DN Editorial: Wolf's mysterious message
Why was it made, and to whom? But there are more important things to ponder.
IN PRACTICAL terms, Gov. Tom Wolf's removal of Bill Green as chair of the School Reform Commission, to be replaced by Marjorie "Marge" Neff, shouldn't have much immediate impact on Philadelphia schools. From all accounts, the all-volunteer SRC seems to have accomplished the not-easy feat of working as a unified body, shepherding the District through the rocky shoals of financial and political upheaval.
It does seem likely that Gov. Wolf was intent on sending a message with the move. But what that actual message is remains somewhat of a mystery.
And that's a shame, because the move creates a distraction from the larger issues - a distraction that won't go away anytime soon, since Green is challenging the move in court. And it's even more of a shame because Wolf's move came a few days before schools Superintendent William Hite is set to release his "action plan," which is expected to outline in detail initiatives and new programs that the District will seek to expand or establish.
And in an era where most of the news coming out of the District focuses on what the District can't do because of a lack of funding, the opportunity to present concrete, positive plans for improving education deserves all the attention it can get.
It's possible that Wolf's move represents a rude gesture directed to former Gov. Corbett, who appointed Green - not dissimilar to the move Wolf made when he kicked Corbett's appointee out of the Office of Open Records minutes after taking office.
Then again, wasn't Wolf's ultimate "up yours" gesture to Corbett beating him in November?
Another speculation: Wolf was "punishing" Green for the SRC's approval of five charter schools last month. (We hope the governor thinks bigger than that.)
Wolf had made it clear that he wanted none of the 39 charter school applicants approved - since the District can ill-afford more charters until a better funding formula is created. Meanwhile, members of the Legislature made it clear that they expected as many approvals as possible - and they would make the District pay if the SRC didn't comply. We think the small number of approvals was the SRC's only right move in the hot-potato issue of charters.
Another speculation is that Wolf was sending a message to the teachers union, which supported Wolf's election - and doesn't support Green. The PFT has resisted changes in the contract that the SRC was trying to impose, and negotiations have been going on for 18 months.
Finally, the most positive message behind Wolf's move might be that an actual educator should run the SRC; Neff served as a District principal.
But let's stop parsing Wolf's message. Because the only message that counts comes today, when Wolf presents his first budget.
The state is reeling from a $2 billion deficit, with heated battles over how best to close the hole. That's a backdrop that doesn't bode well for an infusion of cash for our schools.
But after years of starving many districts around the state - and most critically in Philadelphia - and imposing such policies as aggressive charter expansion that reduce resources for traditional schools even more, we are well overdue for radical new thinking.
At the end of the day, worrying about District governance issues without addressing the need for better funding strategies is like worrying about who's going to swab the decks of a capsized boat as it slowly sinks to the bottom of the sea.