http://axisphilly.org/article/school-funding-package-is-not-enough-to-avert-layoffs/
School funding package is not enough to avert layoffs
When I was a kid, my sisters went through a period where they liked to stage tea parties. They would lay out toy cups and plates and insist I join them for some nice tea and cake. Only there was no tea and there was no cake. Just empty plates.
Call it a failure of imagination, but I never saw the point of it and I was not the perfect guest.
In life, though, we do not always have the option of saying “This is stupid” and walking away.
Which explains the strangled statements of thanks from city and school district officials for the “financial aid package” offered by Harrisburg last week. The quotes are intentional.
The district – seeking to plug a $300 million hole in its budget – went to the Capitol and asked for $120 million. The Corbett administration responded by offering a wonderful buffet of aid that included a heavy dose of empty promises and wishful thinking, but little hard cash. To be exact, about $2 million.
To summarize, the governor pretended to help us and we pretended to be grateful.
Now, it is time to move on to the reality portion of the proceedings.
The reality is that the district does not have anywhere near the money needed to sustain its day-to-day operations. Even when you add in the city’s share — $30 million – and the ifs-ands-and buts package hobbled together by the state (a combination of loans and a one-time infusion of federal money) it only comes to $125 million.
Next year the situation will improve a bit. As part of the state aid package, the governor has generously decided to allow Philadelphians to tax themselves. A one-point increase in the sales tax was enacted in 2009 to help the city through the Great Recession was due to expire in June 2014. Corbett has proposed making it permanent, a move that will yield $120 million a year for the district.
Sorry for this blizzard of numbers. Theses recipes for imaginary cake can get complicated. But the bottom line is that the district is far from its goal of raising the $300 million it says it needs to rescind the 3,800 layoffs it made last month.
It says here in the script that this is the time when the district turns to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and says: Now it is your turn to make sacrifices (read: concessions).
But things went askew in the first two acts. The mantra of Superintendent William Hite has been that each party needed to make “shared sacrifices” to heal the district. The city’s share was $60 million; the state’s $120 million, the teachers union another $120 million-plus.
But, the city’s share fell short because the state legislature wouldn’t pass Mayor Nutter’s plan to impose a $2-a-pack cigarette tax in the city. And the state’s plan fell short because the state didn’t want to give $120 million.
In effect, Hite must now turn to the union and say: Well, we got screwed by the city and screwed by the state and so we are going to have to screw you even harder! Sorry about that!
Somehow I don’t think the teachers, not at all happy with the idea of givebacks to begin with, are going to rally around that message.
To raise the money needed, the union would have to agree to life-changing concessions. Even if teachers took a 10 percent cut in pay and agreed to pay 20 percent towards their health benefits, it would not raise enough money to fill the gap. Add the combo of state and city aid, plus major concessions by the teachers, and it would total about $100 million less than the magic $300 million the district says it needs this year.
The hammer Hite does have is the fate of the 3,800 laid off workers, many of whom are PFT members. If the PFT wants them back, it will have to truly sacrifice. It does not have the option of saying “This is really stupid,” and walking away because its existing contract with the district expires at the end of August.
If we wished, we could discuss all day the reasons why the district is so short of cash. Over our imaginary tea and cakes we could agree that it is due mostly to a retreat of the state and federal government from support of basic education. And we could lament that fact and shake our heads sadly and perhaps shed a tear over the unfairness of it.
But, we may have to realize that this is the new normal. That the odds of additional aid cascading from these sources are remote, certainly in the near term. And, finally, we may be forced to admit that the district we have today – in terms of size and expenditures – exceeds the money available.
This is a structural defect that will only worsen over time. The shortfall will repeat itself – again and again – until the deficit totals $500 million or even $1 billion.
This has to be dealt with today. Given the retreat of the state, dealing with it will be painful and difficult for the remaining parties involved. The teachers will have to sacrifice more; the city will have to pay more. The district will have to rethink its definition of basic services, even when it comes to such items as busing and policing.
There is no alternative.
On second thought, there is one other choice, and it is a tempting one if you are the district.
