Thirty-nine charter school applications went in, but only five came out approved from the Philadelphia School Board Commission’s meeting Wednesday.
The SRC approved the five schools in the five-hour long meeting under the agreement that they will meet certain conditions by the end of May.
Charter schools have been a sticking point between city and even statewide Republican and Democratic leaders. GOP legislators pushed for applications to be approved to secure state funding for the district. In contrast, newly elected Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf wanted the SRC to approve none of the schools.
“The Wolf Administration continues to believe that the district’s financial situation cannot responsibly handle the approval of new charter schools,” Wolf’s office said in a statement released Wednesday evening. “Governor Wolf remains committed to restoring cuts and delivering more funding to public schools across the commonwealth to ensure our children have the resources necessary to succeed. It is imperative for both our children and our economy that we reverse Pennsylvania’s public education deficit.”
Reducing this deficit, however, is no easy feat. Philadelphia’s school district faces an $80 million budget deficit. And charter schools could exacerbate the problem. For every student who moves to a charter school, the district loses $7,000. If 15,000 additional students were to enroll in charters, the district would lose $500 million, city officials said.
The city’s mayoral candidates have been vocal about charter schools as well. Democratic candidate and former Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham announced support for a moratorium on charter schools Tuesday. She was joined by fellow contenders Jim Kenney, Nelson Diaz and Doug Oliver.
It seems the only candidate — and possibly the only Democrat — pleased with the SRC’s decision will be State Sen. Anthony Williams, a longtime supporter of charter schools.
Just last week, Williams called on the SRC to approve more charter schools. In an interview with Philadelphia Magazine, he praised charters “because they provide good, public education in communities that don’t have that.”
The five charter schools approved Wednesday are the first since 2009.
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3 Responses
I would appreciate Governor Wolf bringing in a consultant team headed by Michelle Rhee or someone of equal qualifications to do serious classroom evaluations observing how the teachers speak to their students as well as how they set up an environment which discourages them to not attend or cut their class
I witnessed this for many years when I was in the Philadelphia system
I believe before throwing any money to the district what is currently going on should be scrutinized. I am not a fan of charter schools however given the status quo they are a better alternative than what the district is offering
Do these mayoral candidates like making parents cry?
If only half the scrutiny were applied to legacy schools that’s given to charters…