COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, March 7, 2001 10:20 a.m. - - - BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 - Re School District of Philadelphia FY '02 Budget - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN ANNA C. VERNA, Chair COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL, Vice-Chair COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN W. THACHER LONGSTRETH COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO COUNCILMAN FRANK DiCICCO COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center Plaza, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 295 I N D E X BILLS 010011, 010012, 010013 Marjorie Adler, Director Human Resources----- 296 Phil Goldsmith, Chief Executive Officer------ 299 Pedro Ramos, President, Board of Education--- 299 Deidre Farmbry, Chief Academic Officer------- 303 Rhonda Chatzkel, Chief Financial Officer----- 309 Deborah Kahn, Secretary of Education--------- 312 Tom McGlinchey, CEO-------------------------- 335 John Lombardi, Transportation Services------- 347 Tomas Hanna, School District----------------- 414 - - - 296 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
Good morning, everyone. This is the continued Public Hearing of the Committee of the Whole regarding Bill Nos. 010011, 010012, and 010013. I just have a couple of questions that I would like to ask. Last year this time we heard about the shortage of approximately 200 teachers. What is the shortage today, and can you tell us how you are trying to recruit teachers?
Good morning. My name is Marjorie Adler. I am Executive Director of Human Resources for the School District. We have right now officially 133 vacancies. I would add to that probably upwards of 200 long-term substitutes. Some of those substitutes have been with us for many years and have most of their certification, if not all of it, but perhaps have not passed the state exams and choose to remain as long-term subs. So it is between, say, 250 positions that we are not comfortable in saying are filled the way we would like to have them filled.
How many vacancies do we have, is it 133 or is it -- 297 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
Obviously we have stepped up our recruiting in the last several years, looking forward to be able to support our graduation requirements. We have stepped up our recruitment of teachers in general, but particularly teachers of math, science, special education, and world languages, most especially Spanish. In these areas, we are embarking on some innovative things, both for us and for some other urban districts. Last year we partnered with the government of Spain to bring over some teachers of Spanish. We are going to do that again this year. We are, in fact, leaving in a week or so with a group of other districts to India to recruit math and science teachers. A number of districts in the country 298 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 have done that for the last year or two and have found it satisfactory. We have visited one of those districts and are going to try that ourselves. We have recently come back from a very successful trip, recruiting trip, to Miami to recruit bilingual teachers. And have commitments at least, at this point, from for our bilingual 9 programs. 10 We continue to step up the visits to 11 area colleges and universities, as well as those in 12 other places. 13 We have sent recruitment teams on site 14 to places like Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Atlantic City 15 to recruit teachers from there, as well. 16 Recruitment is not a seasonal event in the district. We are recruiting and hiring day in and day out.
Thank you. Mr. Goldsmith, in your testimony yesterday you indicated that CEP is now filled to capacity. And you further indicated that you look forward to a new, larger facility in the fall. My question is, how many students do we presently have at CEP? 299 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
300 is what their existing capacity is. And that's the number of students that are there, give or take one or two on either side of that.
And you say you are looking for a new, larger facility to be opened in the fall. Do you have a specific location? And have you been in touch with the District Councilperson?
President Verna, Pedro Ramos, President of the School Board. Based on what I know from conversations in our Board's facilities committee, as well as reports to me by representatives of CEP, CEP has been in contact with the District Councilperson, as well as the District State Representative and others. 300 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 They, I believe, are proceeding with a site with some community approval. I don't know whether it is Councilman Mariano or Councilwoman Tasco's district. But whichever one of those it is, is aware of and has been kept up to date by CEP.
And how many students do you anticipate will be accommodated at the new location?
I think initially 800, and I think the capacity will be 1500. But I think in September they are looking at 800.
No, we do not. There were six; they were eliminated, abandoned last year.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller. 301 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
Good morning. Just as a followup to Council President Verna's questions about teacher vacancies. Of those vacancies, of the 133 vacancies, can you break down, basically, how many are needed in math and science? Can you break down what the vacancies actually are?
Of the 133, 2 are math vacancies. But I have to say, that's an understatement. There are probably long-term subs in some of those positions, which is not what we want. And in many instances principals would have changed their allotment. Believing they can't get a math teacher, they would rather have some other elective to offer their students for credit.
Let me just get my stuff in front of me. At this time of year, vacancies in hard-to-fill areas are understated because some may be filled in whole or in part by long-term subs who 302 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 may or may not be teaching the subject at the level that we would want. And, in addition, some principals would have by now changed their allotment to call for some other elective course for which they could find a certified teacher in order to provide their students with a credit course of some kind.
So what do we do with students who need certain math skills to take the SAT, to take whatever it is they need to take, and they don't have someone there teaching that particular class?
Councilwoman, that's our extreme problem, in terms of trying to find, whether we have to go to India or not, to try to find certified teachers in these areas so that our students can take the courses they need in order to take the kinds of entrance exams they need to go to college.
Could you maybe use the computer-based training or something to help these young people gain some of the knowledge and skills that they need?
I believe our instructional 303 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 people do explore that.
Deidre Farmbry, Academic Officer. Yesterday in response to the technology question, that is one of our uses of technology, trying to fill in for those teacher vacancy areas. In addition, many principals, when they do have -- particularly in the area of seniors, if they have seniors who need a critical math course, will do creative rostering, offer an early morning period, and will do other creative rostering to enable students to get the courses. But it is a continuing challenge of how do we make sure that we can provide the resources, even if we have a teacher shortage in that area.
