Unionized Phila. teachers canvass for Wolf - and against Corbett

Leah Hopkins had never volunteered for a political campaign. But on Saturday, she walked up and down 56th Street in the city's Overbrook section, knocking on doors to talk to voters about the Pennsylvania gubernatorial election.

"I am adamant," Hopkins said, "about getting him out of office."

Him is Gov. Corbett, a target of much revulsion in the ranks of city teachers. Hopkins is one of dozens of members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers who have signed up to volunteer with the Tom Wolf campaign, canvassing voters to drum up support for the Democratic nominee for governor.

Teachers' unions, of course, are typically strong - and generous - supporters of Democratic candidates. In the campaign-finance cycle running from May 6 through June 9 alone, the PFT's Committee to Support Public Education donated $100,000 to the Wolf campaign.

But the toss-Corbett-out-of-office movement among Philadelphia teachers feels personal. Many say they see Corbett himself as the reason their schools are chaotic, their classes too large, and their supplies inadequate.

Education funding to public schools has been slashed by more than $1 billion on the current governor's watch, noted Stephanie Robinson, a teacher at Barry Elementary in West Philadelphia. (Corbett, who has repeatedly publicly blasted PFT members for not contributing toward their health insurance, maintains that he has granted record amounts of aid to city schools. But, PFT and other opponents contend that although technically school aid under Corbett has risen above Rendell-era levels, the rise is minimal, it's four years later, and costs have risen considerably - all adding up to a crippling blow for Philadelphia.)

Wearing red PFT or blue "Educators for Wolf" shirts, the teachers who fanned out around Overbrook High School on Saturday spoke with urgency about the damage they say Corbett has inflicted on Philadelphia classrooms.

"Paper is such a commodity. Teachers are already asking parents to bring in reams of paper so we can make copies," Robinson said. Barry, a large K-8 elementary school with more than 800 students, has just one noontime aide and one nonteaching assistant to monitor students.

"I see a tremendous difference since Corbett took office," said Veronica Clymer, a technology teacher at MYA, a middle school in West Philadelphia. "Services that were available to children dried up overnight."

Catrina Allen works as an aide in an autistic support classroom at Clara Barton Elementary in Feltonville. Last year, her classroom, capped at eight students, had 11 children, all of them with intense special needs. This year, the class size is back down to eight children, but Allen still worries.

"We're doing them a disservice," said Allen, who knocked on doors with Hopkins and Robinson. "We need classes to be smaller so kids can get the attention they need."

Hopkins, a 27-year veteran, said her school, Thurgood Marshall Elementary in Olney, was so short-staffed that children there had no recess last year. There were no adults to watch them.

"The work is just not able to get done, and we're all overwhelmed," Hopkins said. "We've had major cuts in our budget, and we need a major change."

Source: Philly.com