Gov. Corbett Defends Higher Education Funding Cuts in Pennsylvania
By Tony Romeo
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett is defending his cuts to higher education, while a new panel he's created to study the issue officially begins its work.
Gov. Corbett addressed the inaugural session of his new commission this morning (photo), and then told reporters he sees no contradiction in studying the issue after cutting state funds for higher education last year and proposing more cuts this year.
"We are reducing the funding to education because we do not have the money -- it is that simple," the governor said. "And I ask anybody who talks about [the fact that] we're reducing education, from the education side, to tell me where would you have me take it from? Would you have me take from the social services? Would you have me take it from law enforcement?"
Meanwhile, the panel the governor has created is not formally called the Higher Education Commission but the Postsecondary Education Commission -- in part, Corbett says, because he wonders if returning to a greater emphasis on trade schools might be appropriate.
The governor also wants the panel to study the impact of the Internet and other technology.
