Inquirer Editorial: Answers aren't in the past

Been there, done that.

No one should fault Philadelphians for having that reaction to Gov. Corbett's nomination of corporate lawyer Pedro Ramos to fill a vacancy on the city's School Reform Commission.

Ramos was a member of the city's old Board of Education from 1995 to 2001, and was the board's president in its final two years before it was dismantled and replaced by the SRC. Give Ramos credit for standing up once again when asked to serve Philadelphia's schoolchildren, but he really shouldn't have been asked.

That Corbett tapped Ramos, a Democrat, suggests the Republican governor couldn't find a local Republican willing to fill the position. That's another sad commentary on the weak condition of the city's GOP.

Ramos will be filling a slot vacant since February, when former U.S. ambassador to Austria David F. Girard-diCarlo, then the only Republican on the SRC, abruptly resigned after being on the board for 16 months.

Political affiliation really shouldn't matter, but it might be meaningful to have the perspective of someone further removed than Ramos from the Democratic power structure. He's also been the city's solicitor, its managing director, and, as an attorney, has represented the School District.

By nominating Ramos, Corbett is bringing back the person who, as school board president, was to a large degree in charge of the district when its situation was deemed so untenable that the city had to give up local control.

In 2001, Philadelphia's became the largest school system in the nation to be taken over by a state. Ramos wasn't solely responsible. The group effort included the rest of the board, then-Superintendent David Hornbeck, then-Mayor John Street, and City Council. But it shouldn't be ignored that Ramos, despite his best efforts, was head of a board deemed ineffective.

There's no reason to doubt Ramos' sincerity in wanting to do a good job. He spent long hours and made many personal sacrifices to better city schools before, and would likely do so again. But Corbett should have tried harder to find someone different.

When Ramos became board president for a second time in 2000, he expressed a fear of becoming part of the status quo. "There is a benefit of feeling like an outsider," he said. Absolutely, and that's what the SRC needs, an outsider with a fresh perspective.

Lacking that, the SRC is likely to continue down a path in which its ability to chart a fiscally responsible course leading to academic success for the city's children will continue to be questioned. Also questioned will be the necessity of a panel that continues to flail when the public needs it to soar.