Phila. parents mobilize against school cuts

They are boarding buses for Harrisburg and bending legislators' ears. They're planning rallies, writing letters, volunteering at phone banks, and speaking out at meetings.

With $629 million in proposed cuts on the table for the Philadelphia School District, city parents are increasingly becoming activists.

"People have kind of come out of the woodwork," said Cheryl Dore, president of the Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School Home and School Association. "More parents are making themselves aware of issues, and doing something about them."

Outside Dobson Elementary School on Tuesday morning, 30 parents waved signs and offered fliers outlining the effect of the cuts - fewer teachers, counselors, nurses, and support staff, for starters. No full-day kindergarten; less money for programs from special education to sports.

Cars navigating the narrow streets of Manayunk honked their horns, drivers waving at parents who stood on Umbria Street outside Dobson, which educates about 255 K-8 students.

Home and School president Claire Pacell is not happy with the legislators and other decision-makers, she said. Dobson stands to have 27 percent lopped off its budget, meaning the loss of five teachers, a full-time librarian, and a new, full-time graphic-arts program.

"They need to come out and actually see what they're hurting - we're losing a lot," said Pacell, who has two children at Dobson and a baby, Sophia, who held a sign of her own. "I wonder where their kids go to school."

Pacell said there had been an uptick in parent participation since the cuts were announced.

"This personally affects all of us," she said.

The district's $2.8 billion budget has been squeezed by a sharp decline in state funding, flat city revenue, and the loss of federal stimulus funds. To balance the budget, officials have proposed the cuts, which include more than 3,000 fewer jobs, the subtraction of full-day kindergarten, the elimination of most transportation services, and various other cost-cutting measures.

Eileen Brown, who leads the Grands as Parents group, which represents grandparents raising grandchildren, is doing whatever she can to spread the word.

Her organization has held several political forums so community members can make their concerns about potential district cuts known to City Council candidates.

"We're asking a lot of questions about the budget, and letting them know that we really want answers and accountability," said Brown, whose grandchildren attend Duckrey Elementary in North Philadelphia and a district alternative school. "People really care about this."

Rachel Schumacher, a parent from the Northeast whose children attend Crossan Elementary and Wilson Middle School, is using Facebook to encourage her friends to sign a petition encouraging legislators to restore cuts to education.

"I'm telling everyone in the schoolyard," Schumacher said. "We're doing whatever we can. Parents need to step up and question where the money is going."

Parents at Greenfield Elementary School in Center City have had advocacy training with the nonprofit group Education Voters of Pennsylvania and are pushing on several fronts.

Greenfield has launched letter-writing and e-mail campaigns. On Thursday, the Greenfield parents will lead other city parents in a phone-bank night, reaching out to voters to encourage them to push back against the cuts.

Greenfield parent Christine Carlson said the group was zeroing in on state legislators now, but will soon begin lobbying city leaders.

She hopes parents "keep their eye on the ball and don't get distracted," Carlson said. "There's a lot of animosity toward the school district, but I think it's important now that we work together. I feel like the state is trying to use a divide-and-conquer strategy, and that doesn't help us."

Kevin Peter is expecting a big crowd - and several legislators and other politicians - to attend a rally he is planning for Sunday at 1 p.m. outside the Trolley Car Diner on Germantown Avenue.

Peter, who lives in Mount Airy and has a seventh grader at Masterman, said the budget cuts have really mobilized parents.

"So much of the school district's issues are just kind of ambient," Peter said. "Folks shake their heads and keep on going. But when the potential cuts got announced, it really got people fired up."

The cuts to full-day kindergarten have received the most attention, but many parents are also concerned about the larger class sizes that are looming.

"All of a sudden, we're going to be up to 30 and 33 kids in a classroom, and it's going to make it harder for those kids to succeed and those teachers to help kids," Peter said.

Shana Kemp, a spokeswoman for the district, said that officials are fielding many more calls from parents.

"This is an issue that we all realize is pretty serious," Kemp said. "We welcome all the help we can get."

Parents have packed district meetings on the budget around the city. More are likely to speak out at a School Reform Commission meeting Wednesday.

Dore, the Cook-Wissahickon parent, is part of a group traveling to Harrisburg on Wednesday to meet with State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.) to air views about the budget. Late last month, she was one of thousands who traveled to the state capitol to begin protesting the cuts.

"Our goal is really just to continue to hammer away, to send letters, to do whatever we can," Dore said. "Now, we're looking to reaching out to our friends in other counties, going through Facebook and social networking and reaching out to everyone we can think of. This is not just a Philadelphia problem."