You could make some changes, get a few concessions and pretend they are enough. Announce that the crisis is over; resume business as usual and move on. In others words, hope that more aid will materialize sometime in the future, spend money you don’t have, let the deficit pile up and don’t worry about the consequences.
Then sit down and have some tea and cakes.
http://articles.philly.com/2013-07-04/news/40373434_1_house-republicans-payday-lending-city-schools#gHeDwiYIKj5Sqkfu.99
The biggest chunk of funding in the proposed $140 million rescue package for Philadelphia public education has stalled in Harrisburg, raising alarms about state aid for city schools and the prospects for rehiring nearly 4,000 laid-off employees.
The $45 million grant for schools, regarded as the most solid piece of Gov. Corbett's proposal to aid Philadelphia schools, was in the fiscal code that failed to clear the legislature Wednesday as the House and Senate fought over an unrelated proposal to allow payday lending.
Corbett urged legislators to act on the bill, which he said was needed to implement the state budget and fund Philadelphia schools.
"The legislative leaders need to resolve their differences and act responsibly to send the fiscal code to my desk for approval as soon as possible," Corbett said in a statement Wednesday evening.
State Budget Secretary Charles Zogby said leaving the bill to languish would reduce available funding by $235 million. It could force higher education cuts and hamper the state's ability to aid Philadelphia, he said.
Some observers said a delay could hinder the School Reform Commission from amending its budget to begin recalling some of the 3,859 employees laid off this week.
District spokesman Fernando Gallard would say only: "We are aware that there were a number of sections that need to be passed. We're hoping things are settled soon so we have a more clear picture."
Before adjourning for the summer Monday night, the House inserted language that would legalize payday lending, the controversial practice of providing short-term, high-interest loans for people who have no credit or the ability to obtain traditional bank loans.
The Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday removed the payday lending provision, which means the entire fiscal code must go back to the House for approval or to a joint conference committee.
House members are not scheduled to return to Harrisburg until the House reconvenes Sept. 23, putting the immediate prospects of the $45 million in jeopardy. The money stems from the federal government's forgiving part of a long-standing state debt.
Erik Arneson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware), said the fiscal code fight should not endanger the city's $45 million.
"It was never presented to us that if we got this done, say, on a Wednesday, then the schools would get the money on Friday," said Arneson. "Nor has anyone remotely suggested that a potential delay in action here could jeopardize the money."
He also noted that the state occasionally has advanced districts money.
Steve Miskin, spokesman for House Republicans, said he did not know when the House would return to decide its next step on the fiscal code. The chamber has a nonvoting session Monday - which it could turn into a voting session, although that appeared unlikely.
"We are going to work with the administration and the Senate on what the next steps need to be," said Miskin.
Also delayed were measures that would enable the city to crack down on delinquent taxpayers. Two were aimed at improved tax collections, one by allowing the city to put liens on properties outside Philadelphia to cover unpaid city taxes, the other to permit installment payments on real estate taxes.
A third bill, also still in limbo, aims to soften the impact of the city's revamped property tax system by authorizing gentrification relief for longtime property owners in neighborhoods with rapidly rising taxes. The bill would allow the city to determine tax relief to be based on age and income, targeting the tax break only to those who need it.
Mayor Nutter's spokesman, Mark McDonald, said the projected delay in passing the real-estate-tax related bills would not affect the city's projection of $28 million in additional delinquent-tax collections, one component of the new money promised to the School District.
Arneson said the Senate decided to put off the three property-tax-related bills until members return in September.
Some senators said all counties, not just Philadelphia, should be authorized to place liens on properties outside their own counties, and that could be addressed in September.
The $140 million package of city and state funds Corbett outlined this week was designed to help the School District with a $304 million shortfall.
His plan included a raising the projection from improved city tax collections to $30 million, $15.7 million in state basic-education funds, and the $45 million one-time state grant.
The grant arises from a $140 million debt the state owes the Department of Health and Human Services for overpayment of federal funds for adoption and foster care.
After lengthy negotiations, the federal government last week agreed to forgive the interest and penalties on the debt. Corbett has pledged to give the money to the city for the schools - provided the state education secretary finds that the district implements reforms and obtains union concessions for "fiscal stability, educational improvement, and operational controls."
