SRC recesses again, hopes for miracle in Harrisburg by Sunday

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

Doomsday is getting closer.

The School Reform Commission met again Thursday morning, only to recess again until Sunday afternoon. The SRC hopes that Harrisburg will come up with some money so Philadelphia can open schools in September that have more than a skeleton crew of teachers and a principal.

"I can’t predict what will happen, but we’ve made it clear for the past 20 months what must happen," said a grim SRC chair Pedro Ramos after the meeting. "Throughout, we kept everyone apprised of our situation with candor. We’ve done everything we can within the prerogative of the SRC. Now it is up to Harrisburg for officials to do what they were elected to do."

The SRC cannot adopt a revised budget on Sunday — that requires 30-day public notice — but it can take actions to restore some services and personnel "if and when new revenues are identified," said District spokesman Fernando Gallard.

To plug its $304 million hole, the SRC has asked for $60 million in additional money from the city, $120 million from the state, and $133 million in concessions from unions, primarily the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Lacking any guarantees, it adopted a bare-bones budget that includes layoffs of more than 3,800 members of its workforce.

Three days before the end of the fiscal year, very little of the hoped-for money has materialized.

The city has come up with about $74 million, most of it from a $2-a-pack cigarette tax and the rest from increased collection on delinquent taxes. But the tobacco tax still must be authorized by the General Assembly before it can be collected.

As far as additional state money, officials say the best they can do this year is ask the federal government to forgive $108 million that it wants reimbursed from past overpayments and divert that to the District. After that, they may allow the city to keep its higher sales tax, now used for city purposes, and channel most of the proceeds to the schools.

Weary city and District officials are trying to be optimistic.

"At least people are engaged now," said Lori Shorr, Mayor Nutter’s chief education officer. "It’s all still being worked on. I wish there had been this kind of engagement a month ago."

The state must pass its own budget by Sunday, June 30, the end of the fiscal year. The District lobbyists are working frantically to include authorization so the city can enact the cigarette tax and get at least $100 million in additional state dollars.

Negotiations to work out a last-minute deal are ongoing. After the meeting concluded, Superintendent William Hite got in a car to go back to Harrisburg. Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said he remained on call to travel to the capital if needed. Some key legislators and administration officials want the union to agree to some concessions as a condition for releasing any money for the Philadelphia schools.

While sticking adamantly to his position that his members "can’t afford" to take pay cuts, Jordan said, "I will do whatever I can do in order to get additional money for the Philadelphia schools."

The PFT sent a dozen busloads of teachers, parents, and other activists to Harrisburg on Tuesday to hold a rally and meet with legislators to describe how their schools may be forced to open without basic amenities like counselors, secretaries, and paper.

"They are used to talking to me, but I think that when they hear it from people who work in the schools every day, it had a pretty powerful effect on them," said Jordan.

Hite, who managed to keep his upbeat demeanor, said that he met with principals and teacher leaders Wednesday to talk about the state’s new system of teacher evaluation.

But that wasn’t the top thing on anyone’s mind.

"There is a natural anxiety about what schools will look like in September," he said.

Meanwhile, 15 elected officials have joined the "Fast for Safe Schools" hunger strike.

They are: U.S. Rep. Bob Brady; District Attorney Seth Williams; State Sens. Anthony Hardy Williams, Vincent Hughes, Mike Stack, Rob Teplitz, Cherelle Parker, and Vanessa Lowery Brown; State Reps. Jordan Harris, Curt Thomas, J.P. Miranda, and Ronald Waters; and City Council members Mark Squilla, Kenyatta Johnson, and Maria Quiñones-Sánchez.

The fast, which began 11 days ago with four District parents and employees, came in response to the layoffs of all noontime aides, staff who monitor school hallways and lunchrooms to defuse conflicts. The fasters have vowed to continue their protest until all aides have been rehired.

Even if the District receives more funding, it remains unclear whether noontime aides will be a priority for restoration.