On Thursday February 16th The School Reform Commission of Philadelphia (SRC) voted to suspend a portion of the Pennsylvania Public School Code that requires a three-month window between an official public hearing on proposed public school closures and a vote to make them official.

According to legislative functions pdf available on the School District of Philadelphia website “The SRC may, upon a majority vote, cause to suspend at any time the operation of a SRC policy, provided the suspension does not conflict with legal requirements.” Thus granting them power to change the school code when they deem it necessary.

Regardless of why they have the authority to change the school code, the suspension of school code grants the SRC the power to close schools without any opposition from the public. We are looking at a major abuse of power and a complete disconnect from the SRC and the community. The SRC’s change in policy effectively shuts the door in our faces and is a blatant issue of accountability and transparency.

School reform cannot exist when the community is disenfranchised from the process. Who checks and balances the SRC’s power to silence us from school closings? We don’t appoint them. The governor chooses three members and the mayor chooses two. None of our parents or students sit on the commission so I don’t see how the SRC could go through with a major shift in policy like this without allowing our voices to be heard.

Community members were showing up in opposition to school closings, it wasn’t as if they weren’t showing interest. The community made it a point to be at the 21 community meetings around the issue of school closure.  As recently as March 4th, parents, students and other members of the Philadelphia community showed up on a Saturday to voice their opinions against school closings. The SRC’s abrupt change of school code hurts the community’s ability to be involved in the school reform process.

I know the SRC has a code of ethics which should have influenced its membership to make a more sound decision than to suspend such an important portion of school code. According to its code of ethics the SRC is supposed to include stakeholders in all communications, distribute relevant information about the district, as well as lead with respect and take full responsibility for SRC activity and behavior. However, actions speak louder than words and while members of the SRC may say it wasn’t a move to completely disregard the public’s persistence what else could it be viewed as?

In the meantime I hope for the well being of our students at the schools on the closing list. Where will they go? How will they feel when their schools are no longer available to them? Our students deserve better than this and our community needs to be central to the SRC’s decisions. The community can look back and say they did everything they could to keep the doors open but can the SRC?

Students and parents’ voices echoed throughout the capital as people from across Pennsylvania chanted,  “Whose state? Our state! Whose schools? Our schools! Whose lives? Our lives!”

On February 14th, Valentine's Day, more than 400 students & parents from several Pennsylvania school districts held a rally for public education at the State Capitol.

They represented people from all over Pennsylvania with folks from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, and Chester.

“Fall Back in Love with Public Education” was the day’s theme. Holding heart shaped signs and wearing Valentine’s Day colors, students spoke out about the devastating effects of last year's billion dollar cuts to education. They demanded that equitable school funding be a priority in the next state budget.

This action came a week after Gov. Corbett announced his plan for the next state budget, on February 7.  He has proposed keeping education spending at about the same level it was last year, carrying over the almost $1 billion in education budget cuts.

Although the Governor’s office is working hard to present his budget proposal in a positive light, the people of Pennsylvania recognize that if the new budget follows the same suit as last year’s budget, the effects will cripple Pennsylvania.

“To our elected officials, where will our state be 20 years from now?”  said Baseerah Watson, a high school senior and member of the Philadelphia Student Union. “Can you rest assured that our state will continue functioning when education is not being invested in? I can tell you that the long term effects will not be pretty.”

Many school districts in Pennsylvania are teetering on the brink of meltdown as funds are dwindling.  Schools are having to cut teachers, services, and programs that enrich the lives and experiences of students.

“In Andrew Jackson School were my children attend, between 2011 and 2012, the school lost half of its teaching staff, and now there are more children in each classroom. We do not have a school nurse, or psychologist or counselors, and next year all the bilingual staff may be cut, in a school where 12 languages are spoken,” said Angelica Victoriano, a parent of two children at Andrew Jackson Elementary and a member of JUNTOS who spoke at the rally.

When students no longer have incentives to attend school and their schools, communities, and teachers are severely under-resourced what society can possibly thrive in Pennsylvania?  

“Politicians claim that we don’t need music or art programs, we don’t need clubs, we
don’t need extra curricular activities. Go ahead cut them from schools. Well what about the students who hate school but are passionate about music?” said Margarita Robinson, a student from Reading High School, “What happens when the program is gone and students have no initiative to come to school?”

As was stated many times at the rally “Education is a human right.”  Students have the right to be educated equitably, and parents have the right to feel secure in the education of their children.

When the rally came to a close, host Shayla Johnson made sure that students’ intentions were known, “We are the students and parents of Pennsylvania. And we will continue to organize around education until we see results.”

The future of the Chester Upland School District In Delaware County is and has been up in the air for quite some time now.

As a result of the devastating state budget cuts to education Chester Upland’s school district went under financially.

Chester Upland gets nearly 70 percent of its annual funding from the state but lost almost 20 percent of its allotment because of severe budget cuts according the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Even with the well being of students on the line the state is not stepping in to rectify the financial instability that many rightfully argue was pushed by the states multi-million dollar cuts to education.

In fact as recently as January 17th, U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson ordered the state advance $3.2 million to the Chester Upland School District so it could meet its payroll for the time being.

Regardless of the state’s claims that the Chester Upland School District mismanaged its budget, students shouldn’t have to suffer not knowing whether or not they will be able to keep attending their schools.

Teachers shouldn’t have to question whether they will be paid and whether they will be able to continue teaching their pupils.

Remarkably, before the federal court ruling for the $3.2 million advance of funds the teachers vowed to teach without pay for as long as they could.

That is absolute dedication to not only their profession but also to the  state’s most precious resource: our students.

Why doesn’t the state display such dedication to its students and their instructors?

Furthermore why would any state allow conditions like this to go on this long?

Will you join students & parents from across Pennsylvania to demand that Governor Corbett make equitable school funding a top priority in the next budget?

You must register online in order to reserve a seat on one of the Philadelphia buses: www.showloveforeducation.eventbrite.com

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Gov. Tom Corbett recently revealed his plan for education, pushing for vouchers as the new standard for education reform. On October 24th, the Senate Education Committee approved a vouchers program. Now, the Senate is poised to pass it. The Senate Education Committee’s support of vouchers is happening despite major opposition from students and parents across Pennsylvania.

Why fund private and parochial schools with taxpayer dollars? If public education weren’t always under attack by budget cuts, there would be no need to expand educational “choices” for parents and students. We know the real first choice of every parent and student is a high quality public school in their neighborhood.

If Gov. Corbett’s real goal was the expansion of educational choice for students he would be funding public education instead of vouchers. “Fixing struggling schools like mine is a process. It takes leadership from the principal and the district, student and parent involvement, qualified and effective teachers, engaging curriculum, accountability, and adequate funding. It is a process, but I know that my school can succeed if it is invested in,” said Baseerah Watson, a senior at  Sayre High School in West Philadelphia. There is no better choice for parents and students than a district of well-funded neighborhood schools.

Vouchers will only increase the disparity within already struggling districts. Many students, parents, and taxpayers will be left behind. They will be left behind because there is no guarantee that getting a voucher will lead to a better education. Even students who get vouchers are not guaranteed acceptance at private schools. Private schools can turn away students or kick students out for any reason, including a student’s disability, religion, test scores, background, or status as an English Language Learner. Even with a voucher, many students will be stuck in the same underfunded, under-performing schools, while more and more resources are drained out of their schools.

Vouchers will not benefit all of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, regardless of the promises being made by Corbett’s administration. These promises are empty promises. Can we really afford to leave anymore students behind? And, furthermore, would we want to?