Say goodbye to apple pie in Mount Nebo.
HARRISBURG PA – School districts would not be the only victims of severe funding changes if a Pennsylvania Senate budget proposal is enacted, the state agriculture secretary reported Wednesday (May 27, 2009). County and community fairs – those bastions of the largest tomatoes grown, best cows milked and tastiest apple pies baked – apparently would suffer too.
In fact, the mere threat of a loss of funds has already forced the Mount Nebo Grange Fair in Allegheny County to cancel its three-day run for the first time in 38 years, according to Secretary Dennis Wolff. He called it “a sign of things to come” if the Legislature ultimately approves the budget promoted by Republicans under Senate Bill 850.
Locally, the bill has been a source of consternation in the Pottsgrove School District. The district Board of School Directors expected an increase in state educational subsidies for 2009-2010, primarily as a result of new federal economic stimulus money. The Senate bill would wipe out those anticipated gains, and capture the extra revenue to offset Pennsylvania’s $3 billion deficit.
As the schools’ money might go, so too would the fairs’, Wolff claimed. “Many fairs rely on state funding to operate,” he said. “Unfortunately, with this funding in jeopardy, some fairs may not be able to function this year at all.”
That’s already happened to the Mount Nebo Grange. Admission to its fair, which features poultry and eggs, vegetables, fruits, baked goods, art, antique farm equipment exhibits and more on an acre of property near Sewickley PA, was free, but entirely dependent on a state subsidy. Facing the possibility its money would dry up, the grange canceled this year’s event.
Photo from Clipart.com
Related:
- Board Blisters State Rep Over Funding
- School Board Approves Tentative Budget
- Stimulus Lowers District Deficit, Not Taxes
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