Testimony to the School Reform Commission October 15th, 2015
Susan Gobreski, Parent, Philadelphia resident, Director of Education Voters of PA

Thank you for the time. Lots of us have some cognitive dissonance because we care deeply about this district, believe in it and want it to succeed. We both believe the District does not have the resources to succeed and yet also that there are things happening here that need to change.

One of the reasons we (Education Voters and parents in general) work so hard on funding and resources is because we believe that organizations that are deprived of appropriate and adequate resources are not only doing without, but can operate from a deficit perspective leading to dysfunction. It affects not just what decisions can be made, but the quality of decisions.

Someone used the term low self-esteem to apply to the district, and also quoted Kevin McCrory – so I’ll echo those sentiments. “In essence, Philadelphia School District officials believe so little in the district's own ability to substantively improve student outcomes at these schools, they are willing to incur greater costs to hand the job over to an entity they believe will do better." 

There are a number of worrisome things happening and I came today to raise concerns about several specific issues. The proposal to re-structure schools via Renaissance Charters.

1. First, we believe it is a very significant concern that the law, legal issues and financial landscape for charter schools is so uncertain, and in conflict, and thus potentially filled with significant problems and threats.

• The state law is truly a mess, with lots of questions, and in need of updating. The funding system doesn’t match the means of delivery. We don’t have a funding formula that accounts for charters and we do not have adequate resources. 
• There are numerous open questions, including the future of enrollment caps, and the whether or not communities will have any local authority. 
• So you are opening a Pandora’s box - you can start out with one set of expectations, but you don’t know how these things will play out. (i.e. you could approve a Renaissance Charter now under one set of conditions, and any one of these issues could lead to changes that affect the agreement in ways you don’t have any control over). 
• It may be the case that you have to consider charters when they come before you, but there is nothing that says you must seek them out. 

Given these factors, it would be fiscally irresponsible to make the district more vulnerable in such an uncertain environment. In fact, at this point under these circumstance, to authorize more charters would be to knowingly de-stabilize the district.

 2. There is a big opportunity cost. I am worried about what you are not doing when you are putting time and energy into this. We know the district is understaffed, so the argument cannot be made that all other bases are covered while you do this. What about other areas of focus, like focus on academic planning, training, instructional practice (or raising money, working with principals or…)? Which leads directly to my next point:

3. I would like to know why you don’t have your own model with clear strategies for interventions at this point. We should have an internal model by now – we shouldn’t even have to have this conversation. 4. There are clearly issues of process. We’d like to know why those schools? Chosen by what criteria? By whom, on what timeline? What work was done on the ground to analyze the challenges and needs of the people in these schools beforehand? (Etc.) Not to mention the recent issues with the engagement.

5. The matter of time. Although fall is better than spring for having these conversations, we really need more time to work through these things. There needs to be time for authentic discussion, feedback, adaptation, change. You shouldn’t have your back to the wall such that you don’t have time for all that. There needs to be more time for these things.

The other matter is the Soure4Teachers contract. I am sure you are aware of the utter level of debacle this is. There are so many problems caused by this, this year has been damaged. Teachers and principals are spending extraordinary amounts of time in coverage* (and again – not doing other things); morale is low; people are stressed and frustrated and children’s safety is deeply at risk. Tens of thousands of people have been negatively affected in ways that affect learning, culture and well-being.

It seems like the problem wasn’t properly understood, and appropriate checks and mechanisms were not in place to ensure the system would work or to have a back-up. Will there be an analysis of how all this happened – of what went wrong, an internal review? Who championed this? What got missed and why?

And this is hard, I know, but sometimes a plan goes so badly, a decision has been so badly made, that someone needs to resign or be fired for it. Thank you.

*And the district is racking up costs for coverage in the form of prep time payback. Will those costs be subtracted/covered by the contract? 

Asking Philly Mayoral and Council candidates about education…

Public education is THE hot topic this year, yet City Council members, Council as a whole, and the office of Mayor have a limited role in decision making in the ongoing direct management of schools. They ARE responsible for providing local funding for the district, which is a significant responsibility and they can impact our City’s approach to public education through the platform of their office by how much or little they pay attention to the district, how they use their time to interact with the people who run the District and whether they try to advocate for certain things (like whether we move toward a community schools model, have enough guidance counselors, etc). 

