A cry of "shame" was heard from the audience as
the School Reform Commission announced Monday, during a suddenly scheduled
meeting, that it would break the contract with the teachers union and
unilaterally impose changes to its members' health benefits.
Following the sparsely attended morning meeting, many in
the local education community attacked the SRC's decision. There was an
afternoon protest held outside Gov. Tom Corbett's Philadelphia office. But
there were also statements of support for the action to reduce members' health
benefits, including from the Corbett administration in Harrisburg, the
Philadelphia School Partnership, and even former Gov. Ed Rendell.
Much of the anger in response to the move was directed at
the scant publicity given to the public about the meeting, which was announced
in the "legal notices" section of the Inquirer and Philly.com barely
24 hours beforehand.
Union chief vows
legal action
At an afternoon press conference, PFT president Jerry
Jordan also expressed his union's outrage at the district's decision to impose
contract terms rather than negotiate. "What happened this morning at the
School Reform Commission meeting was the perfect example of the total, total
disrespect of the teachers and other school employees who work for the School
District of Philadelphia."
He promised a court battle and pointed to the union's
success in previous legal action over contract terms being imposed.
Jordan also said the district's presentation was full of
"lies." He disputed the claim that the PFT's contract proposals would
have brought only $2 million in health care cost savings. Responding to another
"lie," he said, the fund balance in the union's Health and Welfare
Fund is "nowhere near" the $45 million reported by the district.
Earlier, retired teacher Lisa Haver, member of the
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, had also challenged the district's
claims. "It's an absolute lie to say that the PFT has not
negotiated," said Haver, the sole public speaker at Monday's meeting.
"This is an act of cowardice by an SRC that the people don't want
anymore."
For some, reaction to the move was focused on the
district's scarce resources. At a morning briefing, Superintendent William Hite
said, "What we're trying to do is get resources back into schools. We're
also trying to take the least onerous way to do that."
"I've said over and over again, 'We don't pay them
enough.' But I've also said, given the fiscal environment in which we are
facing, we all have to share in the sacrifice in order to provide our children
with what should be very basic resources, resources that children in other
places take for granted."
Susan Gobreski of Education Voters PA had a different
take on the resource question, saying that the "lack of resources in
public schools is toxic," and "we can't solve the district's problems
solely on the backs of teachers."
"We need to create stable and secure schools --
which includes supporting our educators with resources, both in the classroom
and through their compensation. We need to assure our teachers that the
district is fighting for them. Parents in this city are concerned about the
lack of commitment from public officials to provide a stable and adequate
system, and this kind of action does not help to calm the nerves of worried
parents."
Some blame Corbett
Helen Gym of Parents United for Public Education said
Monday's move was politically motivated by
Corbett, who continues to significantly trail opponent Tom Wolf in the
governor's race, according to polls. "This isn't even about education any
more," she said. "This is about democracy."
Corbett, in his statement, stressed that the PFT was
nearly alone among the state's school district unions in refusing to pay for
benefits or make salary concessions.
"For nearly two years many have been working to
provide a long-term funding solution for Philadelphia schools. The commonwealth
and the city have approved new sources of funding; the district has
dramatically cut its operating costs; and other school-related unions have
agreed to contract concessions.
"Philadelphia is one of only two districts across
the commonwealth that pays zero toward health care. It is now time that members
of the PFT join the thousands of public school employees across the state who
already contribute to their health care costs."
Corbett's acting secretary of education, Carolyn
Dumaresq, added: "Under the terms of the new contract, PFT member
contributions to health care are well in line with what teachers contribute in
districts across the commonwealth."
The American Federation of Teachers called the district's
action "Gov. Corbett's well-planned, 'Hail Mary' ambush."
"Clearly and recklessly, the SRC is trying to
provoke a strike -- since there have been no real negotiations since SRC Chair
Bill Green was appointed by the governor," said AFT president Randi
Weingarten and AFT Pennsylvania president Ted Kirsch in a joint statement.
In a brief statement, Wolf criticized Corbett for his
"chronic neglect" of Philadelphia schools and the SRC for taking
unilateral action, which he said "undermines the collaboration that we
need in order to develop a long term solution for schools in Philadelphia and
throughout Pennsylvania
'Least onerous
option'
The Philadelphia School Partnership's Mark Gleason's
response echoed Hite in saying that the SRC, faced with a range of difficult
choices, chose the "fairest and least onerous option" in seeking
additional funding for Philadelphia schools.
"The hard truth is that health care represents one
of the fastest-rising costs in education, and there can be no real solution to
school funding issues without controlling health care costs," he said.
In a coda to the day's events, Council President Darrell
Clarke remarked on what the move says about the state of Philadelphia's
schools.
"The actions of the School Reform Commission today
highlight the deep distrust among those who educate our children and those who
have been tasked by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to lead them. This
dysfunction is the last thing the School District of Philadelphia needs when we
on the local level are still scrambling for the most basic of resources to keep
our schools afloat."
Source: NewsWorks
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