Ears on the SRC – June 16, 2016

SRC 6-16-16 #4

By Deborah Grill and Lynda Rubin

In the week just prior to the June 16th meeting, the SRC added 10 new resolutions to the over-130 already posted. They also withdrew, without explanation, 7 resolutions for charter renewals.  Commissioner Farah  Jimenez was not present at the meeting, neither in person nor by phone.

Although renewals for  Aspira Stetson and Aspira Olney were not on the agenda, Stetson students were in attendance.  PA Representative Angel Cruz and Aspira Chairman Fred Ramirez were on the speakers list to speak in favor of the Aspira renewals; neither showed up.  Lisa Haver asked whether they were  taking part instead in the private meetings which Aspira attorney Kenneth Trujillo had alluded to and that the district had acknowledged were taking place.

Click here to read the entire “Ears on the SRC – June 16, 2016

APPS members testimony to the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – June 16, 2016

SRC 6-16-16 #4

On June 16, 2016 the Philadelphia School Reform Commission held its monthly meeting.

This is the testimony of members of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools at this meeting.

All seven of the videos can be viewed here.

Click on the pictures below to view the individual video. The videos are in the order of testimony at the meeting.

Robin Roberts 6-16-16 pic

Video of APPS member Robin Roberts testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission meeting – June 16, 2016.

The transcript of Robin’s testimony.

LIsa Haver 6-16-16 pics

Video of APPS member Lisa Haver testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission meeting – June 16, 2016.

Lisa testified about the letter that APPS has sent to Governor Wolf and Mayor Nutter calling for an investigation into the SRC’s charter reauthorization process. The letter can be read here.

Barbara Dowdall 6-16-16 pic

Video of APPS member Barbara Dowdall testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission meeting – June 16, 2016.

The transcript of Barbara’s testimony.

Deborah Grill 6-16-16 pic

Video of APPS member Deborah Grill testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission meeting – June 16, 2016.

The transcript of Debbie’s testimony.

Lynda Rubin 6-16-16 pic

Video of APPS member Lynda Rubin testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission meeting – June 16, 2016.

The transcript of Lynda’s testimony.

Robin Lowry 6-16-16 pic

Video of APPS member Robin Lowry testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission meeting – June 16, 2016.

Richard Migliore 6-16-16 pic

Video of APPS member Richard Miglore testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission meeting – June 16, 2016.

Richard gave each member of the SRC a copy of his book “Whose School Is it? the Democratic Imperative for Our Schools”. In the video of the SRC you can see Bill Green’s copy laying on the floor.

Ears on the SRC – May 26, 2016

full SRC

In preparation for the SRC Meeting on June 16th, APPS looks back at the last SRC meeting.

by Diane Payne
June 14, 2016

APPS Presence

Five APPS members spoke at this SRC meeting on May 26th bearing witness to the actions of the SRC and the Hite administration as they continue to fail the public schools of this city while holding up charters as the silver bullet to our urban education challenges. The APPS members who spoke were: Lynda Rubin, Coleman Poses, Rich Liuzzi, Diane Payne and Lisa Haver. To view the videos of their speech or read the text go to APPS website.

Special Note: Despite repeated requests for SRC commissioners to speak into the mic so that all dialogue can be heard clearly, this continues to be a problem. For example, when Commissioner Houston asked questions on SRC resolutions 5 and 6, the non-renewals of both Aspira Stetson Middle and Aspira Olney High schools, it was very difficult for those in the room to hear. These are critical issues, so we will again request that the SRC speak so the public can hear them.

Budget

A five year budget plan for fiscal years 2016 through 2021 was presented by Chief Financial Officer Uri Monson. The budget shows a slight positive fund balance in the first couple of years, which Monson acknowledged was created in large part by the district’s failure to fill dozens of teaching positions in the last two years. Monson said that this balance has enabled the district to restore staffing levels of nurses and counselors to a minimum of one per building even if state funding is reduced. However, a negative fund balance is predicted beginning FY 2019. Both SRC Chair Neff and Superintendent Hite called for continued advocacy for full funding. Hite also stated that the district is currently attempting to engage funders in discussions on how to adequately meet district needs.

Charter school costs, of course, are a large source of School District expenditures and rise equally along the lines of number of seats as well as per pupil rate.

For the complete Ears on the SRC – May 26, 2016 click here.

Eyes on the SRC – June 16, 2016

SRC pic 5-19-16

Each month, APPS publishes our “Eyes on the SRC” in which we select some of the resolutions to be voted on at the next meeting for perusal and analysis. As of this writing, the SRC has posted 129 resolutions for the June 16 Action Meeting. Eight of those resolutions involve charter school renewals or amendments to other charters. Two resolutions involve approvals of the charter licenses for John Wister Mastery Charter School and Global Leadership Academy at Huey Charter School as part of the Renaissance program. One resolution re-establishes Kenderton Elementary as a District operated neighborhood school.

There are too many resolutions in The Academic Payments/Contracts for APPS to investigate before Thursday’s meeting.   Many of these resolutions involve the outsourcing of services and involve millions of dollars.   We encourage you to look them over. You can access them on the School District’s website.

At its May 28 meeting, the SRC again tabled the resolutions on the non-renewals of Aspira Olney High School and Aspira Stetson Middle School.

This month, without explanation, the SRC has failed to post the resolutions on non-renewal of the two Aspira schools. In addition, non-renewal resolutions for two Universal schools, Audenried and Vare, have disappeared since being postponed two meetings ago. Will the SRC tell the public what is happening and whether or not the process is continuing? Or is this process taking place behind closed doors?

Please note: there is a second Action meeting this month: Thursday, June 30 @ 4:30 PM.

To register to speak at either one, call 215-400-4180 before 4:30 PM the day before the meeting.


Click here to read Selected Resolutions and APPS Analysis