Good public schools are vital to the prosperity of the City, so we need to know what the candidates believe in, and how they would use their office to affect and support schools.

In upcoming forums, community meetings, debates, Council members and Mayoral candidates will be stumping for votes.  We want to make sure we are pushing them to provide a little more depth when they answer, because everyone is “for the children” – so it is time to drop that tired trope and ask: what exactly does that mean and do you understand how to use the elected office you seek in order to have an impact? 

If you get a chance to ask a question, or suggest one, we recommend the following topics. And when you ask, remind them: please address the answers to how to use the elected office they seek to affect schools: what specific steps and initiatives would they support and in what ways would they take action?

Funding. 

·       Do you think that Philadelphia schools have enough money to provide an adequate learning opportunity for children? If you think funding isn’t the main problem, what is the main problem and what would you do about it?

·       If you believe there should be more funding, what can members of Council and the Mayor do to increase available funding? (Since state funding is not a city issue, please address only that which is in the purview of city elected officials.)  How can we increase local support for schools?

·       For state funding: how would you go about getting more funding from Harrisburg? What do you think it will take?

·       Do you believe we should change the way we use money now? If so, what should we do differently and how could you have an impact on that, since you don’t run the schools?

What should the Superintendent’s top priority and how would you support or push them?

Community schools: What can city government officials do to support the development of community schools, including improving and aligning city services to address the needs of children.

·       How can City Council and/or the Mayor facilitate the integration of services and supports into the school environment?

·       What can you do to ensure that every community has good schools and that schools are centers for community and access to services?  Which services would you prioritize doing this for, how and on what timeline?

Governance and Accountability. 

·       What should be the primary focus of the governing body of the District?

·       What change(s) do you support to the governance of the district? 

·       If you support a different model, please say how that model would bring about change?

·       What steps can city government take to improve accountability of those who govern and run the schools?

So – what do you think needs to happen to settle the teacher’s contract?  Who should do what?

Charter Schools:

·       What is the appropriate role for charter schools in Philadelphia? 

·       Do you believe that the City of Philadelphia should have the right to limit the number of charter schools?  Do we have enough charter schools now? Too many? 

·       What needs to happen to improve charter school accountability?

Vouchers:

·       Do you support vouchers? Why or why not? If you were asked by the Senate Majority Leader if you would like to see additional funding allocated to vouchers, would you say yes or no?

Expand Pre-K and early learning opportunities:

·       What will you do to expand the number of children in PreK? What policies will you pursue and what will be your strategy to make it happen? Please provide a target # or percent enrollment increase goal for the next four years.

Healthy Learning Environments:

·       What can you do (as Mayor or a member of City Council) to help ensure that school buildings are healthier for children?

·       School Discipline: How could you, in the role of Council person or Mayor, affect the use of city and school district resources to impact school climate and improve school discipline policy to end the “school to prison pipeline”?

Disclaimer: Yes, there are too many questions here, and they will not all get answered in every setting.  But, over time, in various venues and through the materials the candidates issue, we hope that we get a more complete and detailed sense of what they would do, how they would use their actual power and the bully pulpit that comes with holding elected office and what their priorities are. Most important is that we work together to draw them out – to push for a deeper dive, and stop the pat answers, like "I am for the children; school funding is important, I’ll get more money from Harrisburg.”

Governing the School District of Philadelphia.

There is a conversation happening in the City around the issue of local control of the School District of Philadelphia, and moving away from a state run district. It is virtually inarguable that the state controlled School Reform Commission has not solved the issues of the District. Indeed, one could argue that the premise that governance was the problem has been proven false.  Clearly, the citizens of Philadelphia must have more say, while still ensuring that those who allocate funding are directly engaged with the decision making.

                     

Local control most likely means either an elected board or Mayoral control, each presenting challenges.  There are numerous troubling issues with Mayoral control: it has been trendy, but it is not a proven improvement strategy and people should be wary of it.  Furthermore, it is not substantially different that the SRC – a handful of appointments, insulated from the public and other elected officials.  Headed into an election year, voters should be skeptical at best about people who want to be handed the only set of keys to the district.

