Green, possible SRC chief, gives views on schools
CLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer
Is Bill Green interested in becoming chair of the School Reform Commission?
Sources say he is a finalist for the job; Green is mum on the subject.
But the current city councilman is clear in his view that the Philadelphia School District is failing far too many children, and change must come quickly.
"Eliminating all the bad seats in the School District is a concept I think is important to pursue," Green said Monday. "There are tens of thousands of kids in underperforming schools."
The district's governing body has been leaderless since Oct. 23, when Pedro Ramos resigned because of a family emergency. Gov. Corbett has acknowledged the need for a speedy decision on a new SRC chair, and said he is down to "a few names," but has said he will take the time he needs to find the right person.
As the district heads into its budget-building season, the unpaid job takes on extra importance. The school system's financial crisis shows no signs of abating, and the SRC must adopt a 2014-15 preliminary budget in March.
Green declined to comment on his candidacy for SRC chair, but did speak about some of his educational philosophies.
In the last four years, he has issued two policy papers suggesting "radical and transformative" fixes for the district - more charters, fewer district schools, vouchers, longer school day and year, breaking up big schools, more social and academic supports.
His views have evolved, Green said. He previously advocated abolishing the SRC; now he believes that it has all of the powers it needs to make change, and that it should continue to exist.
Traditional public schools are still necessary, Green said, but not for tradition's sake. Some district schools are doing a great job,