What high court just did to the way Phila. schools are run
All those weighty matters could be up in the air in Philadelphia schools, after this week's Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that stripped the School Reform Commission of extraordinary powers it had believed it had - and had used - under state law.
Lawyers and close watchers of the School District were still combing through the 18-page decision Wednesday, determining exactly what it means for the school system.
But the scope of the ruling was clear. The SRC on Wednesday called it a "sobering moment."
"Clearly, it's going to require a total reenvisioning of the way in which the SRC is going to manage costs and resources," said Donna Cooper, executive director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth. "Their quiver has been depleted a bit."
Financially, the decision could be devastating, because of the possibility for rampant, unplanned charter-school growth, already a sensitive issue in a district whose leaders were uncertain, even before the ruling, that they would have enough cash to get through the school year.
Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, called the ruling a "double-edged sword." While he was pleased that some of the district's special powers were dulled, he worried "that the district won't be able to control its own budget, its own destiny."
In a 4-2 vote handed down Tuesday, the court declared unconstitutional a provision in state law that permitted the SRC to cancel sections of the Pennsylvania school code. The commission relied heavily on this special power in the last several years to close schools, bypass seniority in teacher assignments, and limit charter school growth.
School officials huddled Wednesday to puzzle over what the ruling will mean, and in a statement, the SRC said that it had acted in good faith "to take actions consistent with our duty to secure financial stability for the School District and provide high-quality educational opportunities for all students."
One SRC member, Bill Green, said after the ruling that he saw little choice but to follow the order, potentially undoing actions taken under the provision of the law.
Teacher assignments could also be affected significantly. The SRC used the law to bypass seniority after it began rehiring thousands of staffers it had laid off in 2013. It has continued to circumvent seniority since.
Green had said he feared the district might be forced to reassign teachers now, more than halfway through the school year. Jordan dismissed that possibility.
"Absolutely not," he said. "How could you take a teacher away from a student midyear?" Jordan suggested that changes would affect assignments next year.
Cooper said restoration of seniority would further destabilize the school system.
"For people who think they might run the risk of being shifted to another school, that might cause them to look elsewhere," she said. "There's a lot of rolling impact to this."
The impact on school closures is also unclear. The SRC suspended part of the code to amend the timeline required by law to shut dozens of schools in the last several years. Closures are unlikely to be reversed, but steps might have to be taken to remedy the now-improper proceedings.
Perhaps the biggest question is what impact the ruling could have on charter school
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