Layoffs? Bigger classes? SRC gets an earful

The School Reform Commission on Wednesday night will get an earful from parents and community members horrified at the Philadelphia School District's proposed budget.

The numbers are daunting: the district needs $216 million in new money to get to this year's admittedly inadequate level of services. (That would mean still no full-time counselors or nurses in every school, or enough basic supplies.) If the district wants to begin to fulfill Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.'s Action Plan v.2.0, the spend is $440 million.

The possible sources of that money - city and state lawmakers, and the district's teachers' union - all largely say they have done their job in funding the schools.

And without any new cash, the district must lay off 1,000 employees, mostly classroom teachers. Class sizes would grow to 37 students in the primary grades, 40 in the middle grades, and 41 in high school.

It's been called the "empty shell" budget.

Stay tuned - I'll be livetweeting the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Mayor Nutter toured George Washington High, a large comprehensive high school in the Northeast, as part of a listening tour. My colleague Claudia Vargas provides this report: