City Officials Trying To Find Money For School District
City Council members are wondering how they and the mayor will come up with an extra $60-million for the school district and whether the state will do its share.
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City Council members are wondering how they and the mayor will come up with an extra $60-million for the school district and whether the state will do its share.
The digital divide is a very real thing in Philadelphia.
The new initiative, called Philadelphia Virtual Academy (PVA), will offer online learning for students in grades 6 – 12, starting in time for the 2013-2014 school year.
Uninsured and underinsured Philadelphia children can get their eyes checked for free on "Give Kids Sight Day."
School District of Philadelphia spoikeswoman Deirdre Darragh says they simply wanted to give parents a little more time, so the deadline has been extended to Friday, April 19th.
The man who helped both the Philadelphia Gas Works and the Philadelphia School Disrict address their financial woes has been chosen by Mayor Nutter to take charge of going after the city's many tax deadbeats.
These are the first heads to roll in the investigation of 53 Philadelphia schools that has been going on for more than a year.
City Council president Darrell Clarke and others on Council questioned the mayor's finance director, Rob Dubow, over whether the mayor himself will present a plan to raise an extra $60 million for the school district, or whether that political hot potato will fall in the lap of Council.
The mayor's proposed budget contains no extra money for the school district. But members of the School Reform Commission said last week they need $60 million more from the city.
The School District of Philadelphia is hosting students from 33 high schools and middle schools in our area for an annual computer fair and competition.
Chief Inspector Cynthia Dorsey, in her written testimony, said the investigation by the Office of School Safety reveals "serious security breaches at the (girl's) school."
With two dozen schools permanently closing in June, about ten thousand Philadelphia students will attend new public schools next year.
The chambers of Philadelphia City Council were packed to the rafters with angry union members as mayor Michael Nutter prepared to unveil his new budget.
Over the loud protest of hundreds of parents and teachers, the School Reform Commission voted to close 23 Philadelphia public schools.
As of Thursday night, 19 protesters have already been arrested in protests outside the school district's headquarters - including the president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Philadelphia schools superintendent William Hite on Friday put himself in the shoes of schoolkids who would have a much longer walk if their school is permanently closed.
Students at Carroll High School, in the city's Port Richmond neighborhood, formed a human chain today across the front of their building, to protest the district's plan to permanently close their school and 28 others.
Local NAACP president Jerry Mondesire says repeated attempts to contact the mayor have been met with silence.
The budget for the coming year -- adopted Monday by the Parking Authority's board -- predicts that the on-street division will see a $4 million decline in net revenue -- essentially profit that is forwarded to the city and school district.
Superintendent William Hite said the district can't afford to maintain underutilized schools. "The district's financial challenges jeopardize its survival."
Two years ago, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia filed a class-action lawsuit against the School District of Philadelphia on behalf of the 1,600 children with autism in grades K through 8.
One notable school coming off of the school closure list is Strawberry Mansion High School, which will remain open.
Opponents of the Philadelphia School District's plan to close 37 more public schools at the end of this school year delivered a special Valentine's Day message to the School Reform Commission.
Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cedarbrook has wrapped up a series of meetings at many of the 37 schools on the school district's closure list.
In an address this week to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, schools superintendent William Hite said the district is neogtiating partnerships with local universities to get supplemental health services into schools.
