A most derided, and dedicated, lot

Public education has become the third rail of local discourse, particularly when discussing the fate of our beleaguered city schools. It is far safer to debate politics or the Middle East.

Lori Shorr, the city's chief education officer, has seen arguments erupt at her children's soccer games. She said: "I think carefully when I accept a dinner invitation."

Me, too. I've been excoriated over drinks - and this is by friends. The debate over public education, especially testing and the quality of teachers and principals, has long been loud and passionate. But in recent years it has become even more politicized and fractious. Among certain folks, charter school is an invective, so are merit pay and seniority. Twitter can be a toxic sewer on the subject. Schools will dominate the 2015 mayoral race.

During months of meetings of the School Reform Commission, residents offer three-minute arias of indignation. The "short" meetings stretch for more than two hours. The long sessions are epic, five hours and 70 speakers, many of them fueled by scorn directed at the SRC.

If the commission was simply blown up, critics argue, the district would be a lot better. But there are several education experts who believe, as I do, that this is the best SRC in its 12-year history.

There is public service, and then there is serving on the SRC. Unlike members of corporate boards, the five commissioners are not paid. Unlike the former Philadelphia Housing Authority board, members actually work, dedicating substantial time - up to 20 hours weekly - trying to fix what is arguably Philadelphia's biggest problem. As commissioner Feather Houstoun put it, "We're talking about the future of our city."

I was reminded of the tough work the SRC does last week when chairman Pedro Ramos resigned, citing family concerns. And this was his second tour serving on a city school oversight group.

Who has the stamina for such a Sisyphean task? When member Joseph Dworetzky was sworn in, Mayor Nutter told him: "Look out now at a sea of smiling faces. Enjoy this because what you're going to see from now on is a room packed with angry ones." And Dworetzky, a former city solicitor, flies in monthly at his own expense from San Francisco, where he moved two years ago after his wife relocated for work.

"Who likes to be screamed at?" Dworetzky asked. "But I've come to find that a lot of this is helpful. I'm not in the classroom. If you don't listen to people, then you're really in a cocoon. It's much more important that they're honest and tell me what they think."

SRC member Wendell Pritchett, chancellor of Rutgers-Camden, believes the debates over public education are contentious because "we expect so much from our schools, and we should have high expectations. And it is hard to provide a high-quality education in the best of circumstances," said Pritchett, the son of teachers whose children attend Philadelphia public schools. "It's hard when you have the resources. It's even harder when you don't."

By law in New Jersey, "there's no such thing as an underfunded school district," said Houstoun, who has served governors on both sides of the Delaware. "But all the money hasn't bought great schools. I'd love to have more money, but it is not a guarantee that we will do better."

Charters have created an us-vs.-them battle, and the funding model for charters is seriously flawed, Dworetzky said, producing yet another drama. The commissioner said: "It's brought us right to the lip of disaster."

Dworetzky's term will end in January, thereby creating a second vacancy. "It's very dissatisfying that the schools are in desperate shape. I would love to feel I was finishing my term with them being better off than where I started," he said. The discourse can be "poisonous, painful. On the other hand, the fact that people are paying attention to the public schools is really important for our city."

215-854-2586 @kheller