Preview: June 29, 2023 Board of Education Meeting
by Lisa Haver
July 2023 marks five years since the reinstatement of the Board of Education after years of state control. Four of the nine original members still sit on the board. What has the board accomplished in that time? Have they made education better for the city’s children? There are fewer school librarians than in 2018. Class size remains too high. Standardized testing still determines where resources go and how students, teachers and schools are judged. Substandard charter schools continue to drain money, much of it for exorbitant CEO salaries. And when members of the public come to be heard on these and other issues, they find that the board’s speaker suppression policies bar them from speaking and give them a scant two minutes–if they are lucky enough to make the list. Recently, the board has actually barred members of the public from even entering the auditorium. What does the board tout as its biggest accomplishment? Goals and Guardrails, their new data system that labels schools “on-track” or “off-track”, and which they spend up to two hours analyzing every month.
At this meeting, the board will vote on 104 official items and spend approximately $207, 084, 246. (Five items each cost $10 million or more, including Item 58 at $69 million.) Twenty-five of the items appear to be no-bid. Despite the number of items and the total costs, the board will still allow only 30 general speakers.
There are a number of issues that the board should discuss, including what they will do to make sure Frankford High opens next year. The board should take a page out of Governor Shapiro’s book, who coordinated state, federal and municipal resources to fix the I-95 in just a couple of weeks. The board should do the same for Frankford.
Action Items of Note
Item 29: 5-year, $26 million contract with Pearson Testing for “instructional management”.
This item provides another avenue for Superintendent Tony Watlington, under the guidance of consultants Joseph and Associates, to bring in more business. Watlington established a Transition Team, with a dearth of educators but many businesspeople, to set his priorities. Item 29 states, in part: “The Strategic Plan includes the need for standardized benchmark assessments.” (underline in original) The item links to Goals and Guardrails: “Data from the benchmark assessments will allow stakeholders to monitor students’ academic progress. Students and family access to their own data improves transparency and supports strong customer service.” What this item does not offer: more meaningful educational opportunities for the district’s students.
Item 2: $2,120,000 grant from Elevate 215 (formerly Philadelphia School Partnership) to three district schools to raise test scores.
The item endorses Elevate 215/PSP’s “Beat the Odds” strategy that “entails identifying the schools in the city that have historically demonstrated a track record of outperforming their local and national peers in improving ELA and Math outcomes for predominantly low-income students of color and investing in them to further accelerate achievement. In addition to improving outcomes at the individual schools, Elevate 215 intends via the grant engagement to identify the promising and proven practices that can be replicated and scaled and disseminate them back out to the broader system.” In other words, the board, through this grant, will send more resources to schools that have had higher than average test scores in order to raise those scores even more. How does this adhere to the board’s stated commitment to equity? How does a private organization get to decide which schools deserve more resources than others? Those who watched PSP’s increasing political power over the past 10 years are not surprised to see them invest in yet another way to “dump the losers”.
The board should reject this item.
Item 14: Additional 3-year allotment for outside law firms: $480,000.
At the June board meeting, APPS member Robin Lowry asked board members why they spent more on lawyers than libraries. Not surprisingly, the board did not respond. Consider this their response: after spending $18 million on outside law firms just three months ago, they are spending $480,000 more.
Item 58: $69, 000, 000 Authorization to Enter into an Amendment to an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID) to Fund, Contract and Sublease with One or More Developers or Construction Managers for the Development, Construction and Equipping of One or More Capital Projects.
The board has already approved $145,000,000 for these projects; the total now comes to $214 million for capital improvements at three district schools. The board should deliberate on this $69 million item and explain the relationship between the district and PAID. They should also explain why none of these schools will be getting a library, an essential part of any school.
Item 98, Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders (PASL), $199, 980 for Instructional Leadership.
PASL is an ideology-based program funded by the Neubauer Foundation, a local agent of corporate reform. Board Member Chau Wing Lam, currently serving Director of Operations for the Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders, should recuse herself from voting on this item.
Item 99: $243,000 for Tailwinds, the Aviation Academy at Frankford High School.
This program “aims to introduce students to careers in aviation and give those who are passionate the opportunity to earn their private pilot’s license”. This seems like an exciting opportunity for Frankford students. Will they be able to participate while their school building is still closed?
Item 104: Southwest Leadership Academy charter non-renewal proceedings with submission of hearing examiner’s report.
In the rare instances where the board acknowledges the substandard performance—in academics, organization and finances—and institutes non-renewal proceedings, it begins a years-long process that costs the district millions in legal and other fees. SWLA has failed to provide a quality education to its students. See the hearing examiner’s report here: file:///Users/lisahaver1/Downloads/Hearing_Officer_s_Report_(SLACS)_(2).pdf
See the full July 29 agenda here.
Note: the board has moved its July action meeting up from July 13 to July 6.
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools 