State Rep. Lawrence Curry to speak about implications of education cuts in state budget

To Speak to Sholom Aleichem Club Meeting at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy

     Gov. Tom Corbett shocked many, when in his first budget, he called for a total of $1 billion in cuts to higher education and public school education. In his second budget, he asked for additional cuts in education. College tuition is already high. Student debt is now at its highest level in U.S. history and the job market is dim for young people. School districts like Philadelphia are in massive budget holes and have already reduced teachers and staff.

     State Rep. Lawrence Curry (D-154), who has served in the Assembly since 1992, will speak about the implications of the education cuts at the Sholom Aleichem Club meeting on Sunday, May 6 at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 8000 Cherokee Avenue, Chestnut Hill, at 2:00 p.m.  Admission is free and the meeting is open to the public.

   His district covers the Townships of Cheltenham and Springfield, the Borough of Jenkintown and the 35th ward, 1st division in Philadelphia. As a state legislator, Curry, who is retiring this year, continues to be in the forefront of issues that affect working families, senior citizens and children, especially tax reform, equal opportunity, environmental protection, health and education. He is Democratic Minority Chair of the Aging and Older Adult Services Committee, and in the past has served as a Member of the Aging & Youth and Education Committees, as well as numerous other Committees.

   In 2006, Curry led the fight against the so-called “Academic Freedom” bill that he felt was an attempt by far-right activists to target college professors who held political viewpoints different from their own.

   He has served as an adjunct professor at Arcadia University, Montgomery County Community College and Rutgers-Camden University, and has been a guest lecturer at Philadelphia Community College and Camden Community College.

   As associate professor of American civilization at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Curry developed the curriculum to teach college students and adults about the Holocaust, though. He also developed courses on various aspects of United States history, government and politics, and the value of civic participation.

   In 1965, Curry joined Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the march in Selma, Alabama for voting rights for African Americans. He spoke out strongly against the recent Pennsylvania Voter ID bill.

   Curry earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in history from the University of Pennsylvania.

   The Sholom Aleichem Club, a local Secular Jewish organization in its sixth decade, meets the second weekend of the month. The Club offers dynamic, stimulating and entertaining meetings dealing with Jewish culture, Secular observance of Jewish holidays, and a wide variety of current, social, cultural and international issues. Member participation is also encouraged in such groups as Peace and Social Action, Yiddish reading, and publications. Members come from throughout the Delaware Valley. The Club is affiliated with the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations of North America, the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews and the Kehilla for Secular Jews of Greater Philadelphia, which includes seven Secular Jewish groups that plan joint activities such as the High Holidays observances. For more information on this meeting or the Club, please call 215-233-2668, or visit the web site: http://www.sholomaleichemclub.org.