Ears on the SRC: January 18, 2018

SRC 1-18-18

by Diane Payne
February 3, 2018

Ringing in 2018

Only four commissioners were present at this meeting: Chair Joyce Wilkerson and Commissioners Estelle Richman, Christopher McGinley and Farah Jimenez.  Absent again, without explanation or apology, was Commissioner Bill Green.  It has become increasingly clear that Commissioner Green does not take his responsibility to the public seriously.  This is now the sixth time he has been absent since April 2017.  He has come in at the tail end of meetings only to vote; he has left meetings early to call in and vote.

Ten APPS members testified on behalf of public education.  [To see their testimony and the testimony of other defenders of public education, please go to the APPS website.]

Remarks and Presentations

Superintendent William Hite, in his official remarks, stated that the district has greater stability in job placement.  However, the testimony of teacher Robin Lowry painted a different picture for her school.  [To see and view Robin’s testimony about the vacancies at Edison H.S., go to the SRC testimony video and click on the 22:45 minute time stamp.]

The one staff presentation concerned changes in the district’s food program.  It is heartening to hear that the district is trying different means of increasing participation in the food program, but the issue of the quality of the food remains unaddressed.  Children still receive unappetizing pre-packaged items, not the meals many of us remember that were prepared in school kitchens.

Commissioner McGinley, chair of the SRC’s Policy Committee, noted that Resolution SRC-1 was a policy resolution that will be voted on at this meeting and that SRC-2 is on the agenda for public review and comment only.  SRC-2 will be considered at the February SRC Action Meeting.  The next policy meeting will be [was]at 440 N. Broad Street at 10:00 a.m. on February 1, 2018.  Dr. McGinley also noted that the discussion of the charter school policy will continue at that meeting.

Sunshine Act Violation

The SRC continues to thumb its nose at the Sunshine Act and the Commonwealth Court Settlement that resulted from an APPS lawsuit over SRC violations of that law.  Part of that court-ordered settlement stipulated that the SRC would post resolutions two weeks prior to all Action Meetings. Almost every month, however, the SRC adds resolutions in the week before the meeting.  Charter school resolutions are posted as “quasi-judicial” and lack any text; thus, the public has no information available to them when the SRC votes on them.  Subsequent to the meeting (and their vote), they fill in the text of the resolution–which is not what the SRC voted on.  That is a falsification of the public record, and it is a violation of the Sunshine Act and of the settlement.  We have repeatedly called on Chair Wilkerson and the legal department (now headed by Lynn Rauch) to address these violations. The SRC is a public body. Its members should respect the rule of law.

Charter Sham Continues–on Taxpayers’ Dime

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Are Charters Under Attack? Facts Show Otherwise

Philadelphia charters

by Lisa Haver
January 30, 2018

Charter CEOs and supporters held a rally at City Hall on Tuesday January 30 to ask for a “seat at the table” when the new school board replaces the School Reform Commission. Several City Councilpersons attended the event, held in the Mayor’s Reception Room.

APPS members have said consistently that district budget problems stem not just from a lack of funding, but from the spending priorities of the SRC which keeps resources out of classrooms. Consulting fees, faux graduate school, training by outsourcing by unqualified and inexperienced people: Teach For America, The New Teacher Project, Relay Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Boston Consulting, Jounce, Institute for Student Achievement, etc.

But the biggest waste of money in the SD budget is the funding of malfunctioning charters. Report after report, including the latest from Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), shows that district schools outperform charters. Charter supporters say that they only support “high-quality” charters, that they want the failing charters closed. But when they have the opportunity to prove that, they are nowhere to be found. Some examples:

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APPS decries the lack of transparency in the appointment of a Philadelphia School Board

Phila city hall

from City and State
Philly School board appointment legislation stalls in City Council | City and State – January 25, 2018

Even traditional public school advocates, who had long sought to eliminate the SRC, expressed concerns about the transition process. Lisa Haver, of the Alliance For Philadelphia Public Schools, said her group had authored a recent op-ed expressing similar dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency within the nominating panel and issued a call for a directly elected school board.

