OUR OPINION: Corbett’s Last Chance

The key to the survival of Philadelphia as a meaningful city is the quality of education available to its children. That’s why we share, support, and join hands with PFT President Jerry Jordan who summed up the school crisis best with these remarks:

“Like every other move made by the School District recently, the latest layoffs make it clear the budget will be balanced on the backs of school employees and the students who depend on them.

“By eliminating non-instructional personnel who support our schoolchildren, these layoffs will have the biggest impact on the students who require the most in terms of support when they’re in school. In a city with a large number of families living in poverty, our schools should be providing more support and resources to the children that represent the future of Philadelphia. These layoffs are yet another step in the wrong direction.”

We also understand the stress within the School District’s administration which announced cutting another 76 employees from central and regional administrative offices, in addition to the 3,780 already served layoff notices.

The layoffs are the result of both a $304 million deficit in the District’s operating budget, and more than $134 million in reductions to federal grants such as Title I and IDEA.

For Gov. Tom Corbett and the Republican-dominated General Assembly to proudly announce another on-time budget without taxes is to rub salt into the wounds of every student, employee, teacher who is touched by the Commonwealth’s public-education system. If the Governor hopes to win a second term, he must engineer a financial bailout for all the public schools in duress due to his financial policies – and do so now before his reelection campaign gets underway in December. Otherwise, he should begin to clear out his office.

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