Wrangling over city schools continues

In Harrisburg, state officials can't quite understand why Philadelphia Mayor John Street is refusing to play ball.

The agreement Street made with former governor Tom Ridge in August was straightforward -- the state was charged with putting together a plan for aiding Philadelphia's ailing school district based on an analysis conducted by Edison Schools Inc., a for-profit education company.

With Edison involved, many believed a private takeover would be at least part of the solution. And after Gov. Mark Schweiker presented the state's proposal at the end of October, the mayor and governor would have a month to reach an agreement.

And almost two weeks ago, the governor presented his plan. Philadelphia's schools would be broken up into three tiers, with the worst performing schools transferred into the control of a private company, and even some of the best being placed under private supervision.

Now that Schweiker made the details of his plan public, Street has yet to schedule any meeting with state officials to discuss the issue. Last week, he even set up office in the headquarters of the Philadelphia School District, which would be sold under the state's plan, as an act of defiance against a private takeover.

According to Schweiker spokesman Steve Aaron, Street's recent actions are confusing, especially because it was Street who originally asked for help ending the woes of the debt-ridden district.

"It's frustrating," Aaron said. "To end up now in a situation where the governor has put his very thoughtful proposal together and to have the mayor say that he will not negotiate on that proposal as it now stands is a bit frustrating."

But the Street administration maintains that privatization of the central school management was never an option that was open for discussion.

"The mayor agreed to discussions around the possibility of privatizing small clusters of schools," said Luz Cardenas, Street's spokeswoman. "He didn't agree to the privatization of the central management of the school district."

But it is not just state officials who are puzzled by Street's hostile reception of this plan. Many members of City Council -- a body that has not been very receptive to the idea of privatization in the past -- said that they did not understand Street's surprise at the plan Schweiker presented.

"It's an interesting reaction to something that everyone always presumed would happen anyway," said Dan Fee, spokesman for Council President Anna Verna.

But for some members of Council, while the mayor's reaction has been a surprise, it is a welcome one. Councilman David Cohen said that he applauded the stand Street has taken against privatization.

"I think it has surprised a number of people because we thought that he had an understanding with Ridge," Cohen said.

But, Cohen added, "I think many people in Philadelphia are happy to see that Mayor Street is at least attempting to lead the fight against privatization and make sure that Philadelphia public schools do remain public."

However, not all members of Council are happy with Street's response to Schweiker's plan. John Hawkins, legislative aid for Councilman James Kenney, said that the mayor's actions are inappropriate given that it was the mayor who asked the state for help.

"We think it's very disingenuous of the mayor to launch into all these dramatics after he reached any agreement with the governor three months ago," Kenney said. "This is exactly why people don't have faith in their elected officials anymore."

And Councilman Frank Rizzo said that Schweiker's plan is a fair response to Street's plea for help.

"I think the state has pretty much responded to the mayor's request, 'do something,' and the state is doing that," Rizzo said.

Cardenas said Street had no plans to meet with Schweiker to discuss the issue "as long as Edison becoming the central manager of the school district remains on the table."

And although the state will technically take over the district at the end of this month if no agreement is reached, Schweiker spokesman Aaron said that the governor wants to reach a deal.

"I think both the governor and the mayor have said that this would work best as a partnership," Aaron said.

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