Teachers Protest Budget Cuts At Philadelphia Public Schools
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers spent part of this morning rallying outside of public schools across the city.
They called it "Turn Up For Truth" -- handing out fliers to counter what they say are misleading statements from the SRC following Monday morning's meeting in which they voted to cancel the PFT contract and force members to pay a percentage of their health care premiums.
Stephanie Mathis , a teacher at Kelly Elementary, has been in the Philadelphia district for about 20 years. She says she's willing to contribute but their wages have been frozen, and she pays $500 to $700 out her own pocket for school supplies.
"And it's assumed now, it's expected now, and it's gotten higher and higher. If I want to make copies, I'm buying my own copy paper. That's what it's come to. People don't realize. People in the suburbs would never stand for this," she says.
It was not a work stoppage of any kind, as teachers went into their classrooms on time.