Food Workers at Phila. Schools Get New, Retroactive Contract
Cafeteria workers and noontime aides at Philadelphia public school have agreed to a new contract that calls for wage increases and work rule changes.
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Cafeteria workers and noontime aides at Philadelphia public school have agreed to a new contract that calls for wage increases and work rule changes.
Schools superintendent Wiliam Hite says the cash-strapped school district is simply exploring ways to expand student health services without spending more money.
Nutter has begun a series of school visits he hopes will highlight the unique programs that would benefit from an increase in city and state funding.
A change in kindergarten registration procedures at a Philadelphia public elementary school has drawn the expected protest by some parents whose kids were accepted, then rejected, for admission next year.
"The policy is very clear -- it's first come, first served," says a school district official who uncovered irregularities.
Low-performing schools in Pennsylvania could wind up in a state-run district, under a new proposal in Harrisburg. Philadelphia superintendent William Hite says that could put additional financial pressure on Philadelphia.
Rob Dubow, the mayor's finance director, says raising property taxes by nine percent is the only way the city can raise the additional $103 million the school district needs next year.
Each Lindback award comes with a $20,000 stipend to be spent on the school.
Going class-to-class with city leaders, Wolf chatted with students and teachers at Kensington Health Sciences Academy, learning about the unique programs offered there for the more than 400 students.
Right now, the district's $2.9-billion preliminary budget for next year is short, according to CFO Matt Stanski.
The Philadelphia-based Food Trust heads the new initiative, called "Get Hype Philly."
The School District of Philadelphia is launching city wide literacy programs aimed at students from pre-K through 4th grade.
Lisa Haver, co-founder of a group that opposes more charter schools in Philadelphia, says school police confiscated her signs at the SRC's February 18th meeting.
Under the Republican-backed update to the current law, now nearly two decades old, charter schools would get their funding directly from the state, rather than having money pass through local school districts.
"By automating the process, getting it online, we're really very much attempting to provide much better customer service to our parents," says Karyn Lynch, the school district's chief of student services.
All School District of Philadelphia schools and Archdiocesan high schools and Catholic elementary schools in the city are closed on Friday.
Nutter delivered his final budget to City Council by asking the lawmakers to hike property taxes 9.3 percent.
The School Reform Commission tonight is deciding whether to approve any or all of the 39 applications for new charter schools in the city of Philadelphia.
A Philadelphia school district spokesman says one student brought a substance which could possibly have been crack cocaine into the Mitchell Elementary School, 5500 Kingsessing Avenue.
An influential group is offering some big cash, to make it easier for the Philadelphia School District to approve applications for new charter schools.
The school district is offering a starting salary of $45,360 for applicants with no experience, and more for those with experience.
Justin Hall, director of student services at the K-8 Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School, says the students are exposed to an array of high school options.
The production is called Cinema Drive. It uses 3D video and interactive questions to teach teens the dangers they will face behind the wheel.
In a major victory for the Philadelphia public schoolteachers' union, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled that the School Reform Commission cannot cancel the teachers' contract.
"People are losing their homes, they're losing their vehicles, they're not able to take care of their children," says former Palmer staffer Sultan Ashley. "They don't have medical coverage."
