PHILADELPHIA – Today, Mayor Kenney announced his support for dissolving the SRC, returning to a Mayor-appointed board, and increasing school funding. Members of Philadelphia’s education, business, and labor communities shared their support of his vision for our schools.
Mollie Michel, School District parent: “A quality education is the cornerstone of a successful, productive life. My kids, and all of Philadelphia’s children, deserve the best educational opportunities from pre-K to high school. A return to local control under a Mayor-appointed board is the best chance our kids have to attend thriving schools and receive a top notch education that will allow them to realize their dreams.”
Sharif El-Mekki, founder of The Fellowship-Black Male Educators for Social Justice, principal of Mastery Charter-Shoemaker Campus: “With a local, mayor-appointed school board, Philadelphia has an opportunity to turn the tide and assertively pursue a just and equitable education for its students, thus improving the quality of life for our communities. While we should aggressively pursue justice for Pennsylvania’s lack of an equitable budget, we can’t wait to pursue other solutions as well. These solutions should include local control and accountability for exercising this control. Ultimately, the voices of those most impacted should always be at the table.”
Cindy Farlino, Retired Principal, Legislative Liaison of Teamster Local 502, School Administrators, Board Member of Fund for the Philadelphia School District, Member of Healthy Schools Coalition: “I am very excited for this change to local governing of our Philadelphia School District. This is a clear message to all of our school communities and to Philadelphia citizens that we, the people, matter, and that we have a voice. A vibrant city must have successful schools. This decision to localize the governing board of our schools, shows that the Mayor prioritizes collaboration and accountability in educating our youth. Collaboration includes the stakeholders of our schools (staff, families, and taxpayers). Those who have a stake in our schools need to have representation through its local board. The input of the public is critical in moving our schools into academic proficiency and financial stability. Accountability means that a local school board will oversee the crucial issues that involve funding and financial support. The state has not been able to sufficiently fund our district for many years. Schools continue to work in a deficit. Local control of our schools will allow us to find alternative funding sources and to create partnerships. Further it will have direct oversight over dollars to make sure they are thoughtfully allocated to move our schools forward. The strong leadership of our Mayor, who will appoint the board, will begin to heal the feeling in our city, that our schools are not the city’s responsibility. We need to inspire our educators and families to embrace the idea that we can create a common vision for a functioning, successful school district in which the public will be its central component.”
Reverend Dr. Alyn E. Waller, Senior Pastor, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church: “Too many children in this city don’t have the chance to break the cycle of poverty because they don’t have a quality school in their neighborhood. I know Mayor Kenney is committed to achieving this goal for our children – he has already shown that commitment through pre-k and community schools. With a return to local board with Mayoral appointment and ratification by City Council, Philadelphians will have one, central point of accountability for providing all our children access to opportunity.”
Anton Moore, President & Founder of Unity in the Community: “Our families deserve accountability from their elected officials. With a return to local control, they’ll finally get it – and with that, will come the schools all our kids deserve.”
Steven Scott Bradley, Chairman, African American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ & DE: “The return to local control under a mayor-appointed board provides a chance to end the tension between charter and traditional schools. As Philadelphians, we must all be focused on creating quality schools, and not focused on whether those schools are charter or traditional District-run schools. I know Mayor Kenney is committed to the goal of providing all children of color a quality education and the business community will continue to support this pursuit.”
Seth Shapiro, COO, The Goldenberg Group: “We must improve the quality of our public schools if we expect to see steady, continued economic growth in Philadelphia. If we don’t strengthen our talent pipeline or create a school system that is attractive to talent we’re trying to recruit, Philadelphia will not be able to compete with other cities.”
Jerry Sweeney, President, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee, Brandywine Realty Trust: “Philadelphia is on an upward trajectory of success. From development and innovation to life sciences and technology –the city is attracting new corporate headquarters, fast-growing businesses and young millennial talent at an unparalleled pace. In order to achieve long-term sustained growth, retention and overall vitality for Philadelphia, both life-long Philadelphians and newcomers to our city must feel confident that our local schools will offer their children a strong education in a safe environment. It is imperative that we transition to a system that is controlled locally by our Mayor and his appointed board members to ensure strengthened alignment and uniformity of purpose between the school board and the administration. As a result, the city will be better positioned to achieve successful outcomes for public schools.”
Gabe Morgan, Vice President and 32BJ PA/DE State Director: “Philadelphia schools have soldiered on and made progress despite deep funding cuts. It’s time we give them the resources and accountable governance they need to truly succeed.”
Jerry Jordan, President, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers: “The PFT has been fighting state control of our schools for the past 17 years. With today’s announcement, Mayor Kenney is demonstrating his commitment to public education and to local control of schools that earned him the endorsement of our union and the support of Philly’s educators.”
Robin Cooper, President of Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA): “CASA supports the return to local control. The Mayor has been in schools and has been a staunch advocate for equitable funding which is needed to properly educate our children. As such, he has our unequivocal support to appoint a local school board. We believe this is a critical step toward establishing and sustaining long term stability and accountability within the School District of Philadelphia.”
Pat Eiding, President, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO: “I applaud Mayor Kenney for making this courageous step that will hopefully lead to a fully equitable education system where students, regardless of their zip code, are provided with a high quality education in their neighborhood.”