Philip Goldsmith, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia School District. I really do believe the whole issue around recruiting of teachers is a serious issue. 304 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 Just not here in Philadelphia, but elsewhere. And if there is one issue that troubles me the most, with all the issues that we talked about over yesterday and I am sure we will talk about today, I don't think there is a more critical issue facing the district or other school districts, particularly urban school districts, than having an adequate core, teacher core. And that's one of the reasons I mentioned in my testimony yesterday why I think retention is so key. Because it is so hard to find good, experienced teachers. And we are doing a lot of different things. But, you know, we are up against it for a whole bunch of different reasons. There's two pieces of legislation that were recently introduced in the general assembly, representative Evans and Representative Robuck. Which we talked about loan forgiveness and some other things like that, those are issues that we think would be helpful to our efforts, and we hope we will, you know, try to pursue those. In addition, I think legislatively, I think substitutes are only allowed to work 95 days a 305 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 year. And I think, given the issue we have, I would love to see some expansion -- retired teachers, I'm sorry. Retired teachers have a little bit more of expansion. Here are some experienced teachers, they want to get back in the classroom, and yet we have this artificial restriction based on them. I think that's another important avenue that we could be exploring.
May I add that the trip to India to recruit teachers in math and science reflects one of the new aspects of the contract with the PFT that enables us to contract with outside groups for teachers in shortage areas.
You know, sometimes we get calls, or my office has received calls, from constituents whose children don't have a math teachers. And that really troubles us and worries us. And I know it troubles you, too. I just want to be sure that someone in the district is monitoring what's going on in these classrooms and ensuring that technology is being used to supplement, and that these young people are 306 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 just not left for months and months and months without math teachers. And we have had those kind of calls into my office. And I am sure other Councilpeople have had those calls. And it is so critical. The other question I have would be, how are subs evaluated? I mean, what's the accountability as it relates to substitute teachers, if any.
Substitute teachers, like all other professionals working in a building, are evaluated by the principal. And principals are very quick to let us know which substitutes they do not want to have back in their buildings, and they are also very quick to let us know which ones they do want to retain for a long-term basis. But the principals do have the evaluation process over the substitutes.
And I was away, and I read a paper, traveling through Virginia, that stated that Virginia -- and I do know that there is a national teachers shortage; I am very well aware of that. 307 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 And the article talked about how Virginia is targeting Pennsylvania for heavy teacher recruitment because we have so many learning institutions here. So I am sure that the Philadelphia School District is targeting Pennsylvania for heavy teacher recruitment.
I think this is not much different than the free agency that exists in the sports world in some cases. And we know that there are school districts that are poaching in our area. And we have got to, one, protect our own area and, secondly, start to poach in their areas where we know there is an adequate supply. And those are some of the strategies that we have in place. But this is an issue about we as a city and we as a district and we as a profession doing a better job of marketing ourselves and trying to present ourselves as the employer of choice when it comes to school districts. And I think that's a lot of what we are trying to do in both, you know, the safe climate issues, in terms of having a better partnership with 308 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 both our principals and our teachers, with City Council, and so forth. If potential recruits see us just fighting with each other and arguing with each other and debating each other, it is going to be pretty hard to reach out there and say, this is a place you want to work. Particularly when we are at a disadvantage when it comes to what our compensation schemes are, you know, versus other marketplaces. And it is, I think, very fulfilling to work in this district because you are working on a noble cause, but it is also difficult. And we have got to sort of eliminate the extracurricular interference that we sort of put in there. And I think that's a large part of the strategy of trying to partner more in doing the other things. But it is a major issue.
Thank you, Madam 309 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 Chair. Good morning to everyone at the table. I think most of you know that, unfortunately, I couldn't be here yesterday, and I did see many of the proceedings on the cable broadcast. If I, unfortunately, go over material that you covered yesterday, you can certainly let me know that and I will read the transcript or get some additional information. But I did want to go back to an area that I know there was some discussion yesterday. I didn't either fully understand it or I wanted to explore it some more. In Ms. Chatskill's testimony, which naturally talked a lot about the finances, let me make sure that I understand what our current situation is. We anticipate at the end of this Fiscal Year to have a $44 million deficit; is that correct?
And at the end of '02, the budget before us, you are estimating $191 million.
Rhonda Chatzkel, CFO of 310 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 the School District. Anticipating $191.1 million operating deficit, but a cumulative deficit of $235 million.
And further in your testimony, on , you talk about the three-year financial plan, but that the plan does not yet address how the significant gap that is forecast will be closed.
With that in mind, what are some of the scenarios that you have looked at to resolve this particular issue? Or I guess asked another way, how do we really go forward, not knowing how the gap is going to be closed?
I would let my colleagues pick up some of this answer. But one of the things that we talked about yesterday is that the gap between our expenses and our revenues is fully 12 percent. And we are already spending less than 311 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 other districts in the Commonwealth and other districts nationwide. So I don't believe that we could expect to be able to cut percent from our 5 expenses. 6 We commented that when the city had its 7 physical crisis a decade ago, its inbalance was only 8 4 percent. 9 So what we have looked at, what we will 10 continue to look at, over the next several months 11 is, it is a mountain of different things, including 12 our own internal expenses, to cut wherever we can responsibly do so. And it is additional revenues from the state and any local sources from which we receive funding. It may also be -- we talked about grants. And we continued to try to increase our grant money. But grant money tends to come in geared for a specific purse, so it cannot be used to fix an operating deficit.
And the local 312 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 sources, I mean, I assume that's a nice way of saying the City of Philadelphia; right?
Deborah Kahn, Secretary of Education, City of Philadelphia. Looking at a variety of scenarios, starting from the premise that because the School District's financial problems have been a long time in the making, they are not going to be resolved in one budget year. So looking at a variety of, first of all, timing scenarios, in which case how long could it take, through a combination of actions that the School District can take on its own, savings, and generation of nontax revenue, and then looking at the various partners. And the only way that this situation can in fact be resolved is to sit down with our partners and leaders in both the state and in the city to put together a package which will, in the end, have to rely on more recurring revenues from both state and 313 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 local sources, and potentially and probably some borrowing, deficit financing.
