Bill Cosby: No more cuts for Pa. schools

HARRISBURG (AP) — Comedian Bill Cosby says public schools make the difference for many children between success and failure in life.

Cosby joined Gov. Ed Rendell at a news conference today that celebrated steady improvements in Pennsylvania’s standardized test scores in math and reading.

Rendell and Cosby also criticized Senate Republicans’ plan to provide less money for public schools than the Democratic governor has proposed.

Cosby, a Philadelphia native and a well-known education advocate, began and ended his brief speech by declaring: “No more cuts!”

He said taxpayers get their money’s worth from their investment in public schools. He said it costs less than $5,000 a year to educate a young person but $33,000 a year to incarcerate an adult.