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A secret report, based on a poll of Pennsylvanians, proposing that Gov. Tom Corbett mount a high-profile attack on the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers was funded by the self-described school reform group PennCAN, according to pollsters at Public Opinion Strategies.
The secret poll, which suggested that Corbett exploit the Philadelphia schools crisis to attack the teachers union in an effort to boost his faltering reelection prospects, was first reported by City Paper Wednesday afternoon.
Notably, PennCAN supports school vouchers, which use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition.
PennCAN, which has not yet responded to requests for comment, is part of an expanding universe of corporate-inspired "school reform" groups in Pennsylvania. PennCAN, like many such groups, has deep-pocketed donors.
A new advertisement produced for the state's United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents most of the 3,000 Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board employees, has stooped to using images of a child mourning her father's death in an attempt to halt efforts to abolish Pennsylvania's antiquated government alcohol monopoly.
Findings from a secret poll conducted by a prominent Republican firm proposes that Gov. Tom Corbett attack the Philadelphia teachers union to overcome widespread opposition to his education policies and bolster his faltering re-election prospects. "Taking on this fight moves Corbett's approval scores on handling education" and "boosts his overall approval numbers."
The state-run Philadelphia School Reform Commission has passed a doomsday budget cutting 3,859 teachers, aides, administrators and other staff after shuttering 24 schools. To close a $304 million budget gap and restore cuts, the School District is asking for $60 million in city aid, $120 million from the state, and $133 million from unions — mainly teachers.
The poll suggests that Corbett, a governor who has long suffered from low public-approval ratings, condition state aid to Philadelphia schools on major union concessions and kickstart his hobbled reelection campaign with a high-profile fight against the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
The poll, which City Paper obtained last night, was conducted between April 30 and May 2 and reported a margin of error plus or minus 4 percent statewide and 4.9 percent for the Philly suburbs, where an extra sample was taken.
Gov. Corbett has proposed pension reform as a vital cost saving measure for Pennsylvania. So why are professional number crunchers now saying it could actually cost taxpayers $50.8 billion over the next 30 years?
State Treasurer Rob McCord said in a conference call this afternoon that the proposed pension reform would both “increase the insecurity of a large number of Pennsylvanians and decrease the money flowing into Pennsylvania’s economy.” Corbett’s bill would cut state contributions to pensions, lower retiree benefits, and convert all future state workers’ retirement plans from a defined benefit system to a defined contribution system, like the 401(k) plans many private businesses offer their employees. McCord said defined contribution plans suffer from a “triple whammy” of higher investment management fees, lower investment returns, and shorter longevity of funds.
Today, City Council laid out what it hopes the city can do for Philly schools, in answer to the School District's request of $60 million in city funds and $120 million from the state to cover a $304 million budget gap. The answer: $74 million through a cigarette tax hike that still requires state approval, and increased tax collections that City Council President Darrell Clarke not long ago termed "speculative." Clarke said a liquor by the drink tax, which also requires state authorization, would not be on the table this year. But he wants to get the state approval, so that the Council can have the tax at their disposal in case it's needed next year.
He also said he hasn't forgotten about a proposed change to the state Uniformity Clause, which could enable the city to tax different properties at different rates — such as putting a higher tax on businesses than on residences.
And then Clarke said something really interesting: "Currently, 55 percent of City property taxes goes to the School District of Philadelphia, which has been under state control for more than a decade. And 45 percent of revenues raised from property taxes goes to City services and functions, including public safety. Meanwhile, City Council continues to have zero representation on the School Reform Commission. I anticipate meaningful discussions on this matter.”
The more immediate question is: Will the state get the schools over the finish line? The current proposed budget — including the layoffs of 1,200 school safety staff — would not allow schools to operate safely, numerous counselors, teachers and principals have told City Paper in recent days.
No matter what happens, the schools would be coming from a bleak baseline. A new report from Unite Here finds that there were more than 10,000 serious incidents in schools in the past school year, more than half in elementary schools. "Reported incidents included a total of 1,330 assaults, 973 cases of disorderly conduct with injury, 472 weapons infractions, 704 threats and 13 rapes and attempts," according to the report.
A weekly series of foul-mouthed investigations into empty lots, dead-ass proposals and other design phenomena in Philadelphia. Find more stories like this at Philaphilia.blogspot.com.
825 Walnut Street
This is the kind of Dead-Ass Proposal that really pisses me the fuck off. A highrise in a location that sorely needs it, a project that would have had huge success for multiple reasons, a replacement for a decades-old surface parking lot. This would have been a major landmark for the city and world record-breaker. What a disappointment.
“There is definite, concrete evidence of unlawful behavior on the part of the NSA and other intelligence agencies,” says Zach Taylor, a 23-year-old web developer who is organizing a Restore the Fourth rally in Philadelphia. “This is a criminal policy that is blatantly unconstitutional. It threatens each and every American personally in a way that few other policies do.” Taylor, like thousands of other activists across the country, sees recent revelations surrounding the NSA’s unlawful access to private citizens’ phone and internet records as an opportunity to act on his beliefs about privacy rights guaranteed by the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution. “It would be unfortunate to see this opportunity for dramatic change in government policy to go to waste.”
Patricia Norris hasn’t eaten today — and she won't. She and three other parents and school district employees began a hunger strike this morning to protest the 3,700 layoffs announced by the Philadelphia School District. A food-service assistant at Cayuga Elementary, where she has worked for almost three years, Norris hasn't been laid off yet but worries she could still receive a pink slip. To avoid feeling hungry, “I chew the water,” said Norris. Here’s hoping the strike, organized by United Here Local 634, will be a more effective plan of attack.
Another striker, Marcia Teagot, a food service manager, said she was still employed as of last Friday. But since the pink slips were sent out recently, she still isn’t sure whether she has kept her job
This afternoon, students in South Philadelphia's Jackson Elementary School celebrated the completion of a 5,000-square-foot mosaic completed with help from COSACOSA Art At Large, a nonprofit organization, and support from Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
Leveraging outside programs like this one to enrich students' experience has been a key strategy for Principal Lisa Kaplan. But she isn't sure how she could possibly pull off something like this again next year.
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A last-minute School District plan to allow the Sustainability Workshop to take over West Philadelphia High School's automotive building has angered community members.
"If you are going to close 24 schools, why do you have to take one from West?" asks Philadelphia Student Union Director Hiram Rivera.
Principal Mary Sandra Dean, according to critics' accounts, was only told about the takeover between two weeks and one month ago. Dean did not respond to a request for comment. Rivera says that Deputy Superintendent for Career and Technical Education David M. Kipphut told Dean, almost as an aside, "Hey, you're going to lose your automotive building," as she was leaving a meeting.
Marcus Gary, chairman of the West Philly High School Advisory Council and parent of an auto academy student, complains that "this was an undercover deal already made."
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