But the bigger failure has been the state's takeover of the district, which since 1994 has done little to turn around the troubled Delaware County school system.

For years, a Republican control board appointed by former Gov. Schweiker made decisions that seemed designed to siphon off millions of district funds for charter schools.

Gov. Rendell finally gained control of the board last year and brought in his education team to correct years of neglect and mismanagement. But today, Chester Upland remains a poster child for all that is wrong in urban public education.

Good wishes go to the 2,700 students who fled the academically failing schools for charter schools.

Without drastic changes, prayer may be the only hope for the 4,000 classmates they left behind.

Where was the state oversight when Chester Upland was amassing $85 million in bond indebtedness, largely to pay operational costs?

The system's aging, crumbling schools need repair. The last new buildings went up in 1974. The elementary school playgrounds have no equipment.

At Stetser Elementary, students play softball on a grass field with orange cones to mark the bases.

That's only slightly better than at Columbus Elementary School, where children have only an asphalt lot to run around on during recess.

State test scores in the district are abysmal. At Chester High, only 3 percent of the 11th graders last year met state proficiency standards for math; only 9 percent met the language arts benchmark.

No wonder only 14 percent of the district's seniors last year enrolled in a four-year college.

The Inquirer's latest Report Card on the Schools says Chester Upland annually spends $18,894 per student. That would mean only Lower Merion spends more in the region - $21,313 per student. But Chester Upland officials contend their actual figure is $11,008 per student, because one-third of the district's $94 million budget goes to three charter schools.

Whichever amount is being spent, Chester Upland students are being shortchanged. For the rest of their lives, they will suffer consequences from the poor educations they are receiving.

The district is making progress with its empowerment board and new Superintendent Gregory Thornton. The state, too, is trying to be more supportive. But they must do more, faster, if they expect to stop the exodus of children and dollars to the charter schools.