Lacking Fair Basic Aid Plan, Pennsylvania Continues to Starve Philly Schools
The tragedy in the School District of Philadelphia continues. Here are some of the realities. Last year after Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett cut $1.1 billion out of the state school budget, the district was forced to lay off 4,000 teachers and other staff and close 24 public schools. The district reassigned thousands of students to new schools last fall and slashed essentials like high school guidance counselors and school nurses.
The schools in Philadelphia have been operating for many years under state control. The state appointed School Reform Commission, which has implemented a “portfolio school reform plan” designed by consultants at the Boston Consulting Group, currently functions as the closest thing to a school board. It reports to the governor not the voters. Portfolio plans emphasize the business strategy called “creative disruption”—closing and opening schools in a perpetual cycle—ending schools with low scores and experimenting with a variety of privatized charter schools.
This year Governor Corbett proposes to add funding in the state budget, but the extra funds are earmarked primarily for increasing the special education subsidy. Pennsylvania’s Education Law Center charges, “There is no proposed increase to the state’s Basic Education Funding line item, an essential funding source for all K-12 public school students. Instead the Governor has followed a familiar script—tying his funding proposal ($241 million) to special grants and as-yet-realized sources of revenue…”
Philadelphia Parents United for Public Schools calls Corbett’s budget “a paltry handout,” and