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"Hundreds of students and administrators from the Harrisburg School District sent a unified message to state lawmakers on Wednesday.The protesters asked state officials to stop cutting funding for education.Over the past two years, the Harrisburg School District has laid off hundreds of teachers and closed schools while the state funding situation has only gotten worse.\"We need people to understand these are day-to-day residents of the city, not people who just need a political career and a paycheck,\" said Harrisburg School Board member Lola Lawson.One protester said, \"We are going to rock this city until they give us some money or we are going to sue the government.\"Without enough state funding to help close the Harrisburg district's $13 million budget gap, programs like football, cheerleading and music may be gone, school officials said.\"If I didn't have football anymore, I would not have any goals. School and football together pushes me to do something better, so I can get out of here,\" said student Ashtin Cooksey.State lawmakers recently proposed a bill to take over struggling school districts like Harrisburg and York.It would not be the first time the state has stepped in to help Harrisburg schools.School officials said it does not need the state to take over. Some officials said the district can solve its financial crisis if the state gives schools more money.\"It was Gov. (Tom) Corbett who put us in this situation, now he wants to take us over. What's wrong with this picture?\" asked teacher Rich Askey.\"Those who say Gov. Corbett doesn't care, it's very disingenuous,\" said Tim Eller of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. \"The man was a former teacher himself. He understands the importance of education.\"In 2001, the state put the district under mayoral control for 10 years.\"It's a violation of our constitutional rights,\" Lawson said of the possibility of a state takeover of the district.Harrisburg Superintendent Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney suggested there \"are some other alternatives we can look at before we take this drastic measure.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wgal.com/article/hundreds-protest-state-education-cuts/6221006>