There are also reasonable concerns about how an elected school board might work, including the influence of money and political deals. But these worries alone do not outweigh the need to have democratic access to how the district is run.

And all this focus on governance takes us away from the key questions: resources and support.  A significant issue for the district has been insufficient resources to provide an adequate education for students.  Because of this fact, there are advantages to the state government having some direct responsibility for our schools. And, some people worry that if the school board were to become entirely elected, the state could continue to fail to meet its responsibility but all fingers would point to the local board, which will always be at the mercy of city and state allocations.

We must restore confidence in the decision making process at the district.  Therefore we must take steps to both build confidence at the community level AND within government, and provide the people who allocate the funding with the access they need to both understand and be accountable for how resources are being used. This includes our elected officials with budgetary control, and we the people – the stakeholders, the community that prospers or falters with the success of its schools, the taxpayers.

Perhaps there is a way to achieve this. For consideration, here is a straw man proposal to change the distribution of appointed positions to a broader group of elected officials, including local ones, AND add a contingency of elected members - a hybrid which can try to harness the needs that are represented by both approaches.

We could create a 9 member board (thus bringing Philadelphia into line with other PA school boards) consisting of 4 elected and 5 appointed members. All of the various entities that have responsibility to ensure the well-being of the Commonwealth’s largest school district would have someone at the table.  The Governor could appoint two, the members of the Philadelphia General Assembly delegation to Harrisburg could appoint one (for example, a nominee and confirmation process); and then one by the Mayor and one by approval of City Council. The people of Philadelphia would control a clear majority: 4 elected and 2 put in place by our local elected Mayor and City Council. 

With elected officials appointing people to a portion of the seats, they would have an inside view on difficult discussions, decisions and the challenges faced, as well as the opportunity to influence those decisions with a vote.

The four elected positions could serve for 4 years (on staggered terms, with elections being held every two years) which would give the people of Philadelphia direct access to the governance of the district – people who are on the inside, yet who are accountable to the citizens of Philadelphia and must face them when asking to continue to serve, not just obligated to the entity that appointed them.  Then, if the direction of the board is out of step with the community, we have the opportunity to act.

If elected officials have a direct line into the operations of the governing body, it will hold them to a closer level of participation and responsibility. And, the citizenry of Philadelphia would elect people who are directly accountable to the community. Presumably these people could ensure that key discussions are held in public and that the rest of us are more aware of what is being proposed and undertaken.

This arrangement could help prevent lock-step action – the voters of Philadelphia would have the biggest bloc of votes, but coalitions would have to be built. It also keeps the General Assembly, in particular, our local representatives, and the Governor, with skin in the game – appointees who are present, getting information and keeping a line of communication open with the elected officials who are responsible for allocating resources and effective oversight. 

The mere presence of popularly elected people could impact the way that the appointed people serve, and vice versa, raising the bar for all.

Rather than talking about the form of governance, let’s talk about what we need from it: understanding the issues facing the district as a community, transparency, responsibility and tying authority and finances together.

Money Matters

How increased supports improve education

The reality is that money matters. Targeted funding directed at instructional practices, that are supported by evidence can have dramatic impacts. Money impacts class size which matters, especially in the early grades. Giving teachers smaller “caseloads” means more individual attention for students, more tailored lesson plans, more specific feedback to students, and more in-depth learning. Art and music are supported by research, as well as extended learning time.

The biggest potential for change lies in how well we develop school leadership. We need to recruit excellent teachers and principals, respect them as professionals and provide good compensation packages. Training staff, analyzing data, goal setting, follow up, planning, giving people feedback and quality evaluations –all these beneficial things take time. We need to provide school staff with this time – which means adequate staffing levels, staff support for principals, and planning time for teachers. All of these things have a cost associated with them.

Specific programs lead to higher student achievement for in numerous ways:

·       Higher per-pupil funding results in having better quality facilities and more access to necessary materials.[i]

·       Students perform worse in math on national testing when computers are not a part of their everyday curriculum. The state average’s access to computers is 7 students to a computer.  Some districts have as many as 20 students to a computer.[ii] Having more access to technology is important and can only come from more funding.

