Parents United Top 10 questions on the District budget
Parents United absolutely supports the District’s request of $60 million from the City, however, we ask City Council to consider the following:
- The District must immediate re-do its budget. It is irresponsible for City leaders and city residents to support $60 million in funds when there is no indication of how those funds will be spent. The District chose to zero out essential supports in schools while approving an $11 million contract with Pearson and outsourcing a $15 million cyber school start-up just last week alone. Playing brinksmanship games with mandated essential services and throwing our schools into chaos should not be supported by City Council. The District must submit a new budget with the $180 million to demonstrate how the money will be spent responsibly, and even without the full amount, how the District will guarantee a safe and adequate school environment.
- A portion of the $60 million must rely on significant contribution increases from the state. While the District has chosen to settle for a mere $120 million, the unified message from city and District leaders must be an incremental reinstatement of the Rendell-era education funding formula. Pennsylvania is one of only three states in the nation without an education funding formula. Without this funding formula, not only has Philadelphia lost more than $300 million in state support, but the level of inequity between Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs has grown dramatically. As of last year, EducationLawCenter reported a $78,000 difference between a Philadelphia classroom and the surrounding cities.