SRC approves 5-year plan for city schools

The Philadelphia School Reform Commission adopted last night a strategic plan with a big price tag - $126 million in the first year - and big goals to match.

That money will pay for smaller classes in kindergarten through third grade citywide, more guidance counselors, new early-childhood education centers, more spots in preschool programs, expanded summer-school opportunities, and more special-education staff.

The vote was unanimous, but Commissioner Heidi Ramirez said she had voted yes "only reluctantly." She has signaled concerns about a lack of detail in Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's plan.

Officials said they could not yet say what the total tab for Ackerman's Imagine 2014 would be over five years. Chief business officer Michael Masch said the district was prepared to pay the bill for the first year out of its $3.2 billion 2009-10 budget, which was also detailed last night.

For the first time in years, the district will have a balanced budget with money for new initiatives. That's due in large part to a projected $209 million in federal stimulus money.

Masch said Imagine 2014 was "exciting and ambitious, but it is completely realistic."

To implement the more than 140 initiatives that Ackerman proposed over five years, the district is banking on hefty annual increases in funding from the city and state.

The biggest chunk of the first-year funding, $32.5 million, would go to hire 367 teachers to reduce class sizes in the early grades.

Now classes in kindergarten through third grade can have as many as 30 students. Under the plan, no kindergarten class would have more than 23 students, and no first-, second- or third-grade class would have more than 26.

Other big-ticket items include $18.5 million for 206 new counselors in middle and high schools and $16.8 million to revamp high school schedules to give students more electives and faculty more time for planning. There's also an additional $12 million to expand summer school and $8.1 million to hire and train staff to expedite evaluations for special-education students.

Ackerman said her plan would distribute the district's resources equitably and restore the basics to city children.

It's a blueprint, she said, that "we hope will close a serious academic and opportunity gap."

Despite six years of steady progress, more than half of all students in the 167,000-pupil district fail state tests in reading and math.

Hundreds flocked to district headquarters last night to hear about the plan, which drew both praise and criticism.

Speaking to a standing room-only crowd, Mayor Nutter offered his "full, unequivocal support for Imagine 2014," and State Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Phila.) called it "a very thoughtful plan."

Members of the community said they liked things like smaller classes, a return to in-school suspensions, and more counselors.

Activist Vernard Johnson urged the commission to endorse the plan.

"We've got a lot of work to do," he said. "Our kids can't wait anymore."

But others were less pleased.

Carol Hemingway, executive director of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), said that although she liked much of Imagine 2014, she worried that the commission was prepared to adopt a blueprint that had no total price.

"The plan seems to me a mere set of principles more than a clear plan to reform our schools," Hemingway said.

Several activists called on the commission to delay voting. They were particularly concerned about Imagine 2014's call to close 35 failing schools and reopen them as charters or schools run by outside managers.

In a letter to Ackerman, Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, echoed that concern.

"After seven years of experimenting with outside managers, the research shows that this model has not increased student achievement, despite the managers' receiving additional, per-student funding," Jordan said.

Ackerman said last night that the first 10 schools to be closed would be identified in the fall.

After the commission adjourned its meeting, Masch gave a rundown on the budget, which is set for adoption in late May.

Despite a brutal economy, Masch painted a relatively rosy budget picture, a real shift for a district that endured a surprise $180 million deficit in 2006.

Masch's 2009-10 spending plan makes some assumptions, though, including that the district will receive $1.49 billion in state aid, although the governor's budget has not yet passed the legislature.

The budget also does not include money for raises in new contracts with the district's five unions. The pacts of all five expire in August.

Over the next months, the public will have a chance to comment on the budget at meetings throughout the city.

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's strategic plan will cost the Philadelphia School District $126 million in the first year, 2009-10. That includes:

$32.5 million to hire an additional 367 teachers to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade.

$18.5 million to hire an additional 206 counselors for middle and high schools.

$16.8 million to revamp rosters in neighborhood high schools to give students more electives and teachers more common planning time.

$12 million to expand summer school.

$8.34 million to expand medical, psychological, and social services.

$8.1 million for new staff and training to expedite special-education evaluations.

$4.9 million to expand early-childhood education programs.

$4.45 million to enhance reading programs in the lowest-performing schools.

$3.42 million to hire staff to restore in-school suspension in middle and high schools.

$2.43 million to start a peer-assistance program to help new teachers.

$2.38 million to begin the transition for 10 failing schools to charter-school or private-manager operation in fall 2010.

$1.34 million for regional early-childhood centers.

SOURCE: Philadelphia School District

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