Let me go back to one of the terms that you used, the nontax revenues. Again, is that in the grant realm, or what does that term mean?
Perhaps generation -- and, again, none of this is committed, but maybe different marketing proposals, for example. And, again, not committing to any of these, but some school districts, for example, have raised revenue through different types of contracts; you know, beverage contracts, for example, advertising. You know, those are things we need to look at. As we look at our space needs and reconfiguring, the Mayor in his challenge last year talked about selling potentially the headquarters, you know, on the Parkway. That would generate revenue. Looking at some things which the CFO can talk about regarding the John F. Kennedy Center, which is another administrative building the School District has. 314 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
These are all in the realm of potential one-time asset sales and just an infusion of dollars for the one-time event?
Didn't you have a proposal, I thought, some time last year which as actually rejected? I never officially weighed in in that particular matter. I did have some more private discussions. This was around soda, and rights in school. As if kids don't drink enough soda. But in your best case scenario, what does that generate?
Well, you will understand that you put out a number, and then it becomes a cap.
I understand. What was the one that was in front of you?
We had looked, the previous Board had looked, at the possibility of some type of exclusive beverage arrangement. And when the proposal came back to the Board, the Board ended up not being supportive of 315 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 the proposal. And it ended up, frankly, falling into three, you know, schools of thought, if you will. Some people -- and I would have put myself in this category -- didn't have anything against and would have liked an exclusive beverage arrangement, but didn't think that the deal was financially good enough. Some people --
I mean, these things are figured out through calculus. This one was a dollar amount, and then you get a commission and then you get percentage of other stuff.
I am sure it is much too complicated for me to understand.
And the other school of thought was, a couple of people or more that just had a, you know, philosophical concern about doing a beverage contract. And you know, and I probably considered the third camp as somewhat ambivalent about it. In the end, it was not for soda, per se. I mean, these arrangements are also wider ranging. 316 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 And you can pretty much decide what your product mix is going to be, it just affects your revenues. You decide all you want is pure orange juice, you can do that, but it is going to affect how much revenue you get. The other product usually involved is fruit drinks, you know, waters and iced teas and then sodas.
But in the larger scheme of things, we don't have to have a kind of an M.B.A. course on royalty rights and marketing and the like. But, again, that's mostly kind of marginal, peripheral stuff? It doesn't go to the heart and soul of how you financially run a School District?
The nice thing about something like that, though, is that it is recurring revenue, as opposed to the grant, one-time shot that you were talking about; that it offers a potential for recurring revenue. And, you know, as we are continuing to emphasize around the district, this is one that would have lots of zeros after it. 317 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 But we are trying to focus on every opportunity, because we need to.
Let's go back to the local sources discussion. What would anyone be looking at as it relates to the City of Philadelphia.
I think that it is really too soon to give that number. You know, we have looked, and the plan has really taken a good look at the history of state revenues and local revenues, and really trying to tell the fair story. One of the things that happens within the state is Philadelphia -- and we hear this from legislators outside the district, but it is also an issue for our own delegation -- saying that the local government doesn't support education to the extent that other jurisdictions do. And we have tried to show, partly in this historical perspective, that because of the problem of the heavy reliance on the property tax, and having that had been relatively stable over time, that in fact what the city has gone is try to make efforts as it has diversified its local sources, whether it is through the liquor tax, grant 318 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 process right now, that it has tried to compensate in some ways.
Right; right. And that, you know, the city has in fact tried to compensate for the fact that the property tax revenues have essentially been, you know, pretty flat. But, nevertheless, we come up against that argument. One of the stories that we have been trying to tell, again, as we have conversations with legislators, is taking into account the fact that the city, or this School District, is the only School District co-terminus with the county, you know, in the Commonwealth. And so the problem is, and it has been an ongoing problem for everybody in this city government, is that Philadelphia needs to pick up its share of county costs, specifically for courts, prisons.
We can't share that with another county; unlike, for example, in Pittsburgh. Several years ago the study that had been conducted under the auspices of the Greater Philadelphia First Corporation had specifically taken a look at the comparisons between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and their relative contributions to their school system. And it looked at expenses in three categories: Municipal services, county services, and school services. And essentially what they found was that the spending for municipal services was essentially similar, on a per capita basis was essentially similar. I mean, within several dollars of each other. But then when it looked at what the school expenditures were, there was a wide gap. But if you then looked at the county expenses, which Pittsburgh has the ability to share with other 320 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 jurisdictions within Allegheny County, in effect it was almost a direct swap. That because they had the ability to show the county expenses, they could devote those revenues to schools; whereas, Philadelphia was not in that situation.
But I think, I mean, would he would all agree, notwithstanding the importance of the education issue, that more than likely in the very, very near term, there will not be any resolution to this city/county issue, and the costs that the city picks up that the state should pay for. You've got Supreme Court rulings and orders and the like. And, I mean, you have a School District to open in September '01. So I guess what I am trying to understand here at the ground, as opposed to slightly loftier areas and loftier arguments is, how do we open schools in September with a $191 million deficit? If we open in September, do we then stay open until June of '02? And how do we in fact go forward based on what we have and, for the moment at least, no particularly extraordinary new information that is shedding any particular light on this 321 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 situation? So, again, I am left to ask either, one, what is the plan; and, two, if there was going to be a request to the city for dollars, either what would be the nature of the request? If you don't want to put a dollar figure to it, that's fine. But, I mean, there are a limited amount of known areas that you could make any request on. Now, is anyone talking about either shifting the percentage of the real estate tax that goes to the city and to the School District even more so in the district's favor? And then where is the city Budget Office in that process? I mean, it is March.
