Between state budget funding cuts and taxpayers who don't want to see elimination of their favored programs, many local school boards are having a hard time balancing their budgets and satisfying school district parents.

The new administration of Gov. Tom Corbett is calling for cost-cutting and saving to close the budget gap for the next fiscal year. One of his recommended savings plans is to reduce aid to school districts. While this saves money, it does so at the expense of those who use the system and benefit from it. Meanwhile, the fat cat politicians in state government aren't seeing any reductions in the perks they enjoy. (This cartoon was published in the April 3, 2011 edition of The Mercury.)

One of Pottstown's biggest problems is a lack of leadership in driving economic revitalization. As stated in the editorial that accompanied this cartoon (published in the March 20, 2011 edition of The Mercury) "The borough's latest revitalization vehicle has been stuck in neutral for more than a year." Just recently, Borough Manager Jason Bobst was chosen to lead PAID, and hopefully bring some much needed change to downtown Pottstown.