Philly SD won't cancel contracts tomorrow
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
Philly SD won't cancel contracts tomorrow
Kristen Graham
The Philadelphia School District is "currently engaged in positive conversations with the unions to help close the district's budget gap," it says, and the administration will not recommend canceling contracts tomorrow.
The district had been banking on $75 million in savings from its five unions. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers had previously said it would not negotiate.
"We are not aware of negotiations," said Nadine Bonner, a spokeswoman for the PFT.
On Wednesday, district officials announced they had a new, $35 million budget gap to bridge - in addition to the $629 million it has already cut. (Read that story here.) Chief Financial Officer Michael Masch said that if the district did not get the $75 million it was banking on, it might have to cut an additional 800 jobs. More than 3,400 workers have already been given pink slips.
Check back for updates on this breaking news story. I typically post news first on Twitter - follow me here.
Everyone blaming the SDP or the teachers for this is missing the boat. Wake up people- the STATE sets the budget for the district. The STATE cut $300M+ from the budget. The STATE supported rampant expansion of charter schools and then decided to stop offering financial assistance for these schools. What part of this is confusing? They are saying this is the first time on record that state funding actually dropped- meanwhile charter, pension and healthcare costs continue to increase year over year. The district got 25% of the total state budget cuts and people are on here talking abotu Ackerman mismanagement. Do you people work for Corbett or something?— Yakov
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- We don't work for Corbett... we have brains and realize that teacher compensation has to change.— philagirl215
- @Yakov- You miss a critical point. Everyone and I do mean everyone saw this coming. There is no way that you can say that Corbett just cut away. It was also the loss of stimulus funds which we also knew were coming to an end...now. However, egos and idiocy rule in Ackerman's office and the SRC. All of these people are incompetent to *manage* the budget. perhaps you think that's too much for a district to do. As a teacher in the district, I totally disagree.
First, stop pretending that educational choices (opportunities) don't carry a cost. The opportunity cost of new charters and special programs is not only in dollars but in other opportunities YOU CANNOT FUND SIMULTANEOUSLY. However, the district does not understand that basic economic concept and so they spent funds on existing, essential services and then expanded greatly new costs such as charters, Promise Academies, Executive Office (40%+ since 2008) and SLAM.
Despite knowing for years that the money source was going to dry up, they spent every last dime on pet projects and initiatives far in excess of the existing budget. Now they have to cut away and they come up with silly ideas like cutting kindergarten and transportation. Next, they lay off thousands of teachers, counselors and support staff in MOST schools. At the same time they continue to give away schools to charters, lessening the total funding pool. They increase the number of Promise Academies which cost millions more per school to operate than other schools.
Really, this is Corbett's fault?— nikki1231 - when some teachers say they will give up this years raise they are actually lying as they still expect this years step raise. WHAT KIND OF BIZARRO WORLD DO TEACHERS LIVE IN WHERE A STEP RAISE IS NOT A RAISE.?— ian
- Cleanup, you preached for days on here saying that the contract would be terminated July 1.Well, you were wrong. Although I agree with some of what you say, Republicans have wasted way too much money over the years too. I expect it from the liberals but let's be honest here, spending is out of control with both parties.— hey buddy
- @ian.
I think that what some posters are saying is that they would defer the negotiated, contractual raise that all were supposed to get, 3%. I would certainly do that to keep some teachers and school staff. It makes me bitter when I hear about the ridiculous executive pay down at 440, but I would rather hold onto some of the newer teachers than keep a raise.— nikki1231 - Teachers only get step raises until 10 years in, or maybe 11. My wife has been a teacher in the PSD for 13 years, and she no longer gets a "step" raise. Also, I've seen people floating around the idea that teachers get full health benefits in retirement. This is "not" true for Philadelphia, maybe in other states/districts, but not Philadelphia. AFAIK, retired Philly teachers get nothing, unless they are offered a special package, like the one offered this year.— PaRaD0x
- 40% graduation rate...nuff said...Clean up the districts before throwing more money at a broken machine.— RandyFloyd
- This proves two things: Politicians of both major parties could care less about the citizens that they represent. Administration of the school district, from the superintendent down to the assistant principals do not have the best interests of the district's students as their first priority. The only thing that these people care about is money.— Boru
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.
