This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
The District is holding a series of community meetings in May to discuss its proposed $3.2 billion 2010-11 budget.
Chief Business Officer Michael Masch gave a budget presentation to the SRC April 21. The District has not yet published its full, voluminous budget book but it has released a shorter, more user-friendly Budget in Brief that includes extensive detail and a six-page news release describing the major initiatives of the plan.
Also available online are the budgets for individual schools. The District has created a succinct two-page summary explaining its allotments to schools and how they are determined.
The District began making most of its budget documents available online in response to public outcry over the massive, "surprise" budget deficit in 2006.
The community meetings are scheduled for:
- Thursday, April 29, at South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad Street, 6-8 p.m. This meeting was cancelled.
- Saturday, May 1, at Northeast High School, 1601 Cottman Avenue, 10 a.m.-12 noon.
- Tuesday, May 4, at Edison High School, 151 W. Luzerne Street, 6-8 p.m.
- Thursday, May 6, at M.L. King High School, 6100 Stenton Avenue, 6-8 p.m.
- hursday, May 13, at Ethel Allen Elementary, 3200 W. Lehigh Avenue, 6-8 p.m.
- Thursday, May 20, at John Turner Middle School, 5900 Baltimore Avenue, 6-8 p.m.
Dinner is provided at 5 p.m. prior to the evening community meetings.
The SRC meetings on May 12 and 26 will have time for public testimony on the budget. City Council will hold hearings about the District budget as well, on May 10-11. The SRC will vote on the budget on May 26.
More details are available on the District’s site.