Ex-schools chief Vallas gives his thoughts on budget crunch

TUCKED SAFELY away from the harsh and unforgiving limelight that once singed him, former Philly schools chief Paul Vallas has been watching intently as the district's budget crisis unfolds.

In town for a forum on charter schools last night, Vallas shared his thoughts on the district's financial woes, the city's response and the contrast of how he was treated toward the end of his tenure compared with the School Reform Commission's treatment of his successor, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.

Vallas endured a very public upbraiding in 2007 before critics ran him out of the city for running up a roughly $73 million deficit.

Four years later, the district is now reeling from a deficit more than eight times that amount, but the SRC has largely been supportive of Ackerman.

Vallas, who is now helping with rebuilding efforts in Haiti after three years running the Recovery School District in New Orleans, was careful not to criticize his successor, but remarked at the irony of the two scenarios.

"Remember the s--- I got for $70 million?" he said. "I read what's going on, and it's ironic. The flak I got from the powers that be because of that deficit is ironic."

At the end of his final year as schools CEO, he claims, the district was actually only $18 million in the red. "I'm not gloating about that," he said.

But like other budget watchers, Vallas believes that district officials, like many around the country, irresponsibly used federal stimulus money to fund long-term programs and failed to decrease spending on services that didn't directly support schools.

Officials should "dismantle and reassemble" central administration to match the changing population of traditional public-school students, Vallas said. If cuts to the central office aren't enough, he said, then teachers and other staffers should share in the pain.

"I would consider paying what teachers got in 2007," he said. "That wouldn't be a lot worse than increased class sizes or laying off teachers."

The district is already counting on $75 million in savings to help dig out of a $629 million deficit by reopening its union contracts.

Phil Goldsmith, who ran Philadelphia's public schools years before Vallas, agreed that everyone involved should come to the table. "It's in everyone's interest to find a solution," he said, before adding that top-level managers should also bear the brunt of cuts.

Vallas praised Mayor Nutter for being brave enough to propose raising taxes to help schools and commended the district for continuing academic gains that began under his tenure.