Bare bones school budget protested

Some 500 students, parents, teachers and school workers rallied outside Philadelphia School District headquarters on May 31 to protest the continuing massive attacks on public education. Then, they packed the hearing room and an alternate overflow area, which displayed live video coverage of the school board meeting.

Holding “Students Matter Most” and “Don’t Close Our School” signs, the raucous crowd disrupted the hearing often with collective chants of “No Confidence” and “Save Our Schools.”

Helen Gym of Parents United for Public Education and Delores Solomon of the Home and School Council read a roll call of 54 parent organizations, representing 49 schools, that had signed a “No Confidence” petition against the state-appointed School Reform Commission.

Despite a cacophony of boos, school officials eventually voted for a “bare-bones” budget. This means that most schools next year will have no full-time nurse, fewer counselors and unstaffed libraries. Some sports, music, art and other extracurricular activities are being reduced or eliminated. Recent layoffs would remain in place, while many schools are in danger of being closed.

For the $2.5 billion budget, the SRC would borrow $200 million, adding to the $261 million — more than 10 percent of the operating budget — on annual debt service. It also depends on $94 million more from the city’s coffers, not yet approved by Philadelphia’s City Council.

The District plans to privatize maintenance and transportation services, eliminating 2,700 workers represented by Service Employees Union Local 32BJ.

Workers World Party distributed a flier calling for the abolition of the SRC, community control of education and full governmental funding of schools, not prisons and wars.