The governor's plan also backed the extension of Philadelphia's extra 1 percent sales tax, which was set to expire next June. An extension would let the city borrow $50 million against future sales tax collections, which could generate $120 million a year for the district starting next year.
The extension of the 1 percent city sales tax was approved and awaits the governor's signature.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/03/arne-duncan-philadelphia-school-layoffs_n_3537952.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
Arne Duncan Bemoans Philadelphia School Layoffs, Student Loan Rate Hike
Posted: 07/03/2013 7:45 am EDT
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan deplored Philadelphia's decision to fire thousands of school staff members this week as "ultimately bad for our country."
Duncan, in a wide-ranging interview in his office Tuesday, said he has personally been in contact with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbin's (R) chief of staff, Philadelphia Schools Superintendent William Hite, and the local teachers union leader. Philadelphia failed to close its $304 million schools budget shortfall and imposed massive cuts, including this week's layoffs of school employees and an earlier decision closing more than 20 schools.
"I'm really really worried about the education that children in Philly are going to receive this upcoming school year," Duncan said.
"I'm concerned about a lack of commitment, a lack of investment in public education," Duncan said. "We're looking at the kinds of massive cuts and a loss to basic curricular offerings. … It's bad for kids, it's bad for education, it's bad for the city, it's bad for the state, it's ultimately bad for our country. When you see all counselors, social workers, assistant principals, drama, art, music -- everything being eliminated, what's left? What's left is not something that folks can feel proud of or good about."
Many of the schools Philadelphia is closing are being replaced by charter school management organizations, which are mostly privately run.
That's what's happening to Stephen Flemming, who has taught sixth grade for six years in a public school in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood. A charter school company is taking over his school's middle school, so next year, he'll be bumped down to fifth grade. "We really don't know why," Flemming said. "Our test scores have increased every single year. Not once have they gone down."
His school has also been cut to the bone. "It's dire," Flemming said. He's losing a vice principal, two secretaries, "virtually all of our support staff," lunch aides, counselors, and full-time nurses. Flemming has come to rely on the counselors in particular. "I've had kids burst out crying in the middle of class; it was helpful to know that there are people who are trained in helping them," he said. "Now I'll have to stop class to prevent an emotional breakdown."
Safety worker Justin Hale was among those laid off. Hale worked in three years in Motivation High School, working on bullying prevention and helping contain potentially violent spats. "They told us they didn't have the money in the budget for us," he said. His school also lost a nurse, a music teacher, a gym teacher, a secretary and an operations officer. "I was disheartened to know that they feel free to lay off teachers, lay off the safety staff, lay me off. We play a pivotal role in helping dissolve violent situations that enter the building. I was a little bit shocked."
On Monday night, Gov. Corbett's school funding package passed the Pennsylvania House. While the city superintendent supports the proposal, the $140 million it contains is too little and includes money that actually comes from the city.
Helen Gym, a public schools mother and advocate, is skeptical. "The crisis is so bad, it's impossible to explain," she said. "It's like at the state level, it's nothing but a deliberate starvation of one of the nation's largest school districts."
Duncan also commented on the failure of Congress to prevent interest rates on new federally subsidized Stafford student loans from doubling July 1.
"I'm still hopeful and confident Congress will come together and fix it," Duncan said, "But the fact is they left yesterday without it being fixed." When pressed, Duncan didn't specify which of several legislative fixes proposed in the House and Senate the administration prefers.
Duncan said he found "fascinating" a Connecticut judge's ruling that ousted Paul Vallas, the superintendent of schools in Bridgeport, Conn. Vallas, a former Philadelphia superintendent, was ordered to step down from his job because he doesn't have the proper credentials.
