OUR OPINION: Pedro Ramos, Good And Faithful Public Servant

Many are the public servants who have devoted their lives to making Philadelphia a better and safer city, and doing so without fanfare. They rise to the occasion and truly take on the yoke asked of them, move through problems and restore order.

They don’t yell. They listen a lot, and in the listening take a lot of unnecessary public abuse, especially the in-your-face kind from people who should know better, but have lost their sense of decorum through the levels of frustration they feel with their government.

We are sad to bid farewell to Pedro A. Ramos, who has steered the School Reform Commission as his chairman. We, too, will miss his dedicated staff, all who reflected the work ethic of Ramos.

School Superintendent William Hite said it for many of us when he commented, “Pedro has been a stalwart supporter of the School District and our students, and he will be missed. He brought critical institutional knowledge as a former student, the parent of two public school graduates, the former President of the School Board of Philadelphia, a civic leader, and a business leader. This unique combination of experiences and perspectives will be difficult to replace.”

But family comes first and his was calling to him. It was his time to heed their needs. We trust this isn’t the last we see of this public servant.

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