Board of Education Meeting: September 19, 2024
by Lisa Haver
It was freezing in the auditorium during the September action meeting, so cold that they actually brought blankets out for board members. Was it an air conditioning malfunction–or the icy breath of the SRC past?
Board Begins Process of Closing Neighborhood Schools
Following the legacy of the School Reform Commission, the Board of Education appointed by Mayor Cherelle Parker will be closing more neighborhood schools. No clear reasons were given by Superintendent Tony Watlington, Board President Reginald Streater, or any of the other board members, most of whom remained mute as they do in most meetings. Streater announced the board’s intention to close schools in an Inquirer story published the day before the meeting, but he avoided saying that directly in his remarks. He used the euphemism “co-location” at one point, but people know that if you “combine” two schools that means you closed one of them. We heard–from the president of the board that has enacted speaker suppression policies that keep people off of the speaker list and out of the auditorium–promises of meaningful community engagement. Streater said more than once that the board did not want to rely on outside consultants–just before passing a $4.5 million item to hire a consulting firm to begin the process. We heard assurances that the board will be carrying on robust discussions about the Facilities Plan. Yet eight members had no questions for Watlington after his facilities plan presentation. Only one board member, ChouWing Lam, questioned the price tag of the $4.5 billion consulting contract (Lam later voted for the contract). Any plan to close schools is a betrayal of the people of Philadelphia. The parents, students, educators, and community members who fought to end the rule of the state-controlled SRC believed that bringing back local control would change the spending priorities of the district and make education better for the city’s children. What we got is a board that protects the financial interests of charter investors and administrators, and now says we can’t afford to keep neighborhood schools open.
Principals Defend Public Schools
Several members of Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA), under the leadership of President Robin Cooper, brought their message to the board: We will fight to keep our schools open. Several CASA members testified, with many more on the speaker waiting list who stood in solidarity. Parkway West Principal Will Brown told the board that “right-sizing is a corporate term.” Bethune Elementary Principal Aliya Catanch-Bradley testified, “We are a school that takes back all of our children after our charter school colleagues send them back.” The board has renewed many under-enrolled charter schools, but is now pointing to under-enrollment as a reason to close public schools. APPS looks forward to working with CASA to save our schools.
Board Renews Another Substandard Charter
The board voted to approve a 5-year renewal for the charter school formerly known as Independence West, now rebranded “Impact Charter”. The board did not disclose the terms of the agreement or the projected cost of the renewal. APPS filed our usual objection to the board taking a secret vote solely to protect the interests of the charter operators.The Charter Schools Office (CSO) evaluation showed Independence West scoring only 47% in Academics. Independence West’s PSSA Reading scores were lower in all tested years than both district and similar schools; there was chronic low attendance. Most alarming: the high instances of faculty and staff failing to provide legally required criminal background checks and child abuse clearances. Not one member addressed any of these issues, not even after the recent news story about a child molested by a teacher at Christopher Columbus Charter School, whose evaluation showed missing clearances. The projected cost of the 5-year renewal, based on the district’s most recent quarterly report, is approximately $72.5 million. The board, as the body that authorizes the city’s charter schools, makes it clear once again that they will not hold charter administrators accountable. They remain silent on the exorbitant salaries that charter CEOs pay themselves. They remain silent on the excessive management fees siphoned off by charter investors. Then they ask people to buy their spin that only by closing district schools can they give children more art and music, more CTE classes, and more services. We know that’s not true. They don’t have to destroy the village in order to save it.
Students, Parents Return to Protest Removal of Northeast High Teacher
Northeast High students and parents demanded that the district return NEHS teacher Keziah Ridgeway to her class after having been removed last week. Ridgeway has been targeted for harassment since her (administration approved) student projects were displayed, one of them making connections between the use of spirituals by enslaved people and Palestinian resistance art. Student Hazel Heiko told the board again that Ridgeway is not anti-semitic and that her students need her. Her father, Jethro Heiko, also returned in support of Ridgeway. APPS member Dina Portnoy testified remotely in support of Ridgeway and against censorship. Teacher and Racial Justice member Kristin Luebbert informed those in attendance that Ridgeway was placed on suspension after the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia told district officials that they objected to remarks made by Ridgeway on social media. Luebbert asked how a district teacher could be removed because of a complaint from an organization that had no affiliation with the district. Luebbert directed questions to Board Member Joan Stern, a trustee of the Federation: Did she take part in any vote at the Federation to influence the district? Did she use her influence as a board member to have Ridgeway suspended? Stern did not answer.
Board Approves Hundreds of Millions in Spending in One Roll Call Vote
The board, in one roll-call vote, and with no questions from members, approved spending of over $135 million. That is not including the approximate $72 million for the 5-year renewal of Independence West Charter.
The meeting adjourned at 8:08 PM.
Next action meeting: Thursday, October 24 at 4 PM.
Next Goals and Guardrails meeting: Thursday, October 10 at 4 PM.
[Published: September 20, 2024]
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools 