Funding cuts for Phila. schools

The School Reform Commission decided yesterday what action to take with dozens of privately run Philadelphia schools by retaining private managers but giving them less funding.

The six private managers, which include Penn, will now receive $500 from the district per student, a cut in $250 for the private companies, but an increase of $50 for Penn and Temple University.

The agencies, known as educational management organizations, also include Temple University and Edison Schools Inc. and were brought on by the commission five years ago to manage struggling district schools in an attempt to create a "dynamic educational marketplace" to foster innovation throughout the city, Chief Academic Officer Gregory Thornton said at yesterday's meeting.

However, with the EMOs' contracts drawing to a close and the district facing a $70 million deficit for the fiscal year, activists eager to save money have taken aim at the private providers, saying they operate with no accountability and, citing several controversial studies, don't raise educational levels any better than their district-run counterparts.

EMOs "eviscerate" the district's capability to reform itself, parent Helen Gym, a 1990 Penn graduate, said at the commission meeting, adding that the district should consider getting rid of private managers as a way to save money, rather than cut teachers and support staff, as the commission has said it would.

"The achievement gains haven't been worth the money," she said later after the meeting.

Other parents were skeptical and, at a later meeting for public comment, wanted the commission to produce data regarding how much money it would take to bring district schools up to acceptable academic standards.

Another alternative to deal with the EMOs running city schools, which would have involved returning 12 of the lowest performing schools back to city control and keeping funding levels the same for the others, failed in a vote.

This would not have affected the two schools Penn supports in this way because both have achieved "adequate yearly progress," a threshold of academic achievement established by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and thus aren't among the low performers.

The University provides teacher training and curriculum development to Alexander Wilson and Lea elementary schools, located in Southwest and West Philadelphia, respectively.

Nancy Streim, associate dean of the Graduate School of Education, and Ann Kreidle, a GSE planning coordinator, failed to return multiple calls for comment over several days on this issue. The two are closely involved in the assistance Penn gives to these schools.

Separately, the commission agreed to a $40,000 contract with Penn to provide community outreach during its search for a new schools chief to replace the recently departed CEO Paul Vallas.

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