Palmer: Private donors pushing to maintain current enrollment

THE FOUNDER of Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School told concerned parents, faculty, staff and supporters last night that a group of private donors is talking with the district in an effort to keep the school open at its current enrollment level through the academic year.

Walter Palmer, the embattled charter's founder and chief executive officer, said talks with Superintendent William Hite and the School Reform Commission began Friday and continued over the weekend. He would not name the donors, but said he hopes to have an answer in the next 10 days.

The K-12 school, which has said it would have to close because it could not pay its bills, was denied emergency funds from the school district last week by a Common Pleas judge who ruled that the district was only obligated to pay for 675 students, the enrollment cap agreed upon in the school's 2005 charter renewal. The current enrollment, which also includes a Frankford campus, is about 1,235 students.

If the district accepts his proposal, Palmer said, enrollment would stay the same, but if not the school would have to downsize to 675 students, a process for which has not been determined.

"I will be in this fight until we get a resolution, but we can't do it without you," Palmer told the packed auditorium at the school's Northern Liberties campus during the 60-minute meeting.

In addition, Palmer said he has offered to let Friendship Public Charter School, based in Washington, D.C., take over the school, in response to the district's concerns about lackluster academic performance. Palmer cited Friendship's strong track record in urban communities.

Donald Hense, chairman and founder of Friendship, briefly addressed the crowd, noting that the Palmer name would remain and that his focus would be on improving literacy and academic standards if the changes are approved.

Several parents expressed concerns about how downsizing would affect their children, although that remained unclear. Other questions included why the charter continued to enroll students beyond the cap, and whether students could get recommendation letters to other schools. A few parents said they had contacted the district about the school's uncertainty, and were urged to enroll their children elsewhere.

"The public schools are a mess," one woman cried. "Don't send your kids back there."

Keesha Smith, mother of a kindergartner, said after the meeting that she remained uncertain about the future, despite Palmer's assurances.

"He just kept saying school's not closing, but we don't know that," Smith said. "You keep saying school's not closing, yet at the end of the day you still don't have funding for the other kids you're trying to fit into the school. So what are you going to do?"

After the meeting, several teachers lined up to speak with Palmer. Some complained of feeling left in the dark. "We're all frustrated," one teacher said, "because no one's giving us clear answers."