Mayor Parker names the 13 people who will help choose the next Philadelphia school board

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has taken the first step in choosing a new school board, naming 13 people to review applications and interview candidates for the nine-member body responsible for overseeing the system that educates Philadelphia’s children.

The Education Nominating Panel consists of:

Robin Cooper, president of the union that represents Philadelphia School District principals; Will Carter, an executive with the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce; Kimberly Wilson, president of the Home and School Association at Hill-Freedman World Academy, a district school; Atiyah Harmon, executive director of the nonprofit Black Girls Love Math; Andy Toy, policy director at Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations; and Catherine Hicks, president of the Philadelphia NAACP.

Also, Otis Bullock Jr., a former city official who now leads a community-based organization; Harold Epps, chair of the Community College of Philadelphia; the Rev. Bonnie Camarda, vice chair of Nueva Esperanza; Dee Dukes, vice chair of the Philadelphia Crosstown Coalition; Bishop Louis Felton, pastor at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ and president of Black Clergy of Philadelphia; Ira Goldstein, senior advisor at The Reinvestment Fund; and Dawn Chavous, a charter school advocate and consultant.

Bullock was named chair of the panel, Hicks as vice chair, Toy as secretary, and Wilson as assistant secretary.

Camarda is the only veteran; she served on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s education nominating panel. Bullock is married to state Rep. Donna Bullock (D., Phila.), and Chavous is married to Council President Kenyatta Johnson.

The new panel met Thursday night at City Hall despite objections from some community members who thought the process was not adequately advertised or explained. No public comment was accepted.

City officials including Vanessa Garrett Harley, director of the Office of Children and Families, briefed the nominating panel on their duties — essentially helping to choose the people who will run a $4.5 billion organization responsible for the education of 200,000 children in traditional public and charter schools.

“I can’t think of anything more important than that,” Garrett Harley said.

Applications for the school board are now open, and will be accepted through Feb. 15.

The panel has until March 12 to review applications, conduct interviews, and then present to Parker the names of 27 potential board members: three candidates for each of the nine board seats. The panel will meet on that date to vote.

Once Parker makes her nine selections from among the 27, City Council must approve them.

The mayor, in a statement, said the nominating panel’s convening was “an exciting day. We seek individuals who are committed to creating safe, modern spaces for our children and ensuring students are prepared for post-secondary education, careers and lifelong learning.”

The terms of every member of the current board —all chosen by Kenney — are technically expired, but they will all serve until a new board is seated.

Parker can ask any or all members of the current board to serve on her school board, and board president Reginald Streater and vice president Mallory Fix-Lopez have indicated they hope to remain.