Ackerman: Security cameras added at S. Phila. High

Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman disclosed Monday that the crisis at South Philadelphia High School in December led to the installation of security cameras in every part of the school except bathrooms.

Speaking before City Council, Ackerman also said the district planned to tighten charter school oversight by conducting surprise audits.

Prompted by Michael Masch, the district's chief business officer, Ackerman told Council that the bill for the camera installation totaled $1 million, but a spokesman later put the total cost at $689,500. The 126 cameras were installed after racial violence aimed mostly at Asian students rocked the school Dec. 2 and 3.

Ackerman said she believed more money should be spent on cameras for other district schools.

Excepting restrooms, every part of South Philadelphia High is now covered by cameras, Ackerman said. The new cameras were added to 23 that had been installed before December.

The disclosure came at a Monday Council hearing on the district's $3.2 billion budget, and immediately drew criticism.

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said he was "outraged" to hear of the expenditure, which he said made the school feel like a "prison."

"Throwing money and hardware at a problem as deeply entrenched as the racial divide at South Philadelphia High is not the answer," Jordan said. "Today's revelation shows that the district still does not comprehend the nature of the problem and has not taken responsibility for the harassment, violence, and discrimination Asian students have endured."

A clash between Asian and mostly African American students sent seven students to hospitals and triggered a student boycott and an ongoing federal civil rights inquiry.

Ackerman said she had directed the spending for security equipment because the school "was in crisis. I wish that we hadn't needed these resources, but this is the world that we live in now."

Spokesman Fernando Gallard said the sum, which already had been approved in the capital-projects budget, was needed because the 31,400-square-foot building's electrical systems had to be upgraded to accommodate the cameras. The job was completed on a weekend, which boosted the charge.

"We believe it's what needed to be done, given the urgency of the request," said Gallard.

The superintendent said the issue did not apply just to South Philadelphia High.

"We probably need to invest more in security cameras in a lot of our larger schools," Ackerman said.

Ackerman also told Council that the district would use an outside firm to increase oversight of charters beginning next school year.

The firm will be hired to spot-check 10 percent of the district's 67 charters annually. Previously, the district had audited a school only every five years, when the charter was up for renewal.

Auditors will "make these random, unannounced visits to look at the records, to make sure everything's in place," the superintendent said.

Her response was prompted by Council questions on a recent report from City Controller Alan Butkovitz, which detailed questionable financial and ethical practices at 13 charter schools.

Butkovitz launched the audit after disclosures by The Inquirer. The reporting also triggered a federal probe that has now expanded to 18 schools, including 17 of the district's 67 charters.

"We need to step up our monitoring, and not be intimidated or pushed back" in asking for information, Ackerman said.

District officials annually present their budget to Council. While Council has no power over the school district's budget, the city does collect its real estate taxes.

The district's good budget news, Masch said, is thanks to the federal stimulus package, which is scheduled to dry up after the 2011-12 school year.

The budget relies on $1.68 billion in state aid, a figure proposed by Gov. Rendell but not yet approved by the legislature. As it was last year, education spending figures to be a contentious issue in Harrisburg.

Councilman Bill Green questioned Ackerman and Masch on why the district had designed a budget that banked on so much state aid and demanded to know what the district would do if the sum were cut.

"This year, you're not going to get what the governor's appropriated, in my view," said Green.

Masch said it was common to build budgets based on proposed figures.

The district's budget already cuts spending by 6 percent; it has also prepared a contingency budget in case state dollars are lost, Masch said. Plan B cuts a further 2 percent for a total trim of 8 percent in administrative spending.

The trims would be "additional cuts in central office," Ackerman said. "It would not affect the schools."

Green also suggested it was not wise for the district to fund Imagine 2014, Ackerman's strategic plan, with $180 million in money that might disappear.

Ackerman said Imagine 2014 would be implemented even if the district did not receive more federal money.

"We may have to reprioritize other things, but in a $3 billion budget, we ought to be able to carve out $180 million" for the plan, Ackerman said.

Ackerman summarized highlights of her superintendency - negotiating a groundbreaking contract with city teachers, enrolling 8,000 parents in free courses, introducing a weighted student-funding formula to shift money to needy learners - but also its challenges.

Youth violence is one that sometimes seems overwhelming, she said. This school year in particular, the district has struggled with South Philadelphia High and with city students involved in flash mobs.

Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. told Ackerman he was "cautiously optimistic" about the school system. In his district, which lies in West and Northwest Philadelphia, the three lowest-performing schools have been designated Renaissance schools - schools that will be radically restructured and run either by charter or outside managers or by Ackerman herself.

"If the worst of them gets it, it's a step above what we have," Jones said of the potential Renaissance partners.

Ackerman said the Renaissance process would continue for years to come.

"We're going to systematically eliminate the lowest-performing schools while pushing the other schools to move to vanguard status, top status," she said.

Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco wanted to know why some schools have programs and others don't.

Over the years, a lack of planning led to some schools having more than others, Ackerman said. Now, there are "blatant disparities" - some schools have no libraries and some have restrooms that are dirty and broken.

Schools with advocates got facilities and services, the superintendent said. Others did not. Ackerman said her weighted funding formula would help eliminate such inequities.

"In many ways, Councilwoman, it's shameful, the discrepancies," Ackerman said.

The Council hearing continues Tuesday.