Bad time to end SRC
It has been a long time since the School Reform Commission looked anything like the savior of Philadelphia public schools it was envisioned to be when it was created in 2001. The SRC's ties to Harrisburg, rather than giving it clout, too often seem to float in the wind like loose strings.
It has been a long time since the School Reform Commission looked anything like the savior of Philadelphia public schools it was envisioned to be when it was created in 2001. The SRC's ties to Harrisburg, rather than giving it clout, too often seem to float in the wind like loose strings.
That said, City Council's passage of a bill Thursday calling for a nonbinding referendum on whether the SRC should be disbanded smacks of grandstanding, instead of providing a viable alternative to the hybrid school board.
Given only two days to consider the measure's potential impact, it is understandable that Mayor Nutter didn't sign the legislation by a Saturday deadline to get it on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. That pocket veto, however, means Council's directive could go into effect to allow a referendum in May.
Maybe by then, Council will have also recommended what should replace the SRC, to give voters some context. But no matter what voters say, only the state, or the SRC itself, can pull the plug to kill it, which would require a declaration that the School District is no longer in the fiscal distress that led to the SRC's creation.
That shouldn't happen with the district clinging to life support as it awaits the fate of a bill in the state House that would allow the city to collect a cigarette tax to help fund public schools. A vote may occur Monday. The cigarette money is already included in the district's budget, so if it doesn't get it more draconian cuts will be made.
Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who sponsored the referendum bill, said she didn't bring it up for a vote earlier because it might send the wrong message to Harrisburg while it was considering the cigarette tax. It still could. But apparently Council is more concerned about the grief it was getting from local unions for not proposing the SRC's abolition.
City teachers' union leader Jerry Jordan said more than 40,000 signatures had been collected on petitions supporting a referendum. Only Councilman Bill Greenlee voted against the bill, making the valid point that nonbinding referendums are merely very expensive opinion polls.
It would be good to one day see Philadelphia regain full local control of its schools. But don't do it on the fly. Offer a proposal that details how the district will be governed and adequately funded, then ask for public support.