Now, the SRC has questions to answer

The departure of city School Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman turns the focus to the board that hired her and paid her to leave - and particularly to its quiet, well-connected chairman.

When Robert L. Archie Jr. takes his seat Wednesday on the School Reform Commission, as he's done for more than two years, he will face new and discomfiting questions.

Among them:

Why did the commission extend Ackerman's contract in February, only to agree to pay her a $905,000 buyout on Monday?

What was the breaking point in Ackerman's relationship with the SRC?

And, not least, what will a pending Nutter administration investigation reveal about Archie's conduct?

Much venom has been directed at the SRC - and rightly so, said Christine Carlson, a district parent who frequently attends commission meetings.

Now, she said, it's time for SRC members to step up.

"I think it's important that they pay attention and continue to be involved and not just give the superintendent carte blanche, which seems to be what they have done in the past," Carlson said.

State Auditor General Jack Wagner announced Tuesday that he planned to begin an immediate audit of Ackerman's buyout agreement. He has faulted other superintendent buyouts in the past, saying their terms were not transparent to taxpayers.

Ackerman is to be paid $500,000 by the School District and $405,000 in private contributions funneled through an education charity.

News of her of departure was announced Monday by Archie and Mayor Nutter in a statement that praised Ackerman for her "personal commitment to demonstrating that . . . all of our children can achieve."

But Ackerman had lost the support of both the SRC and Nutter during a painful spring of turmoil over a $629 million budget gap.

Acting Superintendent Leroy Nunery II said Tuesday that he knows his team has a long road ahead. "We've got to restore confidence that the public has in public education," Nunery said.

Though he said he was not trying to draw a contrast between himself and Ackerman, Nunery sought to make clear that a new era had begun - one of stronger relationships with the five education labor unions and greater openness with the media.

"We want to make sure that the doors are open," he said.

The district has been forced to cut staff and programs to reduce the budget hole, and is still counting on $75 million in concessions from the unions. Jerry Jordan, president of the 17,000-member Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, has said he would not negotiate givebacks.

With two weeks left before schools open on Sept. 6, the district has 556 teacher vacancies. Nearly 400 of the 1,500 teachers who were laid off in June have been recalled.

Nunery and Associate Superintendent Penny Nixon said their focus was on staffing schools, scheduling buses, and preparing buildings.

"We're not trying to portray any false sense of security," Nunery said. "This is a tough, hard time. But we have confidence in what we're doing."

Across Philadelphia on Tuesday, in conversations, on websites and in Twitter feeds, people speculated on the reasons behind Ackerman's departure.

Nutter, asked Monday what Ackerman had done to warrant removal, said that was a question for the SRC.

He said he played no role through his two appointees, though he admittedly solicited private donations to make the final deal possible.

In April, Nutter launched an administrative investigation into the withdrawal of an Atlanta charter-school company from operating Martin Luther King High School, amid allegations of conflict of interest and political wrangling involving Archie and State Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Phila.).

Nutter directed Joan Markman, the city's chief integrity officer, to conduct a series of fact-finding interviews and report the results to him. That followed disclosures about a closed-door meeting involving Archie, Evans, and a charter-school operator who later backed out of King.

On Monday, Nutter said that the findings of the city inquiry "should be ready for release in a couple weeks."

Asked if he would push for the city to regain control of its schools from the SRC, Nutter responded that he has long believed the mayor should have more responsibility for the schools.

"Right now, the reality of our situation is that we have an SRC," he said. "I don't know that there's any serious interest at the General Assembly [to], in essence, repeal that law."

The SRC is not a traditional school board, but is a school-boardlike entity, wielding ultimate power over the superintendent and the administration of the schools.

Its members rarely speak to reporters, generally not returning phone calls and turning away in-person questions. Efforts to reach Archie on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The agency was created in 2001 as part of a state takeover designed to fix the chronically failing school district. The five-member body - three appointed by the governor, two by the mayor - possesses extraordinary if rarely used powers, including the ability to impose terms on district unions.

Its members are:

Archie, a Duane Morris L.L.C. partner whose practice centers on municipal finance, real estate, and corporate law for nonprofit corporations. He was appointed by Nutter, and made chairman by then-Gov. Ed Rendell.

Denise McGregor Armbrister, senior vice president and executive director of Wells Fargo Regional Foundation and wife of Nutter's former chief of staff, Clarence "Clay" Armbrister. She was appointed by Rendell.

Joseph Dworetzky, a shareholder at Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin who runs a broad legal practice representing business and governmental clients in regulatory affairs, commercial disputes, and restructurings. A former city solicitor, he was appointed by Rendell.

Johnny Irizarry, director of the Center for Hispanic Excellence: La Casa Latina at the University of Pennsylvania. He previously ran the Lighthouse, a multiservice center in North Philadelphia. He was appointed by Nutter.

Awaiting confirmation by the state Senate is Pedro Ramos, a partner in the law firm of Trujillo Rodriguez & Richards L.L.C. He served on the old city school board from 1995 to 2001, and was president at the time of the state takeover. He was appointed by Gov. Corbett.