That's true. I can't tell you what the number is now. The Mayor did say in his budget message back at the end of January that, you know, right now his proposed budget contained just what it had been, you know, in previous years. And, in fact, the city's five-year plan is a continuation of the $15 million city grant. But he said in his budget message that 322 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 we have to do more. Everyone knows we have to do more. And we will be back, you know, at the right time. Last year it was March also, and we didn't know then how we were going to keep schools open. And come May 31 we managed to be able to do that for this year. We want to do it in a different way this year, so that it is part of a long-term plan. So it becomes the first step not just a patching together -- which was very helpful, because it enabled us to have school. But, you know, we are just not there yet. We are just having conversations with, you know, again, legislative leaders and the Governor's people. And we need to do that with City Council, but we are just not there yet.
Well, I guess lastly -- and I think I heard the buzzer go a while ago -- I mean, obviously it is good that you are having these discussions. I guess I would like to try to get a sense of what is either your one expectation or a 323 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 series of expectations that would result from these discussions? I mean, what does anybody believe either may or could happen as a result of any of this?
Is that we can get agreement among all of the leaders that we have a three-, five-year plan, whatever it is, where the School District, as the city did, is in fact working itself towards financial stability, which would mean a match between the projected obligations and revenues going forward, over some period of time. Which would, again, be a combination of what the School District can do on its own, what we can do locally here in terms of additional revenue, and what we can do in Harrisburg, and what we may have to do -- and in all likelihood will have to do -- in terms of deficit financing.
Okay. When we return, I would like to talk about the deficit financing part of this. But taking great advantage of the President being tied up with my colleagues...
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode. 324 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: I was trying to distract her so you could get more time.
Thank you, Madam President. Good morning. I want to revisit the student transportation issue very briefly. And first I thank the district for providing us some new information. According to the information you provided me, it states that for each additional 5 cents of subsidy by the School District on subsidized tokens, the increase in that cost after state reimbursement would be approximately $150,000. Let me say for the record that I understand that in terms of SEPTA's operating revenue, that it either comes from fare revenue or from subsidy. And any situation in this case is just who is going to provide that additional subsidy. So in the end, it is the Administration and Council who have to make a financial decision if we want to reduce the cost of tokens, in terms of how we are going to further subsidize. But I also wanted to ask two things for 325 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 the record in terms of requests. One, that the Board in not only looking at how they are managing what's called the second-largest transportation system in the state, but look at the issue of student transportation costs. We know that there is action that was taken in the past that has reduced that cost and provides the current subsidy that exists. But I think it is the responsibility of the Board to look at what its student population can afford in terms of costs, and to make that recommendation. Not necessarily to come up with the money, but to make a recommendation in terms of what the student population can afford and how that may or may not impact truancy and other issues, but moreso what is the needs-based situation here. The second request is that the district participate in the April 3 hearing that is already scheduled in chambers here by the transportation committee at 10 o'clock. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown. 326 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
Could I just say one thing? I did call Mr. O'Leary today, because I know this is of concern. And he and I do plan to get together within the next ten years, our secretaries are working it out, and let's understand what each other's issues are and what can be done. I think the important thing here is that we both share a common funder, about 90 miles west or whatever. And this is something that perhaps can be part of our joint legislative approach to Harrisburg. Since, obviously, we have educational needs, they have transportation needs, and the two intersect. And so he and I plan to sit down and start that dialogue.
Thank you. I have a full appreciation for those comments.
Thank you, Madam President. I want to revisit the technology activities at the School District. 327 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 And on the issue of accountability, in the testimony, or in one of the answers yesterday, and I quote, the response was, there is an integration of the curriculum with technology initiatives. Elaborate on what that means. Speak to the accountability on who oversees the achievement of whatever those core standards are. Meaning, is that the responsibility of the cluster leaders, or of the individual principals, or is there a point person downtown that is keeping a pulse on technology improvement with students in the School District?
Okay. The whole area of technology, instructional technology, is under my guidance and leadership. It is one of the areas that reports directly to the director of curriculum. And what we are doing is really trying to make sure that technology is used to make sure that students -- the standards that we have set for the district, that technology is another way through which students can reach our standards. That when technology is used, it is purposeful use, that the software that we use is 328 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 software that is in alignment with our standards. So a lot of the work around technology is not only about getting students to use, but also getting vendors to be responsive to our curriculum expectations, our own standards. So a lot of it is working with vendors in terms of making sure there is a match between what their software is purported to do and what our needs really are. So it is both outreach to vendors, to make sure that we are not just getting sold any old thing, and making sure that the use in the classroom does support our standards.
How many buildings, schools are there again in the system, school buildings? Where there are classrooms, let me be specific.
We have 264 buildings. And they are, sequentially over the past two years, they have been wired so that all of the schools do have access to the Internet.
And all of those leaders at those various buildings report directly to you? I am trying to get a handle on the 329 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 organizational structure.
Each cluster has a cadre of people known as teacher technology leaders. They report to the cluster leader, but they also very much are in touch with central office, that works through the cluster leaders, in terms of making sure the technology standards are adhered to. But there are technology teacher leaders at each cluster.
And what is your level of satisfaction with regards to where students currently are and where you want them to be?
I would say we have a lot to do in the name of growth. A lot of that is tied to the reality that we are doing a lot of work in terms of getting our teachers really trained in best use of technology. And I would say their level of receptivity probably spans the general adult population. Some people are very, very eager to learn; some people who are very, very traditional are not as eager to learn.
So the lag is not 330 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 at all related to the lack of money?
I would say that to the extent that technology training does have an impact on the professional development budget, there are concerns around how to continue to fund professional development activities.
