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There is a war on public education, and Philadelphia could be the model used to privatize education, especially education for the disadvantaged. I believe teachers, as the experts, need to be active in standing up to this assault.
Background of the crisis in Philadelphia
The School District of Philadelphia is unique compared to all other school districts in Pennsylvania. Since the 1960’s, Philadelphia has not had an elected school board. Until 2001, school board members were appointed by the mayor. To this day, those who oversee the district have had no power to tax.
There have been many crises for Philadelphia schools since the early 1970’s. On many occasions, Philadelphia teachers gave up wage increases in order to keep class size at a 33 student maximum. Last year, maximum class size was still 33 for grades 4 thru 12. Grades K-3 had a reduced maximum class size of 30, assuming funds were available.
In the fall of 2001, the state of Pennsylvania took control of the school district. The Board of Education was disbanded and replaced by the School Reform Commission (SRC) which has five appointed members. Three of the members are appointed by the governor, giving him a majority vote.
The first SRC was supposed to make changes to underperforming schools so that education would improve. The SRC began evaluating schools in October 2001and by June, 2002 had decided to turn certain schools over to outside groups as charter schools. Although many parent groups applied to run the schools under a charter, most were turned over to non-profit or for-profit companies. As an incentive for these companies to take over these “troubled” schools, they were given more money per child than the district run schools. Many schools that were to remain under district control were warned that if student test scores did not improve, entire faculties would be replaced.
These decisions did very little to improve education. One thing that they did accomplish was to bleed much needed money from the district run schools to the charters, many of which were performing more poorly than their district counterparts. There was often lax oversight by the district and the state on how the charter companies were spending money. Within about five years, many of the original charters were not renewed. Matters got worse when Gov. Corbett took office in 2011. He cut $1 billion from the state’s education budget while giving massive tax cuts to corporations in the state.
At the end of the 2012-2013 school year, another massive deficit was announced which could not be closed by usual means. Layoffs took place, which included teachers, counselors, nurses, and assistant principals. Twenty-three schools were closed. Pleas made to the state for additional funding were refused. The Governor made it clear that the only way Philadelphia would receive additional state funds totaling $45 million was if the teachers took a 10-13% pay cut, pay more out of pocket for healthcare, and give up seniority rights. The union refused to accept those cuts but agreed to return to work under the old contract and contract negotiations are still ongoing. In the meantime, Governor Corbett has allowed the SRC to suspend the PA School Code in Philadelphia. This suspension has allowed the schools to re-hire nurses who have the least experience and therefore are paid the lowest salaries. In addition, it placed a halt to incremental raises that are given each year until a teacher has taught for eleven years.
Philadelphia schools are now open. One nurse is available to every 1500 students, causing small schools to share a nurse with other schools. In most schools, a nurse is only available one day a week. Counselors are also in short supply. Many high schools have a counselor one day a week to handle college applications. The situation is so bad for seniors that local area colleges are offering workshops to help students fill out the online common college application. There have been reports that some schools have classes as large as 48 students. According to a few friends who are still working for the district, there is very little education going on, teacher morale is in the basement and supplies and equipment are scarce. Computer classes are being taught without computers. History classes are being taught with books that show President George W. Bush as the last elected president. Art and music classes are non-existent.
Teacher Activism At Work
The situation in Philadelphia has caused teachers and other school employees to step up and tack action. Teachers have reached out to parents to attend SRC meetings and lodge complaints about the conditions in the schools. Parents, teachers and students have joined forces to speak out and demonstrate against the cuts that have taken place. One of the biggest successes came when a petition was put up on causes.com requesting that Governor Corbett release the $45 million without strings attached. The petition was backed by the American Federation of Teachers and received national attention. This action finally caused Governor Corbett to release the money that he had been holding hostage. It is not enough to restore programs but it is a start.
Teacher activism does not have to be something that risks your job. Facts are power. Know what is in your state school code. Find out how your school district is funded. Know where your elected officials stand on school funding. Reach out to parents and get them on your side. If your state allows vouchers, find out how the plan works and more importantly who has oversight of the funds. If your state allows charter schools, get information on who can submit an application, how the admission process works, and who oversees the funds if a student leaves the charter in the middle of the year. Know the professional background of your school board members as teaching is the one profession where most of the people who make decisions about what and how we teach have never taught.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
