DN Editorial: Paving the way: Repairs coming for highways, so can schools be next?

EXPECT to see a lot of highway road crews this spring.

They will be out in force for two reasons: Our wicked winter left behind a record number of potholes, and PennDOT crews and contractors will be repaving and rebuilding a record number of area roads and bridges.

A resurfacing of City Avenue is on the list, as is the rebuilding of the Spring Garden Street Bridge. Stretches of I-95 and the Blue Route will be repaved.

As the Inquirer reported recently, 52 major highway projects, worth about $500 million, are getting under way in the region in the coming weeks.

And that's not all. SEPTA will begin 16 transit projects worth $200 million this year, including bridge and track repair and upgrades at its stations.

Many of these projects are getting done because of Act 89, the law passed by the legislature this year that greatly increases funding for PennDOT.

None of this work comes for free. ACT 89 included provisions to increase fuel taxes and license fees over the next five years to raise the money needed.

This year, the average driver will pay an additional $22 in taxes and fees to support highway and mass-transit projects. It works out to 42 cents a week.

No one likes to pay more at the pump or see the cost of license plates rise, but it seems worth the trade-off.

For years, transportation experts were warning that Pennsylvania was falling behind when it came to road and bridge repair. We had a multibillion-dollar gap between what was needed and what was getting done. Neglect never improves infrastructure. It just makes matters worse.

As an independent task force on transportation put it: "Pennsylvania's transportation system is critical to our economic well-being and the quality of life of each and every resident and visitor."

The legislature was convinced. So was Gov. Corbett, who signed Act 89 into law last summer.

Maybe now it is time to look at another system "critical to our economic well-being": our public schools.

After several years of being put on a starvation diet by Corbett, our educational infrastructure is showing the same signs of dangerous neglect as crumbling bridges. In Philadelphia, we barely can make ends meet. We don't have enough money for the basics - counselors, librarians, administrators, even school supplies - let alone new programs. Other districts in the state have raised local taxes and cut programs to make up for the loss in state aid.

The fundamental role of transportation is a given. Without the state highway system we can't function as a modern state.

In the same way, we should recognize the fundamental role that education plays. Without an educated workforce capable of meeting the challenges of today's economy, we will not continue to function as a modern state.

Few taxpayers are going to complain about paying 42 cents a week for better roads and transit systems. The same should also hold true for better schools.

The state is making the investment necessary to assure a functional and efficient highway system. Isn't it time to do the same for our children?