Councilwoman, I would just add -- and certainly I defer to Dr. Farmbry on all the details of what's happening. But I also wanted to point out that as part of the Education Empowerment Plan, one of the requirements is the development of a comprehensive plan for -- you know, first of all, to assess where we are with the use of instructional technology and developing a comprehensive plan for how it can be used to assist teachers in their many duties, not the least of which is obviously teaching and learning. And as a parent I will say that I think that is a very important thing. I think that there are all of these very good activities and solid activities, as Dr. Farmbry has described, going on. But I also just had a personal experience which I won't relate here, but in terms 331 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 of schools and how the computer classes are being introduced. And so I think that there are some good, important questions. Because I think we all want to see our children be up to date and be able to use technology as a tool. But depending upon the level of school your child is in, and, you know, the type of curriculum he or she is pursuing, it is important for a parent to know what the expectations are. So I hope that that's one of the things that will come out of the Empowerment Plan provision.
Let me just say, if I can, I think what's gone on in the past several years is really building the infrastructure and sort of laying the infrastructure that allows us to now do what we are all really interested in. And that's sort of the content and the practical learning. And we have gone through and the end of December have wired every school. I think we have got about 40,000 computers now out in the classrooms. We have some extraordinarily innovative 332 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 programs going on; such as, Reinventing Education, which is a project with IBM which is of national acclaim. I think our challenge going forward, and every School District's challenge, is getting consistency out there; that we don't get, you know, 3,000 different programs out there, but that we try to determine which is the best one, or the best ones.
That's incredibly important. And we don't want to diminish the good that's happening currently with technology within the schools. But we have SAT scores in our face that say, if we were to, as quickly as we can, and knowing there are huge challenges in front of you, but we cannot ignore SAT scores as they currently exist. And if we are going to use technology as a too many, somehow bump that up on the priority to expedite that so that we are not looking at the same level SAT achievement a year from now or 24 months from now. 333 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
If I may also add, we have an excellent learning technology support group which does offer professional education courses at the Kennedy Center in technology. They also go out to the cluster offices. In addition to our community C-tech labs. So we do try to make sure that there is the availability of resources to assist not only our teaching staff, but also parents who want to go through the C-tech labs to enable them to brush up on their skills in technology.
Before I get to my final question on procurement, I believe I asked this question last year, again Deborah Kahn stated in her testimony, there are enormous challenges. And the world is such where you cannot do everything at one time. The dollars simply are not there. So if you had to ID three top priorities on the curriculum side that you want to focus on over the next months, be they tied to money or 23 not, what would they be? 24
I would say the continuation of our reduced class size, early 334 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 balance literacy initiative, making sure that we have full-day kindergarten, and also increasing our services to the middle schools.
How far are we from full-day kindergarten implemented throughout a 100 percent level? How far are we?
We currently have full-day kindergarten. So when I say, "full-day kindergarten," I mean continuation of full-day kindergarten. And if I could also say, our other two key curricular areas that are mentioned in the Empowerment Plan, in addition to, as I just spoke about, literacy, would be math and science.
Math and science. So next year, 12 months from now, when I ask the question do you believe that there has been adequate progress -- and of course you did have to determine what level of progress you want it make in these areas -- one can reasonably expect that there will have been improvement in these areas?
I would expect so. I will say that what I am really doing is looking at how we can streamline all of our 335 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 resources to mainly support literacy, math, and science. Those are our tested areas. As Mr. Goldsmith has said, one of our key drivers in terms of all of our conversations has been, how can we really better focus the district. And the three curricular areas of focus are literacy, math, and science.
Thank you very much. On procurement, I know that discussions continue with regards to looking at how the School District can spend its limited dollars smarter when it comes to procurement. Where are you in discussions with the city? What one or two areas have you reached some level of agreement on where you can spend dollars smarter? Or are you that far along? And what is the district's standing with regards to participation of MBEs and WBEs? What's the percentage as it currently exists? MR. McGLINCHEY: My name is Tom McGlinchey, I am the Chief Operating Officer for the district. I believe your first question is where 336 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 are we in cooperative efforts with the city?
Yes. MR. McGLINCHEY: Yesterday afternoon, perhaps it was after you had left, I was called forward to explain that we are working with the Managing Director's Office --
That, I am aware of. MR. McGLINCHEY: -- and a task force that was commissioned by the Mayor to look at all aspects of joint cooperation with the city and the School District. We have identified four areas to look at initially: Fleet management, information technology, risk management, and procurement. Our first area is fleet management. We have had several meetings with the managing director and with the city's fleet manager, Riley Harrison. So we are actively engaged in the process of looking at fleet management.
I don't want to ask you to repeat anything of what you said yesterday. Just give me the goals in terms of completion of any one of these areas. 337 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 Do you see yourself months from now or months from now having come to an agreement of 4 sorts or what? 5 MR. McGLINCHEY: I would say more in the 6 short term, than the long term. Within six months we should have some closure on the transportation issue.
That's helpful. 10 You don't have to provide me with details, 11 particularly if you did it yesterday already. 12
I would ask Mr. McGlinchey to confirm also, because I am not 100 percent sure, but pretty sure, that the district also routinely purchases off of city and state contracts. And in its purchasing process at the Board, we ask -- when contracts come to the Board, we regularly ask, you know, how does this compare with the city's contract? Because we have the ability to buy off your contracts or buy off the state's contracts.
Okay. And then the second question, I mean, I may answer the question when I ask it. Where are you with regard to the 338 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 participation of MBE, WBE? What is the bottom-line budget, and what percentage of that budget gets awarded to MBE, WBE? MR. McGLINCHEY: I don't have those statistics with me now, but I can certainly get them to you later today or tomorrow. We do maintain those statistics. And the Board has repeatedly stated that one of their goals is to increase the level of participation of minority and small business in School District contracts.
