Opinion

I find it amazing that Gov. Ed Rendell has allowed his advertising message to focus on his balanced budget and his commitment to education. It would be easy for all of us to have a swollen bank account if we didn't pay our bills.

I recently received a letter stating that my first-grader qualified for a state-funded literacy program. The program provides a tutor for a child so that he can become proficient at his grade level. Sounds good on paper, right?

The program was described as state-funded and free to the families. When I called to arrange for the tutor, the individual fielding the calls mentioned that my family would have to pay for the tutor and hope to be reimbursed in the future.

She said that Pennsylvania had never actually paid for the program. In fact, if anyone ever receives the promised money, it would first go to families who paid out-of-pocket for a tutor three years ago.

So when Ed Rendell fills the airwaves with sound bites of his fiscal responsibility and commitment to Pennsylvania's schoolchildren, remember my story. The state has a balanced budget because it doesn't pay for the programs that Rendell says he supports.

Clare Westwood
Osborne

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