·       Research shows that teachers with higher education have a better grasp on the subject-matter which improves student learning. Teachers with higher education tend to go to districts where compensation is higher.[iii]

·       Increasing teacher wages increases education. Higher salaries lead to better quality of teaching, which in turn leads to better student performance. In fact, raising teacher salaries by 10% decreases the high school dropout rate by 3-4%.[iv]

·       Teachers need ongoing training throughout their careers. Pennsylvania schools can only spare 1-3% of their budgets on continuous training; the suggestion is to spend 10%.[v]

·       Smaller class sizes have shown better rates of achievement. Children in smaller classes in grades K-3 score 60% higher on testing than their peers in larger classes.[vi] Even in high school, students who were in smaller classes during their early education continue to outperform their peers.[vii]

·       Smaller classes also help close the racial and socio-economical achievement gap. In small classes the achievement gap declines by 38% in K-3, and declines by 15% in the years after.[viii]

·       Children who attend pre-school have a 10% better chance of graduating high school and are 29% more likely to graduate from college. Pennsylvania is one of nine states does not provide pre-school funding.[ix]

·       Participation in arts programs for low-income students has many benefits including higher G.P.A and higher scores on testing. Participants are five times more likely to graduate high school and are much more likely to pursue a four-year college than their peers who did not participate in the arts. Yet arts programs are being cut across America due to lack of funds.[x]

·       Putting money into the education system saves money! For every $1 put towards reducing class size, society saves $2 in economic benefits.[xi] Reducing class size in elementary grades alone will yield a savings of almost $170,000 per high school graduate. These savings are even higher for low-income students, saving $195,000 per high school graduate.[xii]

Skeptics say that even with increases in funding, we do not see measurable improvements. When education funds are raised incrementally, the money is often dedicated to rising costs (operational & personnel).  Over the past 15 years, more resources have been directed at the costs of required testing. Inadequate resources are going towards the things that are proven to work—maintaining arts programs, attracting desirable teachers, tutoring and extended learning times, enriched curriculum, and lowering class size. If new incremental money merely goes to cover the rising costs of current operations, then expecting different results is not reasonable. Yet research shows that funds put towards creating and maintaining early education and arts programs, reducing class sizes, and attracting highly-qualified teachers, makes a big difference. Money does truly matter— it plays a vital role in creating a better and more efficient education system

One of the ongoing questions people have about educational programs is: what works?  What should we do with money if we have it?

·       Students who attend full-day kindergarten have higher long-term achievement (especially for low-income students.)[xiii]

·       Schools with better ratios of guidance counselor to students have higher entry to college rates. Application guidance, provided by guidance counselors, increase the percent of low-income students who apply (55 to 67%), are accepted (30 to 39%), and enroll in selective institutions (29 to 34%).[xiv] The American School Counselor Association recommends 1 counselor for every 250 students. Some schools in Pennsylvania have as few as one guidance counselor to 3,000 students and do not have the ability to employ more with the present funding.[xv]

·       Getting exercise increases students’ math scores and executive functions, in addition to their health.[xvi] This is why we need physical education classes, recess (which means adequate staff and facilities), and after-school sports. Increasingly as money gets tight extracurricular activities, such as school sponsored sports, and physical education programs are being cut. Currently, only a little more than half of the nation’s students are enrolled in physical education.[xvii]

·       Students who participate consistently in well run after-school programs show improvements in grades, in testing, in school behavior, and in work habits. Well run after-school programs require good staff, high-quality facilities, and access to materials, all of which require funds.[xviii]

·       Having teacher’s aides in the classroom allows more one on one time between teacher and student. It also improves class behavior and helps students be less distracted throughout the day.[xix] As such, being able to employ teacher’s aides allows the teacher to be more efficient in the classroom.

·       High school teachers with degrees in the field they teach provide better rates of achievement. In Pennsylvania 16% of high school teachers do not have a degree in their field. This number rises in high-poverty areas (22%) and schools with high minority populations (26%) where the budget is tighter.[xx] Without the funds to hire more qualified staff, many districts employ less efficient teachers.   

