Inquirer Editorial: One small step for city schools

It's good to see Philadelphia's teachers' union finally acknowledge that it must help bail out the financially ailing school system. After publicly opposing the notion of concessions for months, the president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said this week that his members would accept a temporary pay freeze and contributions to health-care benefits to help the district balance its budget.

The union, representing 15,000 teachers and support staff, deserves credit for the change in tone. But its lackluster counterproposal shows how far apart the two sides remain. The union's failure to recognize the urgency and magnitude of the situation is disappointing.

The union president, Jerry Jordan, said the proposal would save "millions" for the desperate district. But the offer is vague and woefully short of the $103 million in concessions the district has asked for. And it came only days before the union's contract is set to expire on Saturday.

Mayor Nutter rightly criticized the proposal. For his part, Nutter still needs to work with Council President Darrell L. Clarke to agree on the source of $50 million the city promised the district to allow schools to open on time.

The union has also failed to address the reforms Gov. Corbett has demanded before the state releases a $45 million grant to the schools. Not that Harrisburg has impressed anyone by producing only about $2 million in new, recurring funding for a district it effectively runs.

Jordan understandably doesn't want to negotiate in public. And he is correct in pointing out that the city has plenty of hardworking teachers who earn much less than some of their suburban counterparts - an average of $70,700 a year, compared with $95,171 in the Council Rock schools. Under the circumstances, however, shared sacrifice is unavoidable, and Jordan should do more to show he recognizes that.

While negotiations are scheduled to continue, the lack of an agreement means more uncertainty as 136,000 students are set to return to school on Sept. 9. The district has recalled about 1,600 of the nearly 4,000 employees who got pink slips this summer. But Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. has said that's not enough to provide a high-quality education.

Jordan was right to urge the city and state to fulfill their obligations to adequately fund public education in Philadelphia and elsewhere. He should continue to acknowledge that the union has an obligation here as well.