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No solution yet as Philly schools deadline looms

An attempt to get $45 million in state aid has fallen flat.

Demonstrators protest outside the school district headquarters, Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Demonstrators protest outside the school district headquarters, Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)Read more

ANOTHER DAY, another news conference, and still no solution in sight for finding the $50 million the school district says it needs to open schools Sept. 9.

Just as Mayor Nutter, City Council President Darrell Clarke and state lawmakers from Philly gathered yesterday to call on the Corbett administration to release a $45 million grant for Philly schools, the governor's budget secretary issued a statement saying that ain't happenin' - at least not until the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers agrees to a contract with "substantial progress toward achieving the fiscal savings and academic reforms."

The federation, one of the unions from which the School Reform Commission is seeking $133 million in concessions this year, is resisting any givebacks, and almost certainly won't reach a deal by Friday. That's when Superintendent William Hite says the district needs the cash infusion for schools to open on time.

The state Fiscal Code this year allocated the $45 million, which came from the federal government's forgiving the state of a past debt, to Philly schools. The only catch was that the governor's administration must certify that fiscal and operational reforms had begun at the district.

State Republicans and Philly Democrats disagree over whether that condition means the PFT must make concessions. But in the end, it's up to Corbett, and his administration's statement yesterday made clear that the grant won't be the silver bullet needed this week.

PFT president Jerry Jordan said state lawmakers assured him in June that delivery of the grant wouldn't hinge on his union's negotiations.

"Chronic lack of resources has brought this crisis to our schools, not work-rule provisions in collective-bargaining agreements," Jordan said in a statement. "Parents of Philadelphia public schoolchildren should be outraged that Harrisburg is holding their education for ransom."

With last-minute state aid seemingly off the table, all eyes are now on Nutter and Clarke, who are attempting to find common ground in their dispute over extending the city's sales tax to fund the public schools.

"I fully anticipate that we will have some resolution on the local level by Friday," Clarke said at yesterday's event.

But it's unclear how that can happen, as both are pushing different solutions.

Nutter wants Council to immediately support the extension of a once-temporary sales-tax increase so the city can borrow $50 million against its future revenue. Clarke has proposed that the city buy $50 million worth of school-district property to provide liquidity and resell it later.