Green asks judge to stop Wolf from naming new SRC chair

School Reform Commission member Bill Green is asking a judge to grant an injunction to prevent Gov. Wolf from appointing a new SRC chair.

Green, whom Wolf removed as chair of the SRC in 2015, has filed papers in Commonwealth Court alleging that Wolf has no right to name a successor to Marjorie Neff, who abruptly resigned from the SRC on Wednesday.

Green previously sued Wolf over his removal as SRC chair. He says the governor does not have the power to take him out of the job. Arguments are scheduled to be heard in that case Oct. 19.

Court papers were filed on Green's behalf Thursday by attorneys from the Fairness Center, a nonprofit law firm created to battle public-sector employee unions.

Green's attorneys say he is entitled to an injunction preventing the governor from appointing a new chair until the court rules whether Green's removal was legal or issues a ruling that recognizes Green "as the rightful holder of the office of chairman of the SRC until the court has reached a decision on the merits."

Neff's replacement as a member of the SRC will be named by Mayor Kenney, but the governor chooses the chair.

David Osborne, Fairness Center president, said the injunction was necessary "to protect the integrity of the office of SRC chair and to avoid unnecessary upheavals for Philadelphia schools."

Jeff Sheridan, a spokesman for Wolf, dismissed Green's claim.

"As laid out by law, the governor names the chair," Sheridan said. "We don't believe Mr. Green's lawsuit has merit, and we will respond to his latest filing in due time."