·       Access to digital textbooks aid children with disabilities as well as English-as-a-second-language students by providing audio, images, pronunciations, and interactivity as the student needs it. Students with access to digital textbooks perform better than those who do not have access to this type of technology. Some forms of technology also help save money. Technology such as soundfield amplification allows students with mild hearing lost and students with ADHD to stay in the classroom instead of being in more costly special education classes.[xxi]

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[i][i] Baker, Bruce. "Revisiting That Age-Old Question: Does Money Matter In Education?" The Albert Shanker Institute, 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[ii] "Why Money Matters | Operation Public Education | The Center for Greater Philadelphia." Why Money Matters | Operation Public Education | The Center for Greater Philadelphia. Center for Greater Philadelphia, 2004. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[iii] Figlio, David N. "Can Public Schools Buy Better-Qualified Teachers?" Industrial and Labor Relations Review 55 (2002): 686-99. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

"Archived: Highly Qualified Teachers for Every Child." Archived: Highly Qualified Teachers for Every Child. U.S. Department of Education, Aug. 2006. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

[iv] Loeb, Susanna, and Marianne E. Page. "Examining the Link between Teacher Wages and Student Outcomes: The Importance of Alternative Labor Market Opportunities and Non-Pecuniary Variation." Review of Economics and Statistics 82.3 (2000): 393-408. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[v] "Why Money Matters | Operation Public Education | The Center for Greater Philadelphia." Why Money Matters | Operation Public Education | The Center for Greater Philadelphia. Center for Greater Philadelphia, 2004. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[vi] Mosteller, Frederick, Richard J. Light, and Jason A. Sachs. "Sustained Inquiry in Education: Lessons from Skill Grouping and Class Size." Harvard Education Review 66.4 (1996): 797-842. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[vii] Mosteller, Frederick. "The Tennessee Study of Class Size in the Early School Grades." N.p., Summer 1995. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[viii] Krueger, Alan B., and Diane M. Whitmore. "Would Smaller Classes Help Close the Black-White Achievement Gap." (n.d.): n. pag. Princeton University, Mar. 2001. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

[ix] "Why Money Matters | Operation Public Education | The Center for Greater Philadelphia." Why Money Matters | Operation Public Education | The Center for Greater Philadelphia. Center for Greater Philadelphia, 2004. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[x] Catterall, James S., Susan A. Dumais,, and Gillian Hampden-Thompson,. "The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies." National Endowment for the Arts, Mar. 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[xi] Krueger, Alan B. "Economic Considerations and Class Size*." The Economic Journal 113.485 (2003): F34-63. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[xii] Muennig, P., and S. H. Woolf. "Health and Economic Benefits of Reducing the Number of Students per Classroom in US Primary Schools." American Journal of Public Health 97.11 (2007): 2020-027. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[xiii] Rafoth, Mary Ann, Sara A. Grimes, and Beth Buzi. "Kindergarten - Full Versus Half-Day: Information for Parents and Early Childhood Educators." NASP Center. National Association of School Psychologists, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

[xiv] ""Expanding College Opportunities for High-Achieving, Low Income Students"" What Works Clearinghouse. U.S. Department of Education, Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

[xv] McCorry, Kevin. "In Philly Schools, When Students with Dreams or Traumas Seek Counseling, the ..." Newsworks.org. N.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

[xvi] ""Exercise Improves Executive Function and Achievement and Alters Brain Activation in Overweight Children: A Randomized, Controlled Trial"" What Works Clearinghouse. U.S. Department of Education, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

[xvii] Sealey, Geraldine. "No Sweat When Gym Class Cut." ABC News. ABC News Network, 30 Sept. 2003. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

[xviii] Perkins-Gough, Deborah. "Special Report / Do After-School Programs Help Students Succeed?" Educational Leadership:Building Classroom Relationships: Do After-School Programs Help Students Succeed? ASCD, Sept. 2003. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

[xix] Friedberg, Judy. "Teaching Assistants Don't Boost Pupils' Progress, Report Finds." The Guardian. N.p., 4 Sept. 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

[xx] “Why Money Matters | Operation Public Education | The Center for Greater Philadelphia." Why Money Matters | Operation Public Education | The Center for Greater Philadelphia. Center for Greater Philadelphia, 2004. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

[xxi] "Why Technology in Schools? | EdTech Action Network." Why Technology in Schools? | EdTech Action Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

Going to Court.

