N.J. Gov School provides survival lesson for P.A. counterpart
Monday, May 18th, 2009
By: Phil Gregory
Faced with budget shortfalls, many states are cutting even popular programs. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has proposed cutting all funds for the Governor's School for Excellence, a state-funded summer program for gifted students. Across the Delaware, a similar program in New Jersey lost much of its funding several years ago, but it has found a way to thrive.
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The Governor's School in New Jersey is now funded largely by private donation, though it still gets about two fifths of its funding through the state.
Marguerite Beardsley, the acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, says even in this economy, the program should receive some state funds this year.
Beardsley: "I'm quite confident that it will come though. It's been in the Governor's budget since the beginning and although these are very very difficult times, I'm reasonably confident that it will be there."
Beardsley says even with many people cutting back on spending during the recession, she anticipates individual and corporate contributors will provide the $150 thousand needed for the balance of the Governor's School budget.