Why we march
Tomorrow, Governor Tom Corbett will make his first ever visit into a Philadelphia public school. He’s coming to Central High on Friday to give achievement awards to Central, Masterman and Carver High Schools – all three of which have seen their budgets decimated since Corbett’s taken office. Pennsylvania Education Secretary Caroline Dumaresq will accompany Corbett in a photo-op sure to rival the alternate reality of any science fiction fantasy.We assume that Governor Corbett will deliver a message of personal responsibility and accountability, a message where students can and should achieve no matter what the circumstances. And that’s a message to be heard – except when the person who should be held accountable and responsible is the deliverer of that speech himself.
Under Governor Corbett, consider what’s happened to these three elite Philadelphia schools:
(Chart: Parents United for Public Education)
- Masterman has lost 30% of its staff and has seen its extracurricular budget dwindle to a fraction of what it was before Gov. Corbett took office. As a result, programs like the school’s national championship chess team run on pure volunteers and almost no funding.
- Central High School went from eight counselors down to two, resulting in a two week wait to see a counselor and counselors unable to turn in letters of recommendation. The loss of more than $1.4 million from the school based budget alone means that Central educates its top notch students on just $5,177 per child, the lowest ratio in the entire School District.
- Carver, meanwhile has retained less than 10% of its pre-Corbett books and supply budget. Today it