 Hi, I'm Governor Tom Wolf. In 2015, we began the important fight for education funding that will begin to reverse the damaging cuts of the last four years. Those cuts left our schools struggling, forcing educator layoffs, program cuts, and ballooning class sizes. I saw the negative impacts of this firsthand as I traveled the state during our schools that teach tour. But I was also inspired by the spirit of those educators and students who continue to do their best even without the valuable resources they needed. It shouldn't have to be this way, which is why we've worked so hard to change the status quo and make education the main focus as it should have been all along. The funding increase we are fighting for will benefit each of the 500 school districts in the Commonwealth. Not only that, but the investment will reach the classroom directly. We know this because we asked each superintendent to submit plans for how they plan to allocate the money. Their responses were overwhelming. Everything from expanding pre-K to reducing elementary class sizes to restoration of vital art, music, library, and summer school programs to college and career counseling. These are all valuable ways to ensure our children are getting the high quality education they deserve regardless of their zip code. Our investment will open up thousands of new slots for families to enroll their three to four year olds in quality early childhood programs like pre-K counts and Head Start. And it will provide for an increase to all state and state related universities as well as to Pennsylvania's 14 community colleges. But Republicans in the legislature continue to protect the status quo and refuse to support a compromise budget that will invest in our schools and begin to restore the cuts made to those schools. As I've said from the very beginning, Pennsylvania's economy will never get stronger unless we stop making our schools weaker. And I will continue to fight to fix our schools and improve education in Pennsylvania.