Crosstown Coalition

The Crosstown Coalition invites Philadelphians to discuss mayoral candidates' answers to questions posed by the Coalition. Questions were generated by citizen responses to a questionnaire sent in Feb, 2007. We encourage you to read candidate answers and comment on what you think. By: Bella Vista United Civic Assoc, Center City Residents' Assoc, Logan Square Neighborhood Assoc, Old City Civic Assoc, Queen Village Neighborhood Assoc, Society Hill Civic Assoc, Washington Square West Civic Assoc.

Showing posts with label 04. EDUCATION. Show all posts

Showing posts with label 04. EDUCATION. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

SCHOOL REFORM COMMISSION

72% of the respondents who expressed an opinion strongly agreed or agreed that the School Reform Commission remain in charge of the Philadelphia School District for the next four years.

Do you agree?

If not, do you recommend that the District be run by the Mayor as in Chicago or do you recommend an alternative method of governance such as the former Board of Education and, if so, what type of governmental mechanism do you endorse?

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BRADY: School Reform Commission

As Mayor, I will work to ensure that the voice of parents, teachers, students, and all Philadelphians are heard before the School Reform Commission. I will also work to create “report cards” for each of the schools within the district. By understanding which schools are succeeding , and which ones are failing, we will foster a culture of accountability within the district.

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EVANS: School Reform Commission

What the city needs is a mayor who will continue to support the schools as they strive for excellence. After decades of mismanagement and poor student achievement, I helped to lead the formation of the unique city-state partnership that now runs the school district under the leadership of School Reform Commission Chairman Jim Nevels and CEO Paul Vallas.

Since I led this effort, we have seen five years of test score growth, increased graduation rates, decreases in the levels of violence, and significant new quality choices for parents such as the new Microsoft High School of the Future.

We still have more work to do, however. Our class sizes are too high, we do not invest enough in early childhood education, our classrooms are outdated, our dropout rates are too high, and some schools still remain unsafe. What we need now more than ever are more resources in our schools in order to continue the initiatives that have led to increased student achievement over the past five years: smaller class sizes, more time on task, and more quality options for parents and students. This should be our immediate focus, not the tired “adult food fight” over city versus state control of the schools.

I encourage you to view my full education plan at www.evansformayor.com.

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FATTAH: School Reform Commission

I support continuing the city-state partnership, in the form of the School Reform Commission, in governing our schools. I would like to have balanced control of the SRC, with three representatives appointed by the Mayor and three appointed by the Governor. But more importantly, I will work with the Governor to create a fairer state-wide school funding formula that reduces the disparity in per pupil funding between Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs.

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KNOX: School Reform Commission

The people of Philadelphia deserve accountability in education. Right now, I don’t believe that the School Reform Commission can be held adequately accountable. As mayor, I intend to reform Philadelphia’s government by eliminating pay-to-play politics so that Harrisburg can be confident in returning control of the school district to City Hall.

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NUTTER: School Reform Commission

I have a child in a public school, so I relate to the School District of Philadelphia as a parent as well as a candidate. Although Philadelphia has some excellent public schools, the overwhelming majority of them are inadequate. Every day, many families leave the city because of our inadequate schools. I believe the long-term solution is for the city to re-gain control of our school system from the School Reform Commission.

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POLITICKING FOR THE SCHOOLS

92% who expressed an opinion believed that a significant portion of the Mayor’s political capital should be expended to attract more funding from Harrisburg.

Would you be willing to spend significant political capital to attract funding from Harrisburg? If not, why not?

If you are willing to commit to this goal, what steps would you take and would those steps include visits to Harrisburg and the formation of a coalition of cities with similar demographics across Pennsylvania to seek more financial support for education from the Commonwealth?

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EVANS: Politicking for Schools

Philadelphia School District’s spending per child averages around $11,000 while its suburban counterparts spend $15,000 or more. While Philadelphia may have more obstacles to overcome, it has less money to deal with them.

In the early 1990s, I initiated an effort between the House Appropriations Committee, which I chair, and the Education Committee.

I led the committees in developing a school financing proposal to impose comparable access for quality education. As a result, the legislation provided that the district's poverty level, enrollment and tax base be used to guarantee a subsidy for each student. Unfortunately, other districts still outpaced Philadelphia in the amount of resources backing each child’s education.

I have since stood by Governor Ed Rendell’s efforts to increase state aid. Also, I have fought in the state legislature for the district’s $30 million in increased funding this year. As Mayor, I will continue to fight for more resources to our school district. I will also signify Philadelphia’s continued commitment to improving our schools by transferring $100 million in new property tax revenue to the School District.