"Student loan interest rates -- that doesn't get fixed," Duncan said. "The crisis in terms of quality and perhaps alarmingly inferior education in Philly -- that doesn't get fixed. But the one thing that does happen yesterday is that a superintendent is told he can't hold his job. That's fascinating to me."
http://www.pft.org/blog.aspx?id=118
| Governor Corbett Sends a Clear Message to Philly Students and Educators Harrisburg's school financing plan places the burden of fixing the deficit on the backs of Philly taxpayers and school employees. 7/3/2013 Despite the efforts of the Harrisburg legislators who fought for additional funding for Philadelphia’s schools, what has come from the state capitol is an education funding package that minimizes the state’s constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and efficient public education. Most of the revenues in this new funding package come from estimated projections of revenues collected from Philadelphia taxpayers, and there is still no plan for avoiding future budget deficits. Harrisburg’s latest offering leaves many uncertainties about how our schools will look in September, and who will be staffing them. What is clear is that the Corbett Administration feels very little responsibility for helping our district through this financial crisis, choosing to let Philadelphia’s taxpayers fill in any holes in the budget. The final package from the city and state totals $127 million for our schools. Through draconian pay cuts and other concessions, the men and women who work in Philadelphia’s public schools are now being asked to contribute $133 million, which is more money than the city and state combined. Though our teachers and school employees bear no responsibility for this budget deficit, they are the ones being asked to sacrifice their salaries to fix it, as if they haven’t already been offsetting fiscal shortfalls in their own schools. Most already work in schools with bare bones classroom budgets. To supplement their meager $100 annual allotment for classroom supplies, they pay hundreds or thousands of dollars of their own money every year for paper, materials, food and other items for their students. These same employees are now being asked to take salary reductions of 5 to 13 percent. This would put Philadelphia educators’ compensation even further behind surrounding districts (they already make 19 percent less than their counterparts in Bucks and Montgomery County), which will make attracting and retaining teachers a nightmare for our district. Worse, these proposed pay cuts would mean educators would be forced to decrease their own in-classroom spending. Thousands of students would no longer benefit from the inherent generosity of teachers and school staff. As we always have, we will continue to work with the school district toward a contract that serves the best interests of our schools, students and educators. The district’s financial troubles are real, and they are staggering. Our schools have been under-resourced for years. That’s precisely why our school employees willingly make great personal and financial sacrifices for their students every day. But they should not be considered a funding source to be tapped into after years of fiscal mismanagement. That is why the current negotiations are about more than today’s budget crisis. We don’t have the luxury of negotiating quick fixes that will leave us in the same predicament a year from now. The agreement we reach with the school district will establish Philadelphia’s educational foundation beyond the next fiscal year. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers wants a contract that lays out a long-term vision of quality education for all children. Our city has been through a lot in the past few weeks, and I hope everyone will be find the time to engage in some enjoyable summertime activities on this 4th of July holiday. Those of us who work in public education will need the rest—the real fireworks will undoubtedly start after Independence Day!
Parents, Staff in Phlly Break 15-Day Fast for Safe Schools
July 1, 2013
Every day for two weeks, parents and school staff have fasted and rallied on the steps of Governor Tom Corbett’s Philadelphia office, calling for funding that would allow the city’s school district to restore student safety staff to its lunchrooms, hallways and schoolyards.
On July 1, on the heels of a newly approved Pennsylvania budget and Governor Corbett’s support for a Philly school funding package, those who have gone without food or juice for days broke their fast on the steps of the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) offices.
“Today we are celebrating an important, if incomplete, victory for our kids,” said faster Nicole Hunt, who had personally gone 8 days without food to bring attention to the dire situation facing Philadelphia schools. “The state budget does not do all that it should do for our schools, but we know that SDP can choose to prioritize student safety.”
The Fast for Safe Schools was sparked by the layoff of 1,202 student safety staff, also known as noon-time aides. The parents and school staff who fasted – and the political, religious and community leaders who supported them – were concerned that students will be in danger without these staff in the schools.
Though SDP has not yet committed to recall the student safety staff, the fasters were confident that SDP too would soon act to prioritize safe schools.
“We fully expect SDP to bring student safety staff back into our schools,” said Roberta Thomas. “If they don’t, we’ll be right back on these steps.”
Faster Juanita Jones added, “Though we have gone without food for two weeks, we feel strong. We have been overwhelmed by the support Philadelphia has shown us. We are breaking our fast today eager to work with others who care about our kids to bring lasting success to Philadelphia’s schools.”
Words of support also rolled in from many of the local elected officials, some of whom undertook their own solidarity fasts over the course of the past 15 days. Learn more at www.realfoodrealjobs.org.
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