Mayor says schools would be in trouble without proposed cigarette tax

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

Mayor Nutter says there could be dire consequences if Harrisburg lawmakers do not approve creating a cigarette tax for Philadelphia.

"Without the $80 million-plus that would come from the cigarette tax, we would not be able to open schools in September safely," Nutter said.

If Harrisburg does not grant the city the authority to create the $2-per-pack cigarette tax, he said, there would have to be massive additional cuts to School District personnel.

"If we don’t get these dollars, 1,300 more people will lose their jobs. That’s on top of the 3,000 that were laid off last year. We’ll have fewer personnel in the buildings. Class size will explode to 41 students in a class in a number of circumstances," he said.

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