Gubernatorial candidate Wolf tours Canonsburg Middle School
Tom Wolf, left, Democratic candidate for governor, listens to Canon-McMillan Middle School Principal Greg Taranto, right, talk about the school’s technology programs and achievements as Michael Daniels, district superintendent, looks on.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf, left, listens to technology instructor Mike Maffei while touring Canon-McMillan Middle School in Canonsburg Monday morning.
Canon-McMillan Middle School Principal Greg Taranto, left, talks about the school’s technology efforts and achievements with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf, who toured the school in Canonsburg Monday morning.
Canonsburg Middle School students got a dose of excitement Monday morning when they spotted gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf walking down a hallway. While all eyes were on Wolf, his entourage of staffers and a handful of reporters and photographers trailing behind, Wolf set his sights on the school, itself.
Wolf, a businessman from York County, toured the middle school as part of his “Fresh Start” campaign tour as he prepares to face Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the November general election.
Wolf was particularly interested in the district’s “unique” technology initiatives. The middle school has three technology labs and provides students with an 18-week course in robotics, programming, game design and computer-aided design.
Middle school Principal Greg Taranto said administrators were happy to answer Wolf’s questions about the district.
“Anyone who is asking for our input, we welcome them, because that’s something I think has been lost at the local level over the years,” Taranto said, “and so we’re going to welcome anyone, no matter what party they’re a part of.”
Wolf also addressed state funding cuts that had a “severe impact” on schools across Pennsylvania, resulting in furloughs and the loss of educational programs.
Mary Ellen Jones, a UniServ representative with the Pennsylvania State Education Association who was on hand for Wolf’s visit, said Canon-McMillan School District alone lost $1.15 million in funding since 2010.
“Funding cuts have lost (PSEA) 20,000 employees, and that wasn’t because they chose to go into a different profession,” Jones said. “It was because they were let go due to furloughs and changes in programs. Cuts like that change people’s lives.”
She said the average class size also rose in recent years from about 25 students to 32 students per class.
PSEA-PACE has endorsed Wolf in the governor’s race.
“We believe that he will bring funding back to public schools, that he’s a firm believer in public schools,” Jones said.
Wolf said he would help restore public education funding through a five-percent severance tax on Marcellus Shale drilling. Some municipalities have expressed concern that a severance tax would eliminate the impact fee that has brought millions of dollars into local budgets, but Wolf said that funding would not be diminished.
“Technically, if you put a severance tax into place it does take the place of the impact fee, but my goal would be to make sure that, in addition, the payments to the localities that allow drilling would continue,” Wolf said.
Wolf estimated the severance tax would generate more than $1 billion annually by 2015-16. He also said he would free up money for education by expanding Medicaid and closing tax loopholes.
Assistant Superintendent Scott Chambers said Canon-McMillan has been fortunate that it has not had to cut programs or furlough employees, but the district is limited in its ability to add new programs.
Chambers said the district would like to move toward “one-to-one computing” to give each student the opportunity to learn electronically.
“The more technology we add, the more stress it puts on our system and our infrastructure,” Chambers said, “so we need to update that to keep pace with the technology we want to add in the classroom.”