On day of cuts, slugger Howard homers for Philly schools

PHILLIES STAR RYAN Howard lumbered into the mayor's reception room at City Hall on Thursday, a plastic walking boot protecting his left foot as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

But that didn't stop him from walking around the room to greet each of the dozens of high school athletes who soon will have new uniforms and sneakers thanks to a $1.2 million donation from Howard's foundation.

The donation will supply Adidas gear to 57 high schools and four middle schools.

"This is not a first-time thing," Mayor Nutter said of Howard's generosity, which also includes a $500,000 donation to help rebuild Hunting Park. "This is a person and a family that care about this city. They're setting an example of what people . . . at the highest levels can do."

By the end of the day, however, the district needed 15 more millionaire athletes to pitch in.

Leroy Nunery, the district's acting superintendent and CEO, sent a letter to principals Thursday afternoon outlining $15.7 million in cuts as part of the plans to fill a $629 million budget hole.

Each school's budget will be cut between 1 and 3 percent (an average of 1.4 percent), saving the district $10 million.

The plan also calls for eliminating 69 nursing positions (including 18 already vacant), which will save $5.1 million but increase the district's nurse-to-student ratio from 750-to-1 to 870-to-1. The state minimum is 1,500-to-one.

"We will be objecting," said Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which represents nurses. "We think it's improper and we will certainly fight to make sure our members don't lose their positions."

Nunery said that the district hopes to partner with the city's health department to "make sure that schools are appropriately treated and covered."

Desegregation bus-monitor positions were also eliminated.

Rob McGrogan, head of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators principals union, called the cuts "devastating," but applauded the district for giving principals the leeway to substitute cuts elsewhere in their budgets.

"What we tried to do was to instruct the principals to look first at non-personnel items," Nunery said. "We're trying not to affect people."