Expand SRC to 8 members, legislator says
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
Expand SRC to 8 members, legislator says
Kristen Graham
State Rep Jordan Harris (D., Phila.) wants to change the makeup of the School Reform Commission, the governing body of the Philadelphia School District.
Harris has proposed legislation that would add three new members to the panel, which currently consists of three gubernatorial nominees and two mayoral picks. Harris wants the governor to select a city charter school parent and the mayor to pick a parent representative from a district school plus the president of the city's student government association. (The student would be a non-voting member of the SRC.)
SRC members are not paid.
The legislation, Harris said in a release, would "ensure that parental voice and involvement is a permanent voting fixture on the School Reform Commission...we can no longer depend on an informal voice from parents and students with regards to the education of their children and themselves."
Of the five current commissioners, two - Wendell Pritchett and Sylvia Simms, both mayoral appiontees - have children or grandchildren who attend city schools. Pedro Ramos' children recently graduated from district schools.
What do you think - good idea? Necessary? Will it gain steam?
The more crooks, the worse the crime. Bad idea.— DonQ- Yeah, more people to pay for worthless city jobs.— main liner
- Moron. You didn't even read the article. The positions are unpaid.
— daxtremesolja - The positions have no salary, but the perks are still there. The first SRC Chair James Nevels liked to have lunch at the 4 Seasons on the District's dime. He set the standard. I've been asking the Inquirer writers to report just how much each SRC member costs us in Expenses, Stipends, Dedicated Staff, Office Furniture and Supplies, Chauffeur Services...and everything else.
— DarnelX - Get rid of the SRC altogether. Why do we need to be babysat by the very people in Harrisburg who want to destroy us?
We deserve, as citizens and taxpayers, to have our own elected school board. The SRC has been a disaster in every way. They have brought in incompetent, arrogant administrators who leave us with massive deficits, then golden-parachute themselves out.
Enough is enough.— pachysandra - "Our own elected school board" sounds great for the first second; then, unfortunately, reality sets in. Locally elected frightens me. Dwight Evans and Jaine Blackwell and Bob Brady are all locally elected. Just imagine those questionable souls in charge of a 2.5 Billion Dollar budget. I smell corruption already and it hasn't even happened yet. — DarnelX
- I think that parents and students should have access to SRC members. More than anything, I'd like to see internationally and US recognized education experts who can make sure that the school district has the resources it needs to meet its educational mission and adopts proven strategies to improve the quality of education. We need the state and city to provide the resources the PSD needs to meet their mission and adopt a strategy and funding should provide a long term, dedicated funding source. One the SRC is in place, it should be isolated from politics. It isn't the SRC's problem that the city or state won't fund the school district. For a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with the city, the PSD has many more issues to deal with than most school districts in the state and the city should not be expected to fully fund the school district. If not, build affordable housing and Section 8 housing so that it is evenly distributed throughout the state so everyone can share the burden. You'd think that there isn't an effective school district in the world that we can copy best practices from.— MikeP
- In summary: Send tons of money to a wasteful bureaucracy pretending to manage education, and raise taxes until every taxpayer worth a dollar has moved out of this city. Fine plan!
— DonQ - The School Reform Commission is a joke, why not add 300 new members and have the first meeting in Florida while the weather is still cold.Then create a School Reform Commission Commission to make sure they are doing the right thing for the kids.— callitlikeiseethem
- I disagree...What is the end game to the SRC? SRC is suppose to be a temporary thing...When do we get back to it...THE STATE takeover has not worked and to give the SRC more people to something that has not work does not make since..This is another Band-aid over stitches..We need to change the system...THE SRC took over because of debt. In 2001, the district had a projected deficit of $216.7 million in its current $1.7 billion budget. today they still have deficit problem...— pyle70
- No teachers on the SRC? If teachers are expected to fund the school district deficit, then they should have a voice in the district management. If not, then this is a form of taxation without representation. Hite's insulting contract proposal is nothing short of an unfair income tax on teachers.— Boru
- I still don't get why they don't put a teacher on the board. They need someone who has literally been on the front lines.
- OK, I understand that SRC members do not get paid. But the more is not necessarily the merrier. I would get a combination of two teachers from the school district, preferably former school teachers, and three people who have a track record of running successful businesses to make this work.
- Dumb idea. Figures it came from a Philadelphia Democrat.— b,ill a,tkins
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
