Kenney Narrows Field For Key School Position
by Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Kenney says he hopes to fill an open seat on the School Reform Commission before a key charter school vote next month.
The governor appoints three members to the five-member School Reform Commission. The mayor gets the other two.
Mayor Kenney says he's considering three or four people for the seat held by Sylvia Simms, whose term on the School Reform Commission expires this month.
"We're in the process of doing that now and we've been doing that for a couple of months now. I'm not at liberty to divulge any names," he said.
Kenney says he expects to appoint someone to the four-year term before the SRC's February 8th special meeting to vote on four new charter school applications.
Kenney says he'd prefer an educator.
"I'd really like to see someone who has actually been a practitioner in education -- someone who's been in the classroom or has run a school. To have somebody with boots-on-the-ground experience as to what the classroom and school dynamic is, as opposed to someone who's academic," Kenney said.
There's a second open seat on the five-member SRC. Governor Wolf has picked Estelle Richman, but her nomination is awaiting state Senate confirmation.