Pa. lawmaker wants to give governor the power to abolish SRC

A PHILADELPHIA Democrat wants to give the power to abolish the School Reform Commission to the governor.

State Sen. Vincent Hughes plans to offer an amendment in the Senate this week that would authorize the governor, through the Secretary of Education, to dissolve the SRC.

Currently, the SRC would have to vote to dissolve itself.

The amendment will come a week after the SRC unilaterally canceled the school district's contract with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers - an unprecedented move - and imposed changes to health-care benefits. The move riled the union and drew public scorn from several Philly Democrats, who framed the action as a "Hail Mary" to help Gov. Corbett's re-election efforts.

"The public has been very concerned about the SRC for a long time, and they should not be allowed the power to determine their fate because [currently] their fate rests in their hands," said Hughes, who hopes to attach the amendment to a piece of school-related legislation. "They need to get a sense that there are a lot of people not happy with their action."

A second part of the amendment also would require the SRC to give at least three days' notice for public meetings with a detailed agenda - stricter standards than those outlined under the state's Sunshine Act.

The measure may be timely, but it also has little chance of passing - at least in this session. With only two days left before lawmakers break until January, it would have to go through a committee and then get a full Senate vote before going through the same process in the House. Any legislation not finalized before the break would have to be reintroduced in the next session.

"Right now, if you're a Republican, you want to get some stuff done in case Corbett loses," said Terry Madonna, a political-science professor at Franklin & Marshall College. "If you're a Democrat, you want to get things done that will try and help [Corbett's challenger] Tom Wolf. In the end, nothing gets done in two days. The Senate Republicans are not likely to bring that up."

Hughes said that the union should contribute to health-care costs, but that last week's SRC actions were as bad "processwise as they were substantively." He also believes that the move resonated with legislators outside the city. "The abrogation of the contract, which has been a negotiated document for decades - there's a lot of people, a lot of members who say, 'That's not right, that's not fair. Why did they go that far?' "

Hughes' proposal is intriguing because Wolf - who has a significant lead over Corbett in the polls - has said he supports abolishing the SRC.

The issue is not likely to go away any time soon. City Council recently approved a nonbinding resolution for the May ballot, asking voters whether they want to eliminate the five-member panel in favor of a local school board. Bill Green, chairman of the SRC and a former member of Council, has said he would support terminating the body - but not until the district gets the money it needs to be successful.

According to Hughes, the reductions in state funding under the Corbett administration raise questions about the validity of state control over the district, adding: "I think this final action this past [week] and the way they took it with essentially no notice, and with the little bit of notice they provided no detailed information," was the last straw.