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Amendment to give the governor power to abolish the SRC falls flat

A Senate committee rejected the proposal 9-14, voting along party lines. The sponsor said he will re-introduce it next session.

State Sen. Vincent Hughes is interviewed at his district office on Parkside Avenue in West Philadelphia on July 7, 2014. Sean Walsh / DAILY NEWS STAFF
State Sen. Vincent Hughes is interviewed at his district office on Parkside Avenue in West Philadelphia on July 7, 2014. Sean Walsh / DAILY NEWS STAFFRead more
    by BY SOLOMON LEACH, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:leachs@phillynews.com">leachs@phillynews.com</a>, 215-854-5903
    Published 

A STATE Senate committee yesterday shot down a proposal that would have given the governor the authority to abolish the School Reform Commission, the body that oversees the Philadelphia School District.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted down the amendment along party lines, 14-9, with no Republicans supporting it. The committee also rejected a second amendment that would have required the SRC to provide 48 hours' notice before holding a meeting. Both amendments were attached to a bill regarding home-schooling.

Currently, the SRC would have to vote to dissolve itself, with the permission of the secretary of education.

State Sen. Vincent Hughes, of Philadelphia, who sponsored the amendments, said he is disappointed in the result, but satisfied that lawmakers got their message across.

"The transparency issue, I think everyone should be concerned about," said Hughes, the top Democrat on the committee. "No one is going to lose sight of how they behaved."

Hughes crafted the amendments after the SRC unilaterally canceled the district's contract with the teachers union last week and imposed health-care benefits changes, which he called a "cowardly" act.

A movement to get rid of the five-member commission was gaining steam even before last week's actions. City Council recently approved a nonbinding resolution for the May ballot asking voters whether they wanted to abolish the SRC. Tom Wolf, the Democratic candidate for governor, has said he favors that change.

Despite yesterday's defeat, Hughes said he would not rule out trying to get a vote on the amendments by the full Senate before its final session today. If that is unsuccessful, he will reintroduce it next year.

Another important question is what would replace the SRC. That, Hughes said, would have to be discussed.

"What we know right now is the current School Reform Commission is not necessarily operating [in] the best interest of the students of the city of Philadelphia," he said, "and something's got to change."