Teachers' union leader to SRC: See you in court

The leader of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said Friday that he expected the union's lawyer to go to court next week to fight the School Reform Commission's decision to cancel the union's contract.

At a news conference, PFT president Jerry Jordan was joined by Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, who came to the city to blast the SRC's action.

Weingarten called the SRC's move "reckless, illegal, and immoral."

The union leaders were backed by a large contingent of city and state political leaders showing their support for the union's 15,000 teachers, counselors, nurses, and secretaries.

As a result of the contract cancellation, Jordan said, he was concerned about recruiting and keeping good teachers in the district.

He said that some members were "calling and asking what they have to do to resign."

Meanwhile, a new advocacy group related to the Philadelphia School Partnership, a deep-pocketed nonprofit, plans to launch radio ads Monday in support of the SRC's move, specifically on health-care costs.

With their contract nullified, teachers will begin paying from 5 percent to 13 percent of their health-care premiums. Under their contract, they paid nothing. The district says the change will save $54 million this year that will be plowed back into classrooms.

Philadelphia School Advocacy Partners was created in recent weeks to focus solely on advocacy, said Mark Gleason, executive director of the new nonprofit and the partnership.

"We decided to make these ads because we need more than a funding formula, we need the district to be able to control its fastest-rising cost," Gleason said.

The ads will run on four local stations he said. The new group is a 501(c)4 nonprofit, which the IRS allows to engage in some political activity.

The Philadelphia School Partnership was founded with the goal of raising $100 million to bolster high-performing schools of all types in the city. It has distributed $35.4 million, including $11.5 million to district schools.

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