District $ gap could mean 'massive layoffs,' loss of sports

DISTRICT Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said Thursday he was not crying wolf as he told the School Reform Commission and a packed house of the "dire" budget situation.

If funds aren't secured to fill the Philadelphia School District's $304 million budget gap in 2013-14, the district could face "massive layoffs" and the elimination of programs such as art, music, extracurricular activities and sports, Hite said.

And unlike last year - when the district borrowed $300 million to pay the bills - no money will be borrowed this time. "To continue to borrow just would continue to put the district on the path to bankruptcy," Hite said.

Hite has asked for an extra $60 million from City Hall and $120 million from Harrisburg. The district also is asking for $133 million worth of givebacks from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which would amount to 10 percent across-the-board cuts.

"Unlike in the past, we're asking for budgets to be grounded in reality and based on the revenue we know we have," Hite said earlier in the day. "Too many budgets and contracts in the past were being based on what we had hoped for and not necessarily what was real."

Without the cash infusion, schools will no longer have the budget to afford assistant principals, librarians, guidance counselors and support staff such as secretaries, he said.

The district would still employ nurses, but only one for every 1,500 students - the state mandate - instead of the district's current one per 1,000 students, he said.

In addition, there would be $23 million in cuts to school administration and $220 million taken from school operating funds, he said. Schools' budgets would be reduced by 22 to 25 percent.

Hite has directed principals to arrange their upcoming budgets for maximum allowable class sizes, 30 pupils in grades K to 3 and 33 students in grades 4 to 12. The district will fund principals and teachers at those class sizes.

The doomsday scenario laid out by Hite may have been a tactic to shake up money from Harrisburg, which has so far had little to say about the request. It might also be a chip in negotiations with the teachers' union.

Even under such a scenario, some staff and programs would remain.

School-police staffing levels will remain the same next year, said Chief Financial Officer Matthew Stanski. Also, the district will continue with non-mandated programs for students such as kindergarten, special education and English-language learning.

"We're trying to stabilize the district and not push a deficit forward," Hite said. "We're no longer going to ask individuals to complete budgets based on money that we thought we would get, because we don't think it's a good thing to do midyear cuts to staff or to give out layoff notices in February."

In other meeting news, the SRC approved the closure of M.H. Stanton School in a 3-1 vote, with member Sylvia Simms voting no. The SRC also voted to approve the addition of an accelerated school, YESPhilly, which will serve out-of-school youth. And the commission unanimously approved the district's proposal to launch the Philadelphia Virtual Academy, a district cyber- school.