Invest more in schools
Now that the May election is over, City Council members have stopped campaigning and gotten serious about filling the hole in the School District's budget, right? Actually, no, they haven't. Compared with the need, the paltry $70 million that Council would generate by tepidly hiking three taxes is a joke.
Now that the May election is over, City Council members have stopped campaigning and gotten serious about filling the hole in the School District's budget, right? Actually, no, they haven't. Compared with the need, the paltry $70 million that Council would generate by tepidly hiking three taxes is a joke.
Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. has made it very clear that the schools need at least $85 million just to maintain the terrible status quo, which means a continuation of crowded classrooms with too few counselors, librarians, and nurses. To restore some of the drastic recent cuts in programs and personnel, the district needs $103 million.
Mayor Nutter has proposed a 9.3 percent property-tax hike to generate $105 million. But even as some members suggest the public can't tolerate another tax increase, Council is considering a lesser property-tax hike of 4.5 percent to generate about $50 million. Also proposed are small increases in a business tax and the parking tax, which would raise another $20 million.
If Council is going to raise taxes for schools, why not do it at a level that will make a difference? Otherwise, it shouldn't raise taxes.
Here's a novel idea: Cut spending. Whenever that is suggested, Council President Darrell Clarke and Nutter are in rare agreement that there's no place to cut. But budget-cutting is merely prioritizing expenditures, and the schools deserve to be a higher priority.
Nutter has proposed nearly $4 billion in spending for fiscal 2016. He and Council should be able to find more money for schools, even if it means reducing planned allocations such as the $83 million budgeted for the Office of Innovation and Technology until new, recurring sources of funds for schools can be dedicated.
Incredibly, some Council members still don't seem to realize what is at stake. "I want to help the schools, but not at the expense of hurting people in the neighborhoods," said Councilman David Oh. The worst thing he can do to "people in the neighborhoods" is condemn their children to an inferior education.
Just ask state prisons chief John Wetzel, who for years has been saying that funding education is one of the best ways to reduce the millions of dollars Pennsylvania spends to incarcerate criminals. City leaders need to do their homework and come up with a better answer for schools.