Pennsylvania’s system is neither adequate, nor equitable; thorough, nor efficient. 

Going to court.

Today, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP) and Education Law Center- PA filed a lawsuit on behalf of individuals, school districts and organizations, making the complaint that the funding system in Pennsylvania is not only wrong, it violates the Constitution. Around the state, our schools have not received adequate and equitable funding to meet our children's educational needs.  But our Constitution says “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.” 

The state government is breaking its own law and our kids are suffering.

So, a lawsuit is being filed to try to force the state to fix the way it funds schools. 

Specifically, the complaint is asking the court to:

“(1) Declare that the current system of funding our schools does not comply with the state constitution; and

(2) Order the defendants to cease using a funding system that does not provide adequate funding where students can meet state standards and which discriminates against low wealth districts.

(3) Order the defendants to create and maintain a constitutional school funding system that will enable all students to meet state academic standards and does not discriminate against low-wealth school districts.” (From an FAQ by the law centers). http://edfundinglawsuit.wordpress.com/faq/

We know Pennsylvania’s funding system is broken. Fair school funding relies on two basic pillars: adequacy, which means that there is enough money to give all children the instruction and support they need to learn and equity, which means that they system distributes money is such a way as to give all children equal access to opportunities.

Pennsylvania’s system is neither adequate, nor equitable; thorough, nor efficient. 

These problems existed prior to the budget cuts in recent years, although those cuts have highlighted the starkness of how thin the margins are for some districts, and the breadth of the problem – how many districts are challenged because of Pennsylvania’s flawed system of funding.  It is also true that our funding system has a racial bias.

There are three basic pillars for school funding, what we have called a sensible approach to funding schools: it must be based on what students are expected to learn, which means the instruction and support that they need to do it; fiscally responsible principles including the use of updated data, stable and predictable funding, fair local and state share (including reducing the pressure on property taxes) and it must meet any test of fairness and legality (meet the Constitutional requirement; provide for every child, end the practice of distributing funding based on political clout). 

The courts must act and rule in favor of the plaintiffs – it must declare what is happening is legally wrong and join the demand for a just remedy so every child in PA has an opportunity to learn.

But the courts alone will not solve this problem.  It will require all of us.

·       The legislature must act – utilizing its own Basic Education Funding Commission; the recommendations of last year’s Special Education Funding Commission and the data it has available to it to develop a new approach to allocating funding.

·       Our new Governor-elect, Tom Wolf, must act. He must propose a budget that meets the needs of the Commonwealth and he must put together a Department of Education that is resolved to work on this.

And, the public must continue to act - we must continue to send the message that we will hold them all accountable – not just the Governor -- for producing policy that is sensible and fair to all.

We must fix Pennsylvania’s ability to provide every child with a good public education.

Every School Deserves a Nurse

Today a 7-year-old died at Jackson Elementary school and there was no school nurse in the building because of budget cuts.

Read the details here.

We don't know if would have helped to have a nurse, but it's a problem that we even have to ask if the school had one. Every school deserves a nurse! Call city council and Governor Tom Corbett today!

Call Gov. Corbett at (717) 787-2500.

Click here for Philadelphia City Council=> http://bit.ly/1ktDBGa

Day of Action today in Philadelphia - Fund Schools Now!

Today we will be in City Hall to make sure that we get the funding we need for Philadelphia schools. We have over 1,000 petition signatures to deliver, and dozens of teachers, principals, guidance counselors, and parents will be visiting their council members--but it may not be enough.

The city council offices' phones need to be ringing off the hook too! That's where you come in.

Click this link to call your council members today. 

Here's what you can say:

Hi, my name is ______ and I want to talk you about school funding in Philadelphia.

The state education budget continues to be inadequate and unfair; however we must also do more in Philadelphia to provide additional local resources for schools.

As you know, City Council has the power to approve $120 Million in recurring funding– and you need to act. Additionally, is it important for you as our city leaders, Council and Mayor, to work together to find the additional $75 million for schools to put in the city budget, so the city is providing the appropriate level of local support.

Please fund our schools!

Make the call here and thanks for raising your voice for education!