Northeast Philadelphia residents discuss Philly education, the DROP program and SWAT officers in this week’s letters to the editor.
We need elected school board
On Dec. 13, the Mayor’s Office of Education emailed a three-question survey to local civic organizations under the subject line “We want your feedback.” It explained that now that the School Reform Commission has voted to dissolve itself, the mayor will appoint an “Educational Nominating Panel.” Those appointees will recommend a list of nominees to the mayor, who will then appoint a nine-member Board of Education.
An attached message from Chief Education Officer Otis Hackney said that “as the city continues the process of returning the School District of Philadelphia to local control, one of Mayor [James] Kenney’s priorities is to ensure that all Philadelphians are heard.” Another message from the mayor himself reiterated his desire to “hear from you” about who belongs on the board. The public should have input into who sits on the Board of Education. But a short email survey completed by a tiny proportion of city residents isn’t an effective way to gather that input.
The best way to find out who people think belongs on the board would be to let voters elect the board’s members. Philadelphia’s new Board of Education will be the only appointed school board in Pennsylvania. Literally, everywhere else in the state, school boards are elected. Nationwide, elected school boards are the rule, appointed ones the rare exception. Of the few school boards that are appointed, most are in big cities. Yet even among the 10 largest cities in the country, most have elected school boards. No “feedback” provided in an email survey completed by a few hundred people can make a group of mayoral appointees a legitimate substitute for an elected school board.
Advocates of dissolving the SRC have said they desire “local control” of the schools. Elsewhere in the state, that does not mean appointment by one local politician. Mayoral appointees will respond to a sitting mayor’s political priorities. They will be accountable to him, not to the people. Voters throughout the rest of the state don’t accept a system where a politician simply appoints his allies to a school board. Neither should we.
Before the SRC was established, the city had a Board of Education composed of local political appointees. It performed badly, leading to a state takeover of the schools and the creation of the SRC in 2001. The old board’s unelected character played a part in its undoing. Board members were responsive to the desires of those who appointed them, not directly to voters. We should learn from the old system’s flaws rather than repeat its basic mistake. Rather than regard the appointed school board as a permanent institution, lawmakers should act to replace it with a directly elected school board.
Chris Bordelon
Somerton
DROP program is wrong
My understanding is the Deferred Retirement Option Plan was designed exclusively for uniformed employees. There were some valid reasons for DROP when it applied only to uniformed employees, especially police and fire. Then Fast Eddie Rendell and his posse changed it so it applied to elected officials and executives. I find it amazing that our elected officials made this change, especially without making it a ballot question.
My real issue is, does the Home Rule Charter or state or federal law allow an elected official to resign then return to their position without a new election? I struggle to believe that what has transpired in our fair city is legal and does not violate the Charter. Also, the 4.5 percent interest rate was reasonable in 1999 but since 2008 the rate should have reflected the dramatic decline in interest rates. My understanding is that has finally been done but who was minding the store since 2008 or did our leaders keep the rate high to suit their own needs.
If we could only find a law firm that would represent the taxpayers to determine if the action of our elected officials was, in fact, legal. If not, we want our money back.
Anthony Dello Russo
Fox Chase
Good work by SWAT
My wife told me that six SWAT officers were at lunch when an older man fell and injured himself in a parking lot on Frankford Avenue. They went outside to assist the man to his feet, brought him into the restaurant and called fire rescue.
The man thanked one of the officers by saying, “Thank you, young man.” That officer’s response was, “No one has called me a young man for a long time.” Another officer chimed in and said, “He (the old man) only thought you were young because you are holding his glasses.”
It’s just a shame that there wasn’t anyone there with their cell phones taking pictures and video recording the police this time.
Mayer Krain
Modena Park
