Governor Shapiro’s proposed spending plan includes an increase in Adult and Family Literacy funding in the     Department of   Education’s budget of $3,850,000, which represents a 30.74% increase over the prior fiscal year.

Your legislators need to hear from you! We cannot assume that the governor’s priorities will be those of General   Assembly.     We must use this opportunity to not only support the Governor’s request, but to advocate before the   General Assembly for   funding beyond what has been proposed in the Governor’s budget.

Here’s how you can help:  

• Invite your local legislators to visit a classroom to interact with their constituents, and to see firsthand the services PAACE members provide; 
• Invite your local legislators to a citizenship ceremony or fundraising event your organization will hold between now and enactment of the state budget; 
• Engage directly with legislators and their staff through a one-on-one meeting in their district office or by phone. We really cannot simply rely on email as a mechanism to express how important additional funding is to the field. We need to humanize our request for funding through personal engagement. Simply stated, it’s too easy ignore or send a form letter response to a written communication. 

We are asking you not to waste any time and to start your engagement now. 

If you are not sure who your legislators are, you can look them up by clicking HERE and either searching by county or by address. There you can find contact information for reaching out to their offices. When you call or meet, please mention the following key points: 

Pennsylvania needs to support its workforce with additional education, skills and training to better enable them to support themselves and their families, resulting in additional revenue for the Commonwealth through increased tax collections.  Therefore, we are asking for an increase the Adult and Family Literacy line in the Department of Education’s budget from its current funding level of $11.7 million to $30 million.

We can also provide you with a general script, talking points and any other information you might find helpful in preparation for your engagement. 

We cannot do this without your help.  Please let us know if you are willing to help us in our advocacy efforts.  Let’s work together to bring about positive change for the adult education field through increased funding for our field! 

Stay tuned for future calls to action from the PAACE Advocacy Committee.