 Pennsylvania schools are suffering from underfunding and a lack of resources. The Commonwealth ranks 45th in the nation in percentage of state funding for public education. And as a result, we've seen larger class sizes, fewer teachers, and vital program cuts. This is intolerable. In order to provide our young people with the educational foundation necessary to be successful, we need to raise new revenue for our state's public education system. And we can start by passing a common-sense severance tax that will help fund our schools. Pennsylvania is the only major gas-producing state that doesn't tax oil and natural gas extraction. And we're failing to do this at a time when our schools are struggling. To help fund our education system, I'm proposing a reasonable 5% severance tax plus 4.7 cents per thousand feet of volume that is modeled after the extraction tax in neighboring West Virginia. Implementing a similar structure to our neighbors will eliminate competition based on taxation, allowing the industry to develop where wells can be cited most profitably and most safely. My proposal would not be on top of the existing impact fee, but includes it. Communities impacted by drilling would continue to receive impact fee payments. If we're going to be competitive in the 21st century economy, Pennsylvania must take the lead in investing in early childhood, K-12, and higher education. We can get Pennsylvania schools back on track. And we can start by passing a competitive common-sense severance tax.