“We’re calling for some transparency because there’s none right now. It’s a whole question of, why is the mayor being so secretive,” said Haver. “If someone ran a charter school that closed and they’re applying to be on the school board, I want to know about that. I think people who don’t believe in traditional public schools shouldn’t be on the new school board. And we really believe we should have a locally elected school board like every other county.”

One City Council staffer described the current situation as “a mess.” Others said that the Mayor’s Office and City Council were not on the same page regarding a timeline for the creation of the new local school board.

APPS Lisa Haver in the Inquirer: Without transparency, it’s hard to be enthusiastic about Philly’s new school board

Hite and Kenney
Philadelphia Public School Superintendent William R. Hite and Mayor Jim Kenney talking before a program at Hartranft Elementary School. (Photo by Raymond Holman, Jr/Philadelphia Inquirer

The nominating panel convened under the rules of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter for the purpose of selecting candidates for the new school board held its first meeting last week. That should have been cause for rejoicing, an event to usher in a new day for the city. After a 17-year reign, the state-imposed School Reform Commission voted last November to dissolve itself. A nine-person local school board, nominated by the panel and appointed by Mayor Kenney, will be seated July 1.

 But the manner in which the panel has conducted its business so far, including its announcement that it will conduct deliberations in private, left advocates wondering why we fought so hard to bring back local control of our public schools.

The panel turned its back to the public. No remarks were addressed to the public, and there were no introductions of the 13 panel members chosen by the mayor. The agenda included no time for public speakers. Chair Wendell Pritchett announced that there would be only one more public meeting, when the panel would vote on the final 27 names to be sent to the mayor, from which he would choose the final nine.

 Over the past couple of months, the Mayor’s Office has sent surveys to some residents, asking (via multiple-choice questions) which qualifications should be set for board candidates; applications were posted online. Staff members have hosted town hall meetings to explain the transition. But the mayor is trying to shut the public out of the decision-making process.

This is what pseudo-democracy looks like.

Why the secrecy?

The mayor should ensure that selection of a public school board is as open a process as the law allows, given that the people of Philadelphia are the only residents of Pennsylvania unable to vote for school board representatives.

Members of this panel, and members of the future school board, are city officials. The people of this city have a right to know who will be making decisions that will affect them and their children for years. Placing this public body under a cone of silence does not lead to a formation of trust, an essential element of leadership. It only raises suspicions. Any person who does not want to ask questions in public should not be on the nominating panel. Any candidate who objects to answering questions about his or her background, experience, political associations, and views on public education should not serve on a board overseeing a $3 billion budget and making decisions about our children’s future.

The Office of the Chief Integrity Officer instructed members of the panel that as city officials they must observe all ethical standards. That means obeying the law, not just declining lunch dates with potential candidates. It is the panel’s legal and ethical duty to comply with the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, which requires that all deliberations be conducted in open session.

The mayor’s staff has cited the “executive session” provision of the Sunshine Act to justify directing the panel to meet in private.

Section 708 of the act lists the only reasons for which executive session can be held, and “deliberation” is not one of them. Nor is the “nomination of candidates” for appointment to the position of school board members listed as a reason for executive session. School board members are public officials, not employees of the school district.

Trading in one unelected, unaccountable board for another is not a progressive solution to the problems facing the district.

The stakeholders of the system — students, parents, teachers, and community members — must be able to express any reservations about nominees and be assured that there are no conflicts of interest. They must be part of an open process. Or does the mayor expect us just to gather in the City Hall courtyard waiting for the puff of white smoke to rise up from the tower?

The article is located at:
Without transparency, it’s hard to be enthusiastic about Philly’s new school board | Opinion – Philadelphia Inquirer- January 23, 2018
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