State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, will host a public forum April 4 to focus on Gov. Tom Corbett's funding proposal for Pennsylvania higher education, Conklin announced Friday.

Panelists scheduled to join Conklin at the 10 a.m. forum include State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham; Centre County commissioners Chairman Jon Eich; Richard DiEugenio, special assistant to Penn State President Graham Spanier; State College Area School District business administrator Jeffrey Ammerman; and Bald Eagle Area School District Superintendent Daniel Fisher, according to a news release.

Conklin said the free event is meant to give universities, school districts and the public a chance "to talk about how the (proposed) cuts are going to affect those organizations."

"With the rhetoric between (Corbett administration budget secretary Charles) Zogby and Penn State that's going on, I think it's very important that we come in and are able to talk about what's really going on," Conklin said in a press briefing Friday.

He said he wants the event to get away from "political overtones" and center on "how (the budget proposal) is going to affect central Pennsylvania, how it's going to affect students and how it's going to affect school districts."

The April 4 forum is set to take place in the State College Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St.

Corbett, facing a $4 billion state budget deficit, has proposed a roughly 50 percent cut in state support for public higher education. His budget proposal also would trim about 10 percent of state support for public-school instruction in kindergarten through 12th grade.

State budget hearings are happening this month, with lawmakers and Corbett expected to finalize a budget for 2011-2012 within the next few months. Spanier and presidents of other state-related universities are due to testify Monday before the House Appropriations Committee in Harrisburg.

There, Conklin said, he hopes Spanier will emphasize Penn State's contributions to the community, how it uses state funds for public outreach, and the university's overall economic impact.

"It's very important that we as a legislative body understand what's going to happen locally to the citizens (as a result of) the decisions we make," Conklin said.

He hopes the proposed higher-education funding cut will be lessened in the state's final approved budget, Conklin has said.

He emphasized Friday that the university, along with the state's largest teachers' union, has indicated a willingness to streamline. (Spanier has said Penn State is willing to do "its fair share" to help Pennsylvania through its fiscal stress.)

"It's a great step forward," Conklin said, "and I think we should applaud Penn State, the teachers and other groups that have said they want to take a freeze. They want to look at cuts. It's very important that we applaud those folks."

Earlier coverage

• 'Extreme Care and Caution' Urged at Penn State Board Meeting (March 18, 2011)

• Penn State, Peer Schools Take Their Budget Case to Harrisburg (March 16, 2011)

• Moody's: Corbett Budget 'Credit Negative' for Universities; Merger Idea Floated (March 16, 2011)

• Spanier to Faculty: Penn State Funding Issue 'Not as Simple as the Bloggers Think' (March 15, 2011)

• In Marcellus Shale Boom, Budget Plan Threatens Penn State's Public Service (March 14, 2011)

• Corbett: Penn State Misstepped in Responding to Cuts (March 11, 2011)

• VIDEO: Spanier Delivers Penn State Response to Corbett Proposal (March 10, 2011)

• Spanier: 'Abraham Lincoln Is Weeping' as Corbett Pushes Penn State Cuts (March 9, 2011)
  

• Corman: Lawmakers Need to Hear Corbett's Vision for Higher Education (March 9, 2011)

• Spanier to Answer 'Proposed Catastrophic Cuts' in Penn State Funding (March 8, 2011)

• Corbett Budget Proposes Deep Cut in Penn State Funding (March 8, 2011)

• Jay Paterno's Case for a Private Penn State (March 10, 2011)