P H I L A D E L P H I A — Thousands of demonstrators statewide took to the streets Wednesday to protest education cuts they say have decimated school districts across Pennsylvania, and they called for lawmakers to reject further reductions Gov. Tom Corbett proposes for next year.

A total of 25 people were arrested during massive demonstrations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as they blocked traffic downtown in both cities, police said. Hundreds more demonstrated at the Capitol in Harrisburg, and organizers said similar rallies were scheduled in cities including Doylestown, Hollidaysburg, Bethlehem, Hazleton and Greensburg.

“We’re demanding that education funding be restored and that they take back this plan to privatize Philadelphia schools, stop threatening to lay off thousands of workers and instead sit down with parents, sit down with workers, sit down with elected officials and figure out a plan that saves our schools,” said Gabe Morgan, Pennsylvania director of the Service Employees International Union chapter 32BJ, which organized the rally in Philadelphia.

Saying the state can’t afford to spend more money, the governor suggested last week that school districts dip deeper into their reserves to avoid cutting programs.

State aid for public school instruction and operations this fiscal year, Corbett’s first budget year, shrank by about $860 million, or more than 10 percent.

His $27.1 billion budget plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 would hold most public school aid relatively flat, but eliminate a $100 million grant that helps underwrite full-day kindergarten.