Philly voters adopt all four ballot questions

Voting results Tuesday night showed that all four ballot questions to amend the Philadelphia City Charter had wide margins leading in favor of approval.

The first question asked whether the charter should be amended to declare that the legislature and the governor should abolish the School Reform Commission and return Philadelphia's public schools to local control.

The charter amendment would say that the voices of parents and the community have suffered since the state takeover of the School District. The declaration would not be binding on the state, which took control of city schools in 2001. And it would not be binding on the SRC, which would have to vote to dissolve itself.

Another question asked voters to decide on the creation of an independent Commission on Universal Pre-Kindergarten that would be tasked with coming up with a plan to implement and fund prekindergarten for children ages 3 and 4. The funding would need to come from new sources.

The city has about 34,000 children eligible for publicly funded free prekindergarten education based off their parents' income. The amendment would require City Council to consider the recommendations of the commission.

If Council decided not to adopt the recommendation, the commission would be directed to come up with a plan each following year until Council adopted one.

A third ballot question asked whether city offices not under the control of the mayor, such as the district attorney and City Council, be required to promote access to city services for people who don't speak English or have limited proficiency.

A final ballot question asked whether the city should create a Commission for Women to promote causes that advance equal rights and opportunities.

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