WILLIAMSBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro addressed the quality of life in rural areas, the potential dissolution of the federal Department of Education and the potential closures of SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp during a visit to Penn England Farms on Wednesday.

When asked what specific actions his administration has taken to improve the everyday lives of farmers and other residents of rural communities plagued by health care deserts, a lack of internet and sometimes even grocery stores, Shapiro said millions of dollars were invested to help expand a new Agriculture Innovation Fund.

“First off, I don’t know that we’ve ever had our farmers sitting at the table for economic development in the Commonwealth’s history,” Shapiro said. “We do now, and so when we work on economic development projects, we’re working with farmers in areas where the (state Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding) and I were not too long ago.”

According to the Pennsylvania state website, the Agricultural Innovation Grant “helps farmers and other agriculture businesses implement new agricultural technologies, conservation and renewable energy innovations.”

The fund is “the first of its kind in the entire nation,” Shapiro said.

“We’re allowing farmers to purchase equipment and other technologies,” Shapiro said. “We’re allowing them to scale up their operations more quickly, making sure there’s more capital available for our farmers and making sure that economic development runs through our farmlands.”

As for affordable high-speed internet, Shapiro recognized that “in a lot of these areas, we’ve got an issue with access to high-speed, affordable internet” as there are “about 245,000 homes and businesses, farms” that go without. However, they’ve been able to map and identify those locations and secure more than $1 billion in federal funding to build out those networks and connect everyone to the internet, he said.

Rural health care is “another area where we’ve invested millions of dollars to keep these hospitals open,” Shapiro said.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen rural health care centers close because private equity purchased them and ran them into the ground,” Shapiro said.

Corrections and education

When asked about the potential closures of SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp, Shapiro said it wasn’t “a done deal.”

In February, the state Department of Corrections announced a plan to close the facilities, citing the age of the buildings and the costs associated with maintaining the properties. If fully implemented, the closures of SCI Rockview, Quehanna Boot Camp, Wernersville Community Corrections Center and Progress Community Corrections Center are expected to save the Commonwealth $10 million in the upcoming fiscal year, with savings exceeding $100 million in future fiscal years.

Shapiro said the plan was “going through the process right now” led by state Secretary of the Department of Corrections Laurel Harry.

“She’s working through that with the community and with the employees,” Shapiro said. “She’s determined that there’s a need to close those facilities, but we’re going to go through the legally mandated process.”

Corrections officers employed at those facilities “will be guaranteed a job nearby where they are now,” he said.

Shapiro was also questioned about how the federal government potentially dissolving the Department of Education would affect not just Blair County, but the state.

He noted that those federal funds go to students with disabilities and students from low-income areas, saying “those are dollars that flow directly from the U.S. Department of Education to the school districts.”

“What I hope (Trump) doesn’t do is break the contract with the children of Pennsylvania, who are relying on those funds,” Shapiro said. “So far, they’ve indicated they would not be rolling back those funds.”

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.