TODAY! To do list for our day of action targeting City Council
Today City Council will introduce legislation that will devote 100% of sales tax proceeds to the schools in year one, 75% in year two and 50% for the remaining years. City Council will also push for cigarette tax passage in Harrisburg. Sound familiar? Sure! Because that was supposed to be LAST YEAR’s plan for school funding.
Unfortunately, City Council is a day late (or 365 days late) and a dollar short (or actually $75 million short).
Today, our partner, Education Voters PA, is organizing a Day of Action at City Council. We need to thank Council for finally moving on the $120 million for schools but remind them that revisiting last year’s ideas will get us no where near the scale of funds we need. Here are three things you can do:
- Sign the petition for full and fair funding here: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/we-need-to-fund-philadelphia?source=c.url&r_by=43354
- Join Education Voters at City Hall Thursday, May 15. People are meeting all day, including principals and school staff at 4 p.m. Sign up this morning here:http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6041/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=7027
- Can’t make it to Council? Call your Council member and every at large Council member. Find your Councilmember here: http://guide.seventy.org/
All at large Councilmembers’s contact info are below:
- Wilson Goode: 215-686-3414
- William Greenlee: 215-686-3446
- Dennis O’Brien: 215-686-3440
- James Kenney: 215-686-3450
- Blondell Reynolds Brown: 215-686-3438
- David Oh: 215-686-3452
You are calling them to:
- Ask them where they stand on finding another $75 million on top of the $120 million from the sales tax.
- Ask them where they stand on supporting a millage shift in property taxes to restore a 60% portion to the School District (it’s dropped from 60% to 55% under Mayor Nutter). A bill sponsored by Maria Quinones Sanchez, Curtis Jones and Blondell Reynolds Brown proposes shifting funds back to a 60-40 split for schools. It should bring in $53 million/yr with no new taxes raised.
- Ask them where they stand on ensuring that the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s plan to sell $22 million in taxicab license sales goes to Philly schools and not the PPA’s pockets.
- Finally ask them where they stand on ensuring that next year’s budget fully restores our teaching and support staff, counselors, librarians and nurses as well as gifted support and SES (Title I tutoring) services. What good is $100 million if our libraries remain closed and our classrooms overcrowded and without resources and staff?
Ask your councilmembers. Record their answers. Let us know. We will publish your responses!