Same story every year

The relationship between Philadelphia schools superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and City Council at times resembles a bad marriage in which a verbally abusive spouse insists he loves his partner. By now, Hite should know what to expect when he appears before Council to ask for more money for schools - another tongue lashing.

Council is right to insist on being provided detailed information on how the School District has been spending taxpayers' dollars, but snide comments that ignore the drastic cuts Hite has made to keep the schools open since he became superintendent in 2012 border on insulting.

Presented with Hite's proposed $2.9 billion budget for next school year, Council President Darrell L. Clarke derisively commented during a public hearing Wednesday, "So you want all of the money, all of the time, basically." Every year, Hite has stressed what he wants - enough funding to give students more than the woefully inadequate education this city offers its children.

There may yet be expenditures that the district can cut and has not proposed. But don't act as if Hite and the School Reform Commission merely hold out the beggar's cup. During his three-year tenure, Hite has closed more than 20 schools and laid off 3,000 workers. If the district doesn't get additional funding, 800 teachers could lose their jobs.

To avoid that calamity, the district is hoping Gov. Wolf can come through in enacting a new statewide school-funding formula which would net Philadelphia schools an additional $159 million, and that the city can come up with an additional $103 million, which Mayor Nutter has proposed be provided through a 9.3 percent property tax increase.

Neither the legislature nor City Council seems receptive to tax increases to give more money to the schools. But if they are going to dismiss those ideas they need to come up with viable alternatives. Poorly funded public schools across Pennsylvania operated with deficits through the Corbett years. It's time to do more than talk about investing in the state's future through its children.

Council and Mayor Nutter deserve credit for finding an additional $360 million for city schools since 2009. But that only got the district through a fiscal desert. The oasis Hite seeks, with new academic programs that move more students to higher achievement levels, requires a bigger investment.

It's ludicrous for Council members to suggest it's tiresome to be asked for more money. That wouldn't be the case if the city had a school board with taxing authority. But it doesn't. If Council doesn't want to raise the property tax, it needs to find a good alternative - and quickly, so plans for next school year can be made.