After A Summer Of Uncertainty, Philadelphia School Leaders Exhale Over Passage Of Cigarette Tax
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Relief. That's the reaction from Philadelphia school officials at word the Senate has passed the long-awaited cigarette tax.
Superintendent William Hite and School Reform Commission Chair Bill Green in a joint statement said they were pleased and relieved that the legislature approved the $2-a-pack cigarette tax to fund Philadelphia schools. The district had said without the tax it would have to lay off 1,000 employees.
The tax is expected to generate $49 million for the district this year -- and Hite and Green are quick to point out that the money is already spent in this year's budget. They say the tax will allow the district to keep the resources already allocated to schools, resources which they describe as inadequate at best.
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