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Neff: Schools suffering death by a thousand cuts

IN FOCUSING on the problems created and solvable by our state legislature, the Daily News editorial board got it right in their editorial "Supreme mess: Ruling will erode Philly school district."

IN FOCUSING on the problems created and solvable by our state legislature, the Daily News editorial board got it right in their editorial "Supreme mess: Ruling will erode Philly school district."

For the last several years, schools across Pennsylvania have fallen deeper and deeper into crisis. Drastic funding cuts to school districts across the state have resulted in layoffs of thousands of teachers, counselors, nurses and crucial support staff. AP classes, art, music and extracurricular opportunities have been limited.

Philadelphia and other districts with the poorest children are disproportionately affected and we have long since passed the point where we could cut our way out of this crisis. New state revenue and new state laws are essential.

As the editorial describes, last week the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a portion of the 2001 law that the State legislature imposed on the Philadelphia School District to cope with the funding crisis that they themselves have created. That law allowed the SRC to suspend parts of the School Code in order to bring about fiscal stability and enhanced educational opportunities within the District.

Among the limited actions the SRC took that required suspension of parts of the school code were caps on charter school enrollment.

As I've said many times, the debate about whether charters are inherently good or bad is a red herring. The primary issues are how to fund charter and district schools in a fair and equitable way and how to ensure that all schools, both charter and district, are quality schools. Many have advocated for a marketplace where charters and public schools compete and parents are informed about their options in that marketplace. That only works if funding one does not disadvantage the other and accountability is fair and uniform. Such is not the case today in Philadelphia.

The District suffers a loss of thousands of dollars each time a student enrolls in a charter school, adding to the deficit and resulting in additional cuts to District schools. Since the law does not allow us to consider funding in approving or disapproving charters, caps are an essential tool to limit the enormous damage the charter funding formula does to the School District.

The SRC also suspended a provision of the School Code in order to require that charter schools meet specific student academic targets. To lose these tools lessens our ability to ensure that charter growth is tied to quality.

The other controversial action the SRC took was to suspend the school code so that, when personnel cuts had to be made, principals did not have to make them in seniority order and could instead make personnel choices based on the most critical needs of their school.

The SRC continues to fight for the fair funding formula Pennsylvania's students desperately deserve. Until the legislature provides adequate funding for all children, and changes the laws governing the expansion and accountability of charters, the SRC or any governing body, will continue to be faced with choosing from among a series of bad options.

Marjorie Neff is the Chair of the School Reform Commission.