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FATTAH: Politicking for Schools

As Mayor, my top priority will be education and we must increase funding from both the city and state for our schools to close the per pupil funding disparity between the city schools and our suburban neighbors. I will go to Harrisburg and will use the relationships that I have developed over 25 years of public service, including 12 years as a legislator in Harrisburg, to push for a fairer funding school funding formula from the Commonwealth.

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KNOX: Politicking for Schools

I am fully committed to spending significant political capital in lobbying for Philadelphia’s schools. This city deserves a mayor who will go to Harrisburg and Washington to fight for our schools. I will be that mayor.

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NUTTER: Politicking for Schools

As Mayor, I will work with Governor Rendell and the General Assembly to revise the state funding formula for public schools. The state funding formula was changed in 1991 to de-emphasize special needs of students and now bases the state’s payments on the previous year’s funding (plus some ad hoc calculations).

However, the Philadelphia School District has grown by more than 10,000 students in that time, which has resulted in an annual shortfall for Philadelphia. Since this change in the formula in 1991, the gap in per pupil spending between Philadelphia and the surrounding school districts has increased from $1,109 to $2,125. Over a 12-year school lifetime, the average suburban school district invests $25,000 more in preparing each student for the future than Philadelphia does. No wonder so many of our children are not as prepared to enter college or the job market or are simply dropping out. As Mayor, I will lead the effort to revise the state’s funding formula in a way that will provide additional funding for Philadelphia’s children. The state’s funding system should be based upon the true costs of preparing a student for success in today’s world – early childhood education, great teachers, small classes, tutoring support, a rigorous high school curriculum and safe schools. It should be set at a level that allows all school districts to reach success, with a fair share of local funding, by including these elements.

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BRADY: Politicking for Schools

As the State continues to control the Philadelphia School District, through their majority appointments on the School Reform Commission I believe it is incumbent upon them to fund our Districts’ success. As long as schools in the suburbs and other counties across the Commonwealth are spending thousands more per student, our kids remain at a disadvantage.

As Mayor, I will use all of my personal and political connections to advocate on behalf of our schools and the students they serve.

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GENERAL FUND FOR SCHOOLS

When asked whether a greater portion of the general fund should be allocated to the schools, there was a divided response, 57% of those who responded did not support using more of the general fund to support the schools while 38% stated that more funds should be spent.

Which of those positions best represents your thinking and why? If your budget allocations for schools would change, would you increase or decrease your funding and why?

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FATTAH: General Funds for Schools

Educating our children must be the top priority of our city. Currently we spend approximately $10,000 to educate each child in Philadelphia, while our suburban neighbors spend far more. Philadelphia must get more money from the Commonwealth for our public education, but we must also make education a higher priority within the city budget.

I have laid out a plan to lease Philadelphia International Airport, netting Philadelphia $1.9 billion which would be invested to produce an additional $150 to $160 million per year which will go to improving the educational achievement of all Philadelphians.

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KNOX: General Funds for Schools

I support a real estate tax shift to increase local funding of the school district. Beyond a tax shift, I intend to take responsibility for the millions of dollars in unreimbursed costs that City Hall has saddled on the school district.

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NUTTER: General Funds for Schools

I want to increase the amount of local dollars while decreasing the share of local dollars. As Mayor, I will work with City Council to pass legislation that will increase the allocation of the property tax revenues going to schools.

As a member of City Council, I supported then-Mayor Rendell’s request for an additional tax on drinks, which provided additional funding for the School District. As Mayor, I will work with Council to provide additional City funding for the School District, by changing the allocation of local property taxes that go to schools - from 58 percent to 60 percent. This would shift approximately $18 million per year to schools. These new educational resources will be evidence of the City's increasing financial commitment to the educational success of its children, and this commitment should be matched by a new state commitment and private sector/foundation funding of at least the same amount. As a result, $18 million in new city revenue will leverage a minimum of $36 million in total new resources for education.

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BRADY: General Funds for Schools

I believe it is a moral responsibility to have a viable public education system, and as Mayor I will lobby for additional funding at the state and federal level, to ensure that the School District has access to the resources necessary to create an effective educational experience for all of our students.

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EVANS: General Funds for Schools

I support the bill that has been introduced by City Councilman Wilson Goode, which calls for a two percent shift in property tax revenue from the General Fund to schools. This would give the School Reform Commission about $20 million more each year alone.

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CHARTER SCHOOLS

Asked whether charter schools have improved the educational opportunities in the Crosstown area 37% responded “I don’t know” but, of those who did express an opinion, 75% agreed that charter schools had improved the educational opportunities for children in the Crosstown area.

Do you support Charter Schools? If so, why? If not, why not?

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KNOX: Charter Schools

Charter schools have a role to play in our school system, but do not represent a workable solution on their own. I support charter schools that have perform well and meet high standards. As mayor, my primary focus will be working with the school district to ensure that all Philadelphia schools – charter and non-charter – offer a quality education, not a select few.

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