I would ask that you forward that information to the Chair. I would put on the record that in 1995, it was less than 2 percent going towards the MBE, WBE community. So I would expect that five or six years later there's been some substantial improvement. MR. McGLINCHEY: We will forward that information to you as soon as possible.
Councilwoman, if I may, 339 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 Mr. McGlinchey said he expected fleet management in six months. I would be disappointed if we didn't have risk management also within that time frame, working with the city in combining our expertise and resources. I would be very disappointed.
Thank you very, very much. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to go back to some of the conversations that we had yesterday. Mr. Goldsmith, this reform effort of yours, I would like to know, within the Administration, what kind of cooperation are you getting?
I think good cooperation. I think we are all getting to know each other a little bit. And people are getting to know my style and how I operate, and I am trying to learn the School District. But I think I have a 340 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 good staff people who have enormous expertise. And I don't think anyone is not cooperating. And if I found that to be the case, that would not make me particularly happy. What we are doing, in my judgment, is trying to run a school system that we -- that's a viable school system, one with limited means that has enormous needs to increase student achievement. And I couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't cooperate in those efforts. We can disagree about tactics and strategies from time to time, but we have a significant problem. We have a financial deficit, we have an educational deficit. And I think we all want to work in a school system where we can hold our head up high. People have done enormous work in this school system. And they are resilient, they care, there is passion about it. And all I am here for is trying to be an enabler so they can really accomplish what they want to do. So I would be surprised, I would be disappointed, but frankly surprised, if people didn't cooperate. 341 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 But I also understand, Councilman, change is difficult. It is difficult for each and every one of us. And we can get comfortable, and stuck in our ways, and that goes for me as well as for anyone else. So I understand change is a difficult thing. And hopefully we can go down the path and make the progress we all want.
You said you would be disappointed if that was occurring. And I don't want to disappoint you, but there are people in the Administration that think that there is quite a bit of resistance to joint fleet management with the city to possibly join procurement or risk management. So, again, I don't want to disappoint you, but there is that perception. And I want to talk about some of the things. We always point to Harrisburg, and I believe Harrisburg pointed back and said, you really need to do some things before we really get in there and help you to the extent that you want us to help. My point about what we have control over. During labor negotiations, and I think since 342 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 I have lived in Philadelphia, I have seen the finger pointed at 20th and the Parkway, making acquisitions that 20th and the Parkway and the administrative support to the School District is fat, that it is top heavy, that it is all these things that we have heard, especially during labor negotiations. I want to be specific. But I'd like to get your reaction as an outsider, coming in here -- when I said, "outsider," outsider to the School District; you indicated that you are learning your way around -- how would you view the structure? Because after you answer that question or comment on it, overnight I have had some calls from people that run fleets in very large organizations and run businesses that you run at the School District, and I want to tell you what some of the comments were. But I would like to get your opinion of those comments that I just made.
My belief is that -- I don't want to get overly technical or dodge a question. But I have been in a series of large organizations. And I have yet to be in an 343 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 organization where there is not a tension between what I will call the field and central headquarters. It is natural. What I think is important to figure out is when it gets too much. And, as I said, I think there is too much focus on 21st Street, I think there is too much focus on clusters. I really think the focus has got to be on classrooms and schools. And what I want to do is for us to step back and say, what are their needs and how do we support those needs. And I think that we have an opportunity, a small window, to step back, ask those questions, and find out, you know, the right equilibrium between how much you want out there in the field, how much you want at 21st Street, how much you want in cluster offices. So I think that there are some improvements we can make and some changes that we can make. But I think, as I said, I think there's always that tension. What we have to figure out is how great that tension should be. But more importantly what we have to understand is that we have limited resources. One 344 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 could argue we have no resources right now. And it is how we use those resources to focus on what our core mission is. And our core mission is -- I have yet to see a program that isn't good. But I think we have to step back and focus on our core mission, and that's education. And it is really even, to narrow the focus, things that Dr. Farmbry talked about, and make sure the resources are geared toward there. But I would be interested in comments from other businesspeople, and I certainly would love their help.
I am going to tell you one right now. So the accusation or the suggestion that some of our operations within the district are fat, let me give you one specific conversation that I had. How many people are employed in the School District of Philadelphia, in the transportation division, that administer the transportation division? According to the summary here -- why don't you tell me, to the best, in case I'm not on 345 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 the money here, how many people work in just the Administration? Not mechanics, the Administration of the transportation division.
I would like to hear it now. There are obviously people here that can do that. I mean, that's something that I think would be at the tip of our tongue here.
43 people. How many vehicles in the transportation division? Less than a thousand? More than a thousand buses and trucks? My point, Mr. Goldsmith, I got a call from a professional transportation manager that told me that having 43 people in a transportation division, just to administer it, is part of the problem that the School District has. That's not me; that's a person that has 346 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 been 40 years in the transportation division that was watching this yesterday, called me, verified his credentials, and told me he just can't manage how we would employ 43 people to administer a transportation division.
No, we don't need to. We are talking about public money here. We are talking about 43 people. If they are needed, then fine. When constituents call members of Council and wonder why -- and this person has worked in five or six different transportation operations throughout Pennsylvania. And when he saw, and apparently had access to this information, that there were 43 people administering that operation, he just shook his head in sorrow, he said.
Well, what I meant to say was sort of, obviously, have this conversation public. But if you would let me know who that person is, or have that person contact me, that's 347 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 the type of assistance that I need. And I would like to know that information and get his viewpoint on it.
We have how many vehicles? Mr. Lombardi, how many vehicles do we have in the transportation division?
We are responsible for the operation of over 1200 school buses, taking public and private school students to school.
