Category: APPS Reports on the Board of Ed

by Diane Payne

APPS will keep calling out the Board on its lack of transparency until the members acknowledge that true community engagement cannot be accomplished by withholding public documents. Placing four binders on a table in the rear of the auditorium with a warning in red–”DO NOT REMOVE BINDERS FROM TABLE”–means that those who come to the meeting and want to follow the proceedings would have to stand in the back of the room for the entire meeting. The usual announcement that materials are available online is insulting and insensitive. As one parent activist reminded the Board last week, many families do not have online access.  And for those who do–are we supposed to memorize the entire agenda and all 85 Action Items? The Board is voting on Items that affect the future of the community and allot millions in taxpayer spending. This is not transparency and it is not public inclusion. Is the Board’s answer to just bring your computer (if you don’t have one–too bad) and balance it on your knees if you want the full descriptions about how they spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars?

All meeting materials and videos from this and every meeting can be found on the SDP website, Board of Education page.

Present

All nine Board members were present as were the two student representatives.  Hill-Freedman World Academy provided the student musical presentation. As always, the talent and dedication of the students and their music teachers was inspiring and impressive.

The Minutes of the April 25, 2019 Action Meeting were approved.

A total of 54 speakers, 80 Action Items, and 6 Intermediate Unit Action Items presaged a long night.  Ten of these speakers were students. The initiative and commitment these young people exhibit in coming before the Board to share their concerns and demands is heartening. Seven members of APPS attended and six members testified in defense of public education.

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by Diane Payne

Last month’s March 28th Action Meeting ended abruptly when the Board left the room after a hasty vote to recess.  Sponsors and students from the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU) had disrupted the meeting after the Board voted to pass a policy that mandates metal detectors in all high schools.  PSU had testified at Action and Committee meetings over the past the past three months and had met with District administrators to discuss the issue. (See APPS March 28th Ears for that report.) The Board never returned; without notice, they reconvened in another room and voted on the remaining Items there.  Thus, many public speakers did not get to give their testimony. The Board had said that those people could go first at the April Meeting, but  APPS members asked that they get their three minutes from March in addition to their three in April. Board President Joyce Wilkerson agreed to our request.  A total of 78 speakers were listed.

Present

All members of the Board were present for this meeting.  Seven members of APPS attended; six testified in defense of public education.

Prior to the start of business, the Board read a tribute to longtime education activist Marciene Mattleman, one of the founders of the After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP), who passed away in March.  Students from the various clubs who have participated in local and national competitions came with their trophies. Tributes were read by Board member Angela McIver, the current ASAP director, and Mattleman’s daughters. The importance of these non-athletic activities was later the subject of testimony by those who came to advocate for funding for their various clubs, including Chess, Scrabble, and Debate.

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