I’m trying to figure out what motivates you to remain in your positions as Commissioners in a city that clearly does not want you. Even Mayor Nutter has called for your disbanding.
Commissioner Yemenez, clearly your motivation has to do with having ties to family members who are motived by the cash cow known affectionately as Charter expansion, your need to recuse yourself from so many votes while on this commission has made that obvious.
Chairman Neff while a principal you reaped the benefits of CASA, the principals union and yet you voted to rescind our collective bargaining agreement. You are quoted in the paper saying…“we need resources to change outcomes for students.” Yet when new money came from city council within a week that money, our tax dollars, was not allocated to students but to an unconscionable 4th law firm to represent the you and the district at the state Supreme Court level. You could better serve the children of our city if you volunteered in one of the over sized classrooms your decisions have created.
Lawrence Peter theorized that people stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and “managers rise to the level of their incompetence.” Assessing a person’s potential for promotion is often based on their performance in their current job. We know how well that has worked for you Commissioner Green, our once elected city counsel-at-large drop out who was demoted by Gov. Wolf from the SRC chair position. And yet you remain on the SRC and continue to vote to destroy public education.
Dr. Hite, while not a member of the commission, your motivations also need to be questioned. Your incompetence continues to cause needless suffering for the children of our city. You place our medically fragile students at risk on a daily basis due to your unwillingness to adequately staff our buildings with certified school nurses. How many more students have to die before you feel responsible? You are dishonest and feign sincerity saying you want what is best for students. And yet a perfect example of where your priorities lie is seen with the recent bonuses you proposed for administrators. Your talking head Fernando Gallard is quoted in the paper saying “Extra pay for extra work… this could happen when an employee takes on significant additional responsibilities during a discrete period of time.” Your financial mismanagement has landed the majority of district employees in this category, yet you don’t compensate them fairly. Your actions speak much louder than your words.
Tonight I am requesting of all of you, if you have any level of competence, vote tonight to disband this SRC and allow us to return our schools to local control. I’m convinced we could manage our schools much more proficiently.
Peg Devine RN Lincoln High School
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools 