DN Editorial: As the layoff clock ticks

THE FINANCIAL crisis of the Philadelphia School District has reached a turning point.

It has until Aug. 15 to decide whether to lay off 1,000-plus teachers and staff, but the money it was counting on has failed to arrive.

The state House, originally scheduled to meet on Monday, decided to take the rest of the summer off instead, leaving as unfinished business a bill that included a clause allowing Philadelphia to levy a $2-a-pack cigarette tax for the schools.

Gov. Corbett met this week with legislative leaders - all fellow Republicans - to try to convince them to return for a brief session to deal with the cigarette tax and other issues. He failed.

The governor gets along worse with members of his own party in Harrisburg than he does with the Democrats - and he gets along hardly at all with the Democrats.

Despite the power of incumbency, despite the fact that his party controls both chambers of the Legislature, Corbett couldn't pull it off.

Some legislators balked at amendments put into the cigarette-tax bill by the Senate because of some lawmakers' complaints that the cigarette tax wouldn't help other parts of the state.

As petty tit for tat goes, you can't get any dumber than that logic.

Speaking of ineffectual, the real champions are the Republican leaders in the Legislature - especially those from the Philadelphia suburbs. They are all too aware of the plight of Philly's schools, and some of them vowed to do their best to get the cigarette tax up for a vote.

If this is their best, we shudder to think what their worst is.

Aware of how their failure to act made them look both inept and uncaring, the politicians moved quickly to cover their posteriors.

Corbett said he would try to find ways to advance the district money to tide it over. That won't work. The district doesn't have a cash-flow problem - it has a deficit. Advancing payments of its subsidies won't do anything to erase the $81 million hole it has in its budget. Only $81 million in revenue will.

House Republican leaders, making soothing noises about how much they care for Philadelphia's schoolchildren, said they were confident that the cigarette tax would pass after they returned on Sept. 15. Give us a break. If they cared so much, they should have hauled their backsides to Harrisburg this week and found a way to help those students now.

The School Reform Commission and Superintendent William Hite do not have the option of waiting until September to act. School is set to open on Sept. 8. Layoff notices must be sent by Aug. 15.

Some have argued that the district should delay opening the schools due to lack of funds. We disagree. The children and their parents have been played as pawns long enough. What's in their best interest should be the first consideration, and being back in the classroom is in their best interest.

We also don't believe that the district should send out layoff notices. Such a move would create turmoil in the district, requiring thousands of reassignments, not to mention an increase in class sizes. Besides, layoffs done this summer will end up being rescinded in the fall if more money is forthcoming.

Maybe the best thing for the district to do is to go about its business, which is trying to educate children, while challenging Harrisburg to make good on their promises and pass the legislation needed to help the schools.