Corbett rejects plea on Phila. school funding
Mayor Nutter said the schools have met many conditions for the money. State Sens. Vincent Hughes (left), Anthony Hardy Williams flanked him. (DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer)
Gov. Corbett emphatically rejected on Tuesday a request to release $45 million in state funds, the latest twist in the ongoing battle to resolve the Philadelphia School District's financial crisis.
Corbett's budget secretary, Charles Zogby, said the money would not be available until the teachers' union signs a contract that includes substantial "fiscal savings and academic reforms."
"The law is clear," Corbett reiterated during an appearance in Chester. "Until that takes place, there can be no release of funds."
Corbett's comments were made shortly after an all-star roster of the city's state and local elected officials stood together in City Hall and urged the governor to release the money.
The district has been counting on $124 million in union concessions and savings to help close a $304 million deficit. The current contract expires at the end of this month and negotiations are continuing.
The dispute over the $45 million state grant comes as Mayor Nutter and City Council wrestle over another piece of the $140 million package hashed out in Harrisburg last month to address the district's shortfall.
The state plan calls for the city to borrow $50 million against future collections of the city's extra 1 percent sales tax, which was to expire next June, and turn the money over to the schools.
Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. warned last week that unless he received assurances by Friday that the $50 million would be available, the district would postpone the scheduled Sept. 9 opening of schools, open just a few, or operate them on half-day schedules.
The $45 million grant is contingent on the education secretary's determining that the district has obtained sufficient reforms and concessions from the teachers' union.
Philadelphia legislators, led by State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, said at City Hall that Zogby could release the money now.
"Children do not negotiate contracts and should not be held hostage," said State Rep. Cherelle L. Parker, chair of the city's