Yesterday I gave you the number of how many vehicles we operate in-house. There are additional vehicles that we contract out for service. With district operating contracted vehicles, we have over 1200 school buses and taxi cabs that we provide service for. In addition, there are 450 nonbus vehicles that we're responsible for, also. So there is over 1600, almost 1700 vehicles that we are responsible for, either maintaining or contracting out for services for students.
And 43 people don't 348 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 include mechanics; correct?
No, they are not necessarily. Some of them are street supervisors who ride along with the buses to make sure they are following their scheduled routes.
Then why do you think the reaction, the best of your ability, why would a professional transportation manager react the way he reacted, tracked me down, said he couldn't believe that there were 43 people to run, administer, this size of an operation? Just administer it, not fix the trucks; not wash them, not drive them, administer this operation?
We have over 1200 vehicles on the streets. 349 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
And, in your opinion, 43 people are needed to administer 1200 vehicles?
Yes. There are routes that are scheduled, there are street supervisors who follow the buses, there are people who handle complaints.
We are also -- and I don't know who this individual is and so forth. And I am not quarreling with what he says. But I think it is also important to understand the nature of the business we are in. We are in the business of transporting children. And that may be a little bit different than other transportation systems he is familiar with. I don't know. I mean, but not everything is an apples-to-apples comparison. And those are the types of things, when you are talking to people, whether they be consultants or anyone else, that you have got to get under the hood and understand what the apples-to-apples comparison. That's not to say we need 43 or we need 53 or 23. That's just to say that sometimes things can be more complicated than what appears on the 350 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 outside, and sometimes we can make things more complicated then they should be. Part of my job is to figure out what's what.
My point is that we are constantly asking for help from outside. And then there are certain areas you do have control over, you do have control over. You have control over, do we need 43 people to administer transportation division. I just learned, and I would love to hear about taxi cabs. I didn't know about taxi cabs. We have taxi cabs?
And that requires some management, obviously, supervision.
And yesterday I learned we have now a fleet of Nextel phones. And I would be interested, if you would provide the Chair, the cost of that contract associated with Nextel phones, when I verified this morning that we do have radios that can serve as portables and fixed units within our vehicles. 351 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 So maybe just the gut reaction to go out and get Nextel phones wasn't a prudent or a good decision.
I believe the Nextel phones was actually done with the city, in conjunction with the city.
My point, it costs money. And we are looking at, again, to save money for this School District and control costs. And I was told yesterday that the reason we went out and signed a contract with Nextel was because the communications equipment that we have can't be utilized the way we would want it to be utilized. Well, I talked to the managing director this morning. And the managing director was -- and I am not going to quote him, but I will paraphrase -- was a little disappointed with the call suggesting that he would like to have Mr. McGlinchey reach out to him or you to put this communication effort back on track, because there is absolutely a cost savings long term to the School District to involve themselves in this project. But, again, I just want to make sure 352 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 that the things that we have control over here -- because I think Harrisburg sent you a real clear message. Until you do what you need to do, we are not going to help you. And if you are asking for more help, again, being in the minority here, Republican, and working with a Republican Administration in Harrisburg, I certainly can't be as supportive as I would want to be with the Governor and the state reps in Harrisburg, if I am not convinced that you are doing the job that really needs to get done here. And when I hear these -- and forgive me -- these excuses that we need Nextel phones, that we need 43 people to administer a transportation division, well, when are we going to start looking at these operations? How many people do you have in the building services operation? How many do you need? Major corporations, when they get into trouble, start to downsize, start to do things differently. I don't see any of that happening in the School District. I hear about it, but I never see it. 353 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 I look at the transportation division, I see in '99 41 people. I see 43 in the next Fiscal Year. I see 43 going forward. I don't see any new numbers, reducing here.
Councilman, part of what we have been trying to do and say over this last year is a recognition that the Board, that the School District, is at a time where we thought that to move further with the type of operational reforms and the type of leveraging of every dollar towards the classroom, that we needed to go into the private sector or someplace to find managerial capacity at the top. And that's what we have done in the few months that we have had Phil on Board, that's what we are doing as we do the CEO search. Most of the issues we are talking about today are issues that you have talked about before, but you will note that they are issues we have flagged when we have presented on what we want to do with some of them. You have heard from Mr. McGlinchey, Mr. Goldsmith. We have laid out some timetables. Frankly, Councilman, unless enormous 354 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 amounts of revenue -- unless there is a new, big revenue source out there in the out years, this School District is going to have to look differently in several years. And part of what needs to happen is, the school system needs to become an enterprise that is all about teaching, and all these other businesses need to be done in some other way. Many of them are duplicating other public services. And in some cases perhaps we are doing them because other agencies were kind of masking the fact that we are underfunding other agencies. Why are we doing social services? Why are we doing health? Why are we doing police? Why are we doing transportation? If all we had to do was pay for teachers and pay for an education, our problems would be a lot less.
I would agree with that totally. And, again, my turn, I think, is about over, but I would appreciate some information to the Chair about Nextel phones. 355 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 A little piece of the pie. But, let me tell you, you start throwing all these little pieces into a box, that box gets full with a lot of money. And I would like to know also the cost of this communications system that we had. I heard that it doesn't cost anything. I have done some research overnight, and I found that it costs a little bit more than nothing. So I would like to know a little bit about how we communicate within the School District, the technology that we have there, and I would appreciate you following up on the managing director's offer as of this morning to put that back on track.
We will ask that staff do that, Councilman. I also want to point out that what we don't want to do is cover our ears or put our head in the sand as suggestions are made or proposals come up. We want to be able to explore them all. What we do have to do, as we get information, as we get suggestions, is figure out how to, you know -- as we try to manage a school system while managing is crisis is, we also have 356 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 only so much capacity, so many courses. And we need to prioritize as we go along. Which means that some good ideas don't get acted on as quickly as you would like because you are trying to take care of other ones. But that should be the result of some prioritizing process.
