Letters: SRC contrary to Constitution

THE DECISION by Chairman William Green and members of the School Reform Commission to invalidate its long-standing contract with school district teachers, nurses, counselors and secretaries - in a meeting which was, for all practical purposes, closed to the public - is about issues much larger than money.

Their decision represents a violation of the civil rights of those who educate our children, and signals another step in the almost casual obliteration of the rights of the many Americans who work in public service. Most significantly, it is a clear violation of democratic principles and an assault against the American tradition of representative government.

The First Amendment, in particular the right to freely associate and petition the government for redress, ensures the rights of workers to form unions and to bargain collectively. Contracts which are fairly negotiated through that process provide basic workplace protections: from being forced to work in an unsafe environment, from being fired for political reasons, or from being replaced or demoted for reasons of favoritism or nepotism.

For educators, these rights take on a special significance, as they are crucial for maintaining an environment that fosters learning. With no protections, any educator who teaches evolution as part of the science curriculum, or that Columbus did not actually discover America, or that America did not win in Vietnam, may find themselves out of a job.

A teacher who speaks out at school board meetings, who refuses to administer medicine to a child when there is no nurse in the building or who angers a parent who feels her child was wrongly disciplined, can be forced out without due process. The SRC's unilateral cancellation of the contract now places the members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers into this precarious position.

The rights of parents, students and district employees to have a say in decisions about the city's public schools have steadily diminished since the 2001 state takeover, which dissolved the Philadelphia Board of Education installed the SRC. The people of Philadelphia, unlike those in every other district (except Chester-Upland, also under state control) are prohibited from electing their own school board. To add insult to injury, Philadelphians are also denied the right to speak on SRC appointments made by the governor and the mayor.

When Gov. Corbett nominated Green earlier this year to chair the SRC, members of our organization petitioned Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tem Joseph Scarnati to hold open hearings and allow for public testimony. Our request was ignored.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Green would feel that public engagement on SRC actions, as he said to one reporter after the SRC's rushed meeting, is a "non-substantive issue." Or that Green refuses, at every meeting, to answer questions from parents and community members.

The SRC's contempt for the public, and its willingness to ignore the most basic democratic principles, became undeniable with the unnecessarily hurried convening of last week's meeting. Neither the time nor date of the meeting, nor its agenda, were ever posted on the district's website. The resolution was passed before anyone who managed to attend had a chance to challenge it - or even ask what it meant. The SRC voted unanimously, without any deliberation or discussion.

The people of Philadelphia, just like all Americans, take their constitutional rights seriously. They do not want to see a return to the days when management bosses could run roughshod over the rights of their employees. They want the right to take part in decisions made by the government, whether it be the Congress of the United States or their local school board. Those who laud the SRC for its "bold move" seem to have forgotten that.