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Yesterday, Governor Tom Wolf joined the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading in Philadelphia. This event highlighted the significant progress Pennsylvania has made in its ability to prepare students with the skills for a successful career in the 21st century economy, and the substantial investments in education the governor has made to reverse years of cuts made by his predecessors.

WHYY reported on the success of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading thus far:

“In 2017, the portion of public school third-graders who scored proficient or better on the PSSA exam increased five percentage points — from 30 percent to 35 percent — and fourth-grade scores made a similar leap. When mixing in charter and Catholic school students, about 42 percent of Philly third-graders read on grade level, according to the Read by 4th campaign.”

“My administration is laser-focused on improving education at all levels and investing in our schools and our children is my top priority,” said Governor Wolf. “We have fully restored education funding cut during the previous administration, ensured students are ready for college or to start their career, and provided unprecedented support for high-quality pre-k programs so young children can start developing strong reading skills needed for success in school and beyond.”

Additionally, this March, Governor Wolf secured $30 million for his workforce development initiative, PAsmart. The program helps connect Pennsylvanians with resources for working and training in Pennsylvania and is the first of its kind.

“Not every child in Pennsylvania will go to a four-year college, but every child needs the skills to compete for a good job,” said Governor Wolf. “With PAsmart, we are investing in a well-educated, highly-trained and skilled workforce that is ready for the in-demand fields that new or expanding businesses need in Pennsylvania.”

Over the past three years, the Wolf Administration has made significant investments in education from pre-kindergarten to college and career and technical education, including:

• Increased the number of children able to attend pre-kindergarten by 60 percent.
• Fully restored the one billion dollar education cut made in the previous administration that that led to teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, and program cuts.
• Enacted a fair funding formula that provides equitable, fair funding for all school districts.
• Established PAsmart, a first-of-its-kind $30 million workforce development initiative that invests $20 million in computer science and STEM education programs for k-12 students and $10 million to expand apprenticeships and industry partnerships.
• Established standards for computer science education in all Pennsylvania schools, joining fewer than a dozen states to endorse such standards.
• Advanced Pennsylvania to third in the nation in the number of nationally-recognized STEM ecosystems and made the commonwealth the fifth largest producer of STEM graduates.
• Increased high school graduation rate to 86.1 percent, placing Pennsylvania above the national average.
• Increased the number of career and technical education (CTE) students earning industry-recognized credentials by 32.2 percent and increased the number of credentials earned by students enrolled in CTE programs by 28.4 percent.
• Expanded enrollment in AP courses by 10 percent.
• Reduced the length of PSSA tests by 20 percent, condensed the exam timeframe from three weeks to two weeks and shifted it to later in the school year for students in grades three through eight.
• Created a task force to bring together officials, educators, parents, and students to talk to about ways to improve school safety and security.

Governor Wolf has been a champion for schools since taking office in 2015. He has expanded state-funded preschool by $115 million which added thousands of slots in PA Pre-K Counts and in head start Supplemental Assistance program (HSSAP). Because of Governor Wolf’s funding increases in total, more than 29,250 children will receive services through both programs.

For nearly a decade, Pennsylvania’s Rainy Day Fund has remained in a dry spell. The fund did not even hold enough resources to run the state for a full day. Today, Governor Wolf announced a $22 million deposit into the Rainy Day Fund, giving the fund the resources it needs to be a reliable source of money for Pennsylvania.

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal:

“Now for the first time in nearly 10 years, Pennsylvania is depositing money into the budget stabilization fund – a step both the state leader and outside experts are calling significant.”

“This deposit into the Rainy Day Fund helps stabilize our budget for the first time in nearly a decade and exceeds some pre-budget estimates that the fund would receive $14 million,” Governor Wolf said. “I am pleased to say that Pennsylvania is today better equipped for fiscal stability than it has been in the past.”

The Governor outlined the savings initiatives that his administration has launched over the past three and a half years to make this deposit possible. For example, the launch GO-TIME, the Governor’s Office Of Transparency, Innovation, Management, and Efficiency, introduced more cost-saving measures and made procurement more efficient, which in turn led to over $100 million in annual savings.

Due to the efforts made by Governor Wolf to reduce the size of the state’s workforce complement to the lowest level in decades, downsize facilities, consolidate agencies, and merge HR and IT across all state agencies, he has turned what was once a $2.4 billion deficit into a surplus.

The Governor also introduced more cost-saving measures that will contribute to the positive growth of Pennsylvania’s fiscal health, such as streamlining the commonwealth mailing process, implementing a first-of-its-kind Department of Corrections inmate management system, and instituting LEAN trainings to help employees find savings and work more efficiently to solve problems.

Yesterday, Governor Tom Wolf took a historic step forward for criminal justice reform by signing the Clean Slate bill into law. He was accompanied by Representative Sheryl Delozier, Senator Anthony Williams, Representative Jordan Harris and advocacy groups. This legislation is the first of its kind in the nation and helps to make Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system fairer and more focused on rehabilitation.

According to PennLive:

“Pennsylvania is now blazing a new trail in criminal justice that will automatically seal an ex-offender’s record of lower-level non-violent crimes from public disclosure for someone who has been conviction-free for 10 years.”

As the first in its kind, the bill provides those with low-level, non-violent criminal records an opportunity to have their record sealed from public view, thus earning a clean slate and a second chance at life. It is estimated that nearly three million Pennsylvanians of working age have criminal records, many of which are only minor.

“I am proud to sign this legislation, which will make it easier for those who have interacted with the justice system to reduce the stigma they face when looking for employment and housing,” Governor Wolf said at the signing. “This bill is the latest step in my administration’s efforts to make our commonwealth and our society safer by helping those who have offended put their lives back together.”

The Clean Slate bill is the latest step in the governor’s efforts to reform the criminal justice system. Last year, he instituted a Fair-Chance hiring policy for state agencies which “banned the box” by removing the criminal conviction question for job applications. Today he also renewed his call for passage of additional criminal justice reforms. His proposed legislation includes:

• Justice Reinvestment Initiatives (JRI2)
• Bail and Pre-Trial Reforms
• Post-Conviction Relief Act Expansion
• Probation/Parole Revocation and Resentencing
• Indigent Defense
• Stepping Up Initiative

 

Today marks the one year anniversary of the day Governor Wolf signed landmark animal protection legislation into law. Also known as Libre’s Law, this legislation contains key components that aim to protect our furry friends from abuse:

1. Improves tethering conditions for outside dogs
2. Adds protection for horses
3. Increases penalties for animal abuse
4. Ensures convicted animal abusers forfeit the abused animals to a shelter
5. Grants civil immunity for verteribalirts and verternaily technicians

Today, Governor Wolf and Libre celebrated the anniversary with a special doggy cake for Libre.

Since the signing of Libre’s Law, shelters have seen a significant increase in calls reporting abuse. Owners are being more responsible and have brought animals back if they know they are unable to take care of them. Shelters have reported that they have never been busier. Pennsylvania was also recently ranked “most improved” for Animal Protection Laws by two national organizations– the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Humane Society– in large part thanks to Libre’s Law.