Mr. President, in the private sector -- and Mr. Goldsmith knows as well as I do -- big corporations have experienced similar situations. And the first thing they did is start to analyze the structure of their organization to look at their transportation division, to look at their procurement division, to look at their building services division to see what they can spin off and what they can do better. Has any of that occurred at the School District? I mean, I am curious to see a report other than Philadelphia First -- which I am not even convinced how much of that was even adopted. The Philadelphia First study was, in my opinion, a very, very good start. And I would be curious to know how many of those recommendations have ever been brought to closure or implemented? 357 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
On the Greater Philadelphia First? I don't know off the top of my head. I know what you know from last year, which was that the testimony at that time indicating the cumulative savings. And we can get that information for you, the update on fulfilling the Greater Philadelphia First report. But I think that what we are talking about now goes beyond that. What that report did was pointed out some ways -- I mean, in the facilities area, for example, one of the things that happened two summers ago was, we got a landmark labor contract with the union that represents drivers and engineers, where the number of trades, for example, went down from 24, 22, to 8, where in that area they have adopted -- and I know because just from visiting schools, you could see some of the change in just the cleaning technology, from the equipment that people used to clean, to the premeasured packets, to the methods they used. So those types of things were done. What it didn't look at was some of the things that we're tracking, that we are dealing now. 358 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 It didn't look at how we could be more cost effective on the instructional side of the house, and emphasis on effective. And it didn't contemplate the types of things we are talking about here. Which are really, you know, in some cases, doing some things radically different. And that's what we are trying to do now, with the benefit of somebody whose background they are bringing to the district is that of a manager. And I think we now have at least a perspective that's going to enable us to do more things.
Councilman, if I can, just in terms of comparing it to the private sector, if this were a private-sector company, the first thing I would do is fortify our balance sheet, identify our core service, and get rid of that which isn't core. And if we couldn't meet the bottom line, I would sell it. And if I couldn't sell it, I would close-up shop.
Don't try selling it. We can't even sell the gas company. 359 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013
That's the way I am approaching it, not to sell it. But first and foremost, we have to fortify our balance sheet. And that's not to dismiss the issues that you are talking about. They are very critical. Because unless we can demonstrate we can do some of that, we are not going to be able to fortify our balance sheet. But we have a cash issue on hand, we have a longer term issue -- people have to understand that -- and at the same time do the very things that you are suggesting. They are important things. And I don't mean to minimize them. But it would be fortify the balance sheet, identify our core services which Mr. Ramos just talked about. And the other stuff, if someone can run or transportation, you know, I don't have a chauffeur hat on. I don't want a chauffeur hat. I want to run a good educational system.
I am not suggesting, Mr. Goldsmith, that someone else should run our transportation division. I am not suggesting anyone else should do anything that the School District 360 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 does. All I want to see is it run as efficiently and as lean as possible.
I would like to hear -- not that this is different in any other organization -- but could you describe, a school bus driver's employed by the School District of Philadelphia, benefits, the whole deal. Would you describe the work day of a school bus driver? What happens once the kids get to school in the morning? Go from there.
80 percent comes in in the morning, signs in, does an inspection of his vehicle, goes out, picks up his kids, takes them to school, signs out, goes home.
Two hours. Most drivers work two and a half hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the afternoon. They are primarily part-time employees. They are off in the middle of the day.
They are part time 361 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 with benefits?
So the salary structure is based on the number of hours. And it is a flexion day, they go home in the morning and come back --
Primarily. 80 percent of our drivers are part time, percent are full time. 17 The full-time employees, they run activities in the 18 middle of the day. 19
They transport special-education kids from schools to schools, in the event that one school doesn't have a program. They take special-education children for life schools to different locations. They are all the full-time people. 362 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 We run trips in the middle of the day with our part-time people, we bring them on. It is an extended time situation. Primarily those are funded trips. But primarily they are part-time employees, sir.
And some of those drivers the other day were with kids until 10 o'clock at night, when they were stuck in snow. 11 And, again, these are some of the stories that don't get told. We got, you know, that unfortunate snow storm that everyone got hit with. And we have those types of things, as well. And I would just like the record to show that.
I would suggest going forward. If there are stories that should be told, tell them. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to get some clarification for 363 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 myself in terms of the earlier discussion, I thought I had read somewhere in either previous budget testimony or possibly either a state report or some of the information out of the many, you know, lawsuits and discoveries, that the Philadelphia School District had one of the highest percentages of its dollars being used for instructional costs as compared to other school districts either around us or in the Commonwealth. Is that accurate?
I can't hear you. I thought I heard this a couple of years ago.
Actually, what we compare on Table 513 of the Plan, we compare ourselves with other urban districts in the Commonwealth. And I don't have percentage here, but it looks at if we are at least tracking with other urban districts in what we spend on what the state defines as instructional expenses.
. We actually, Councilman Nutter, next year will be able to have a much better way of benchmarking what we spend on each individual cost 364 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 relative to other districts in the Commonwealth. There is a program called SAMS, which is aiming to have consistent reporting across school districts. Right now it is not exactly consistent, which is why we didn't delve further into that particular question.
But, as I said, I thought that I had in some previous years, through testimony or other information, was left with the impression that the district's percentage of the entire budget spent on instructional costs, excuse me, was one of the highest in the Commonwealth. And doesn't the state also make some evaluation of your use of dollars based on either instructional costs or operational costs?
What the state has done, has been to implement, or begin to implement, this system. Because what they found is that, when they look at different school districts, different school districts might count principals differently. Some will count them as administrative costs, some will count them as direct instructional costs. 365 BILL NOS. 010011, 010012, 010013 So they found -- and they may have embarked on that study -- that they couldn't do it until they have better data. And that should be available after next year's reporting.