to see that Rendell "continues to fund community colleges very well … but that doesn't help us north of Interstate 80. We don't have a community college here."
He added that he started a consortium that has been working "to put together a community college aspect north of I-80."
Among the people working on that are Pitt-Bradford President Emeritus Dick McDowell, Dr. Fran Grandinetti of Ridgway and Helene Nawrocki of the Potter County Education Council.
As for the education councils, Scarnati said he was "dismayed" to learn during budget hearings that state Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak and others "fail to understand the role (education councils) play."
"I don't want to be critical of (Zahorchak and others), but they just don't know what we're doing here," Scarnati said, adding that he will be working to try to restore funding for the education councils.
While working on that he says he'll also be working on a budget that includes responsible spending and no tax increase
He recalled 1991 when the state found itself with a billion dollar hole in the budget and raised taxes $3 billion.
"That made Pennsylvania one of the most non-competitive states in economic development and job creation," he said.
He said lawmakers have continued to dig their way out of that and, during the last several years, lowered business taxes a ¼ of a billion dollars each year.
He did give Rendell credit for making some cuts to the spending plan, but said much more needs to be cut to balance the budget.
"Working families can't take another tax," Scarnati said, "and it would render Pennsylvania, once again, extremely non-competitive in the economic arena."
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