The Philadelphia School District lost yet another top leader yesterday, as School Reform Commission Chairman James Nevels - who has been at the governing board's helm since the district was taken over by the state in December 2001 - stunned staff with his resignation.
Nevels, 55, said the decision to leave, which came 16 months before his term was to expire, was his alone, but there was widespread speculation that Gov. Rendell wanted him out.
The district soon will have a new chief executive officer, and the city a new mayor, Nevels said, so it makes sense to have a new board chair who can come in fresh, and help pick and jell with a new team.
"Now is the time," Nevels said during an interview at the Center City office of the Swarthmore Group, a financial firm he heads. "It's time because I continue to be and always will be motivated by what's good for children."
Nevels' departure, which will come after schools open in September, means the 174,000-student district will have lost its chief executive officer, its chief academic officer, its board chair, and its teachers union president all in the span of three months.
His resignation came just days after the district celebrated a fifth straight year of test score improvement at a press conference where Nevels called on principals to deliver a sixth year.
But soon after his announcement, speculation began swirling inside and outside district headquarters that Rendell had asked Nevels to step aside - an assertion that Rendell staffers declined to comment on.
Rendell in June said he was displeased with Nevels and other commission members following the bitter resignation of Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas, whom Rendell supported. The governor was upset when the commission made several interim appointments, including an acting chief executive, without consulting him. And he blamed the commission for the district's deficit - now estimated at $80 million - as much as he did Vallas.
With Nevels aside, Rendell will have the power to appoint a new chairman, giving him a direct pipeline into the district's policy-making. He currently has one other appointee on the five-member board.
Rendell's spokesman did not return a call yesterday to comment on how quickly he would appoint a new chairman or if he had any candidates in mind.
His office issued a statement in which he praised Nevels and looked ahead at the challenges the district faces in leadership.
"There is no question that losing Paul Vallas and Jim Nevels in such a condensed time frame presents a great challenge for the district and all those who want to continue this positive momentum," he said.
"The difference today, compared to five years ago, is that due to Jim's leadership, a firm foundation has been built that will enable district and governance leaders to ... take the district to the next level. The hard part was building the foundation, and I thank Jim Nevels for getting the heavy lifting done."
The news brought mixed reactions from parents, teachers and education advocates.
"We need a fresh start," said Greg Wade, president of the Home and School Council, the district's parent group. "I really believe he needed to step down."
Some parent groups had become increasingly frustrated with the district in recent months, saying they were not being consulted about major decisions.
Parents United for Public Education called for the next chairman to rebuild public trust, seek more input from parents, reconsider the hiring of outside companies to run district schools, and renew a commitment to academic and fiscal accountability.
Shelly Yanoff, executive director of Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth, said Nevels was choosing to leave at the right time.
"Mr. Nevels is very gracious. His ability to calm troubled waters held him in good stead for a long time, but it masked a lot of controversy and fissures," she said.
Jacqueline Barnett, Mayor Street's education secretary, declined to say whether she thought Nevels should be leaving.
"It is time to get real with the amount of money the school district has, the amount it does not have, the revenue and expenditures, and how we will steady and balance this budget," she said.
Michael Nutter, the Democratic candidate for mayor, said he planned to talk with Rendell about the appointment of new leadership on the commission. He declined to say whether he thought it was time for Nevels to leave.
"I think all of us owe a great debt of gratitude to Jim Nevels and the work he did," Nutter said.
Nevels, of Swarthmore, said his decision to leave had nothing to do with his group's efforts to locate a major league soccer franchise and stadium in Chester City - an endeavor on which he needs Rendell's support, as the group needs state funding to help with the project.
Nevels said he was proudest of the test score increases, the contract agreement with the teachers union that gave principals more say in selecting teachers, and an agreement with the labor trades that will get more district students in as apprentices.
But more important, he said, he believes he brought hope to a beleaguered system.
"There's now hope in the educational system," he said. "I think the commission, with me leading it, and Paul have brought hope. We also have created increased expectations, and that's a positive thing."
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