GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
Celebrating in style
Despite sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures, Bellefonte held its annual Victorian Christmas celebration over the weekend. The Gazette captured images from the special event. Check them out in our special photo spread. Pages 31, 32
December 17-23, 2015
Volume 7, Issue 50
FREE COPY
Amid budget limbo, students play waiting game By ZACH BERGER StateCollege.com
UNIVERSITY PARK — The effects of the state budget impasse are being seen throughout Pennsylvania, especially in the education sector. A handful of western Pennsylvania school districts might stay closed after Christmas break. Schools statewide have borrowed almost $1 billion to survive the budget stalemate. And at Penn State, students counting on state grant money for student aid won’t receive those funds until there’s a budget, leaving the university to foot the bill in the mean time. According to a press release from the Penn State Office of Student Aid, there won’t be any state grant funds for students until a budget is passed. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency typically disburses those funds to help pay tuition — or other expenses like books and housing if a student has a full scholarship — but it cannot dole out any money without a state budget to fund the agency. Keith New, a spokesperson for the PHEAA, told WPSU that it is up to individual schools to determine how they will handle the situation as they await a state budget.
“The schools have an idea of what they can expect when the funds arrive, but each school has to decide how they’re going to handle the delay based on their own resources,” New said. Penn State has decided to allocate funds to the students’ bursar accounts temporarily, essentially acting as a placeholder until the actual state grant aid can be disbursed. Approximately 15,000 Penn State students were expecting a total of $26 million in state aid before an email from the university informed them of an outstanding balance on their account. That email, which went out automatically, was not meant to ask the students to take on the burden of paying the gap in their tuition caused by the budget impasse. The university will front that money in the mean time, and a message is on the Office of Student Aid’s website explaining the situation. “Students may notice PA State Grant funds appearing as a credit on the bill but not disbursing into the student bursar account,” the office said. “If you have been awarded a PA State Grant and are expecting a refund, you could be impacted by this funding delay. “We are committed to ensuring that no student who receives a Pennsylvania State Grant is harmed financially while the state budget is finalized,” the office added. “Once
JAMES ROBINSON/PennLive.com for the AP
BUDGET PROBLEMS: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, shown here during the Capitol’s tree lighting ceremony, and the Legislature are wrangling over a spending plan. the Pennsylvania state budget is passed, final state grant award amounts will be determined and funds will be released.” The budget, which is nearly six months past its due date, is still being worked on
by state legislators. Gov. Tom Wolf is pushing for a tax increase that would fund increased education spending, but state Republicans are fighting him and his party on that and plenty more.
Having a ball: Gearhart shows passion for teaching, basketball CENTRE COUNTY SPOTLIGHT By CHRIS MORELLI editor@centrecountygazette.com
ALEXA LEWIS/The Gazette
SALES COOL: Chris Byrnes shops for a hat and gloves in Appalachian Outdoors in downtown State College on Dec. 15. “It’s a little warm for that today, but it’s going to get cold soon,” Byrnes said.
Warm weather affecting December shopping trends By ALEXA LEWIS news@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — The above-average temperatures this fall might be another piece of evidence for the global-warming argument, but for businesses it has not been such a bad thing. It is no surprise people are more likely Opinion ............................ 9 Health & Wellness ..... 10, 11
to spend time out and about when temperatures are comfortable. A new AccuWeather and Withings study found that people prefer weather between 60 and 69 degrees Fahrenheit. This study also found that people take an average of 860 steps, or 14 percent Warm weather, Page 8
Education ....................... 12 Community ............... 13-16
1320B E. College Ave • facebook.com/covepizza (Across from WR Hickey, Behind Choice)
Community Profile ... 17, 18 Holiday Greetings ..... 19-22
BELLEFONTE — Inside the auxiliary gymnasium at Bellefonte Area High School, head girls’ basketball coach Adam Gearhart watches as his team runs a drill. Not satisfield with the end result, Gearhart makes the Lady Raiders run it again. It’s tough to be a perfectionist and coach high school basketball, but Gearhart is making it work. Gearhart will be the first to admit that he never expected to be coaching a girls’ basketball team, but here he is, entering his second season at the helm. “I never expected this … absolutely not,” Gearhart said with a laugh. “Especially varsity. Once I got into coaching, I didn’t think I’d want to coach above the junior high level. I never thought I wanted to be a head coach, but here I am at the top of the program. Sometimes I think, ‘How did I get here?’” But take a few minutes to watch Gearhart with his squad and it’s not hard to figure out how he wound up on top. He loves to teach and has a passion for the sport. Put those two qualities together, and it’s a tough combination to beat. Gearhart is a fifth-grade teacher at Sports ......................... 25-28 Around & In Town .... 34, 35
Pleasant Gap Elementary School. He said that teaching and coaching are very similar in nature. “If I’m teaching reading, I’m putting readers with the same abilities together so that they can help each other, push each Gearhart, Page 7
TIM WEIGHT/For the Gazette
DOUBLE DUTY: Bellefonte Area High School girls’ basketball coach Adam Gearhart is in his second season guiding the Lady Red Raiders. He’s also a fifth-grade teacher at Pleasant Gap Elementary.
What’s Happening ......... 35 Puzzles ............................ 36
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