A public thanks to Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky
Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky (used with permission)
The SRC’s vote May 30th stripped away any pretense that next year’s budget has a child-centered, education-focused mission. Gone from the budget are core educational responsibilities from schools which are already bare bones: the arts, guidance counselors, books & supplies, librarians, sports, and extracurricular activities and clubs. The budget impacted every single school in every neighborhood across the city, from the most struggling and most deserving of schools to the highest performing magnet schools.
One lone voice stood out on an otherwise dark day.
That voice belonged to Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky. Appointed under Governor Rendell, Commissioner Dworetzky cast the sole dissenting vote on the budget, openly questioning whether schools could be called schools under this scenario and suggesting the SRC could do more to protect children’s education.
Unlike the other commissioners, Dworetzky demonstrated a willingness to discuss his thinking on the budget publicly. None of the other commissioners gave any rationale other than a defense of their “legal obligations.”