You're welcome. 443 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - -
As I said, everyone's name was called on the list. We will now recess until -- (Interruption by man, later identified as Malachi Robinson, who is speaking off-mike.)
If it's all right with you, we could give it to the stenographer, and she will include it in her notes. We will -- excuse me, sir, did you want to testify? Your name is. . . ? I had called you earlier. Do you want to take the witness table? (Malachi Robinson comes forward.)
My name is Malachi Robinson, former teacher, vice principal, principal, and the President of the Political (unintelligible), the Director of Project Hope, a parent, also very active in the community, and 444 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE active politically. We in the community are very highly impressed with our current Administration. I've been involved with this system directly for more than 40 years myself. This Administration brings new hope, new challenge, and makes much needed demands upon our staffs and upon our parents. If we are going to move forth in the 21st century, we've got to form a better partnership with the parents, the business, the community. The Superintendent alone, who is a very highly qualified person, cannot do the job that must be done unless City Council, Harrisburg, and Washington provide the funds and the moral support. Many times you'll come to a Council meeting and get a budget approved, but you don't get the other support you need from Council or from the Mayor or from Harrisburg. And as we move forward to the 21st century -- I have here a report on the dropout rates of all the schools in the country. We have some schools in our City where the dropouts are higher than the graduates in Philadelphia, in some 445 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE schools. We have some schools where in ten years, there's not one bit of achievement made for that consume. If we want to compete with the people around the world in math, science, and the other areas, we've got to take education more seriously. I'm really unhappy, dissatisfied with the few people in this audience. We do not take education that seriously. In fact, if I were Dr. Hornbeck, I would be dissatisfied. As Superintendent, he cannot carry that burden by himself, nor can his team, nor can the School District. The job of education our youth is a job that prepares them for the future of our country. There is no future without our kids. There is no future without education. Unless we in this country take it more seriously, forget about our country. We are already last in many respects. All the countries are higher in reading and math and science than we are. Why? Because we in politics let politics weigh more than education weighs. We want our friends to become principals, we want our 446 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE daughters to become teachers. We do not treat education with the right kind of respect in this country. Unless we make a change we can say good-bye to this country. I do want to say to Dr. Hornbeck and his staff, continue the work you're doing, and tell 'em you're rising, because you are. In his short time here, he has made the most significant amount of improvement in terms of attitudes, in terms of achievement than anybody I really know in the past years. 13 He's a man of renown and 14 (unintelligible) throughout the country in 15 education. He's a man with a backbone. He's a 16 man that doesn't back down once he decides this is 17 good for kids. We're very proud of him, and we 18 salute him. 19 Thank you very much. 20
Thank you very 21 much, Mr. Robinson. 22 This Committee will stand in recess 23 until 6 o'clock this evening, we will stand in 24 recess until 6 o'clock. 25 (Committee stands in recess.). 447 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - (Committee reconvenes.)
Okay. My name is a Victor Lewis. I live at 3709 Stanton Street, in Philadelphia, 19129. And, first of all, I'd like to thank you for letting me speak tonight. I really appreciate it.
My name is Victor Lewis. I have four children, and I have children that have already graduated out of the Philadelphia school system, and I have two that are in the school system that are attending Roxborough High School. I'm also the Roxborough High School Home and School President and the School Council Chairperson at Roxborough High School. I was invited by the school district to look over the school plans for the next five 448 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE years, and it was called, "Reaching Higher Proposal Graduation Promotion Supports and Requirements." And at that meeting, there was teachers, school staff, parents. And there was many questions relating to this package that has to be answered. Also on the parents' side, there's some philosophies on education which are held by the School District that needs to be addressed. The questions that need to be answered on this has to be answered with teachers and the staff and parents together. But addressing the philosophies that the school has, I'd like to address two issues. The one issue is about the EH-38 process that is lacking at our academy level at the schools, also the lotto system that places the students into these academies. An example I'd like to use is in my local area. It's called Sol Farm School, which is known for agriculture in the area. Students who would like to go there put their names down to want to attend Saul High School, and then they're invited to come to the school, look it over, talk 449 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE to the teachers, and see if they would like it. And then what happens after that is all these names are put into a drawing, and the kids who really want to attend the special academies, whether it's Saul or another academy, are thrown in by -- are picked by luck, not by choice. And to not have a choice to go for the goals that you're looking for, you're robbing the kids out of something very important. If I'm a businessman running a business and I have a couple openings that I need to have filled and the applicants fill out the applications and I look them over, I'm going to pull out the best applications to fill those jobs. I'm not going to take all those applications and put them in a barrel and reach down in there and say, Well, I'm going to hire this person. That doesn't make sense in the real world. And to parents who have to be told that their child cannot attend these academies because of this lottery system, it really hurts. The parents that I'm involved with will keep on fighting this issue and try to get it resolved with the School District, and we will 450 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE keep on fighting until we win, and we will do whatever we have to do to get our point across about this CH-38 and the lottery system. But even though we have our differences on these philosophies, monies is very important for the schools to help our children compete in the world today and tomorrow. I can't stress enough, whether it's taxes, suing the State, the federal government, we need get those monies here in Philadelphia to help all these kids to succeed. And that's what being a parent is also about. So that's what I have to say. Thank you.
Mr. Lewis, I want you to know that we really appreciate your coming in this evening. And this afternoon, we heard from three young women from Saul School, and I know was extremely impressed with them, and I think that any parent would be very, very proud of their achievements. And they, too, expressed the same thing you did about the lottery, and I think it's definitely something we're going to be looking 451 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE into. At this time, I would like to recognize Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madame Chair. As well, Mr. Lewis, thank you for coming in tonight. The Chair is absolutely correct. We had extensive discussion about this, and I think you're aware of some other upcoming meetings on this particular issue. Again, I want to assure you, and you can certainly take back the message that many of us very concerned about this doing. We are going to do everything we possibly can to get a reasonable resolution to this problem. We do believe -- and the District has articulated many, many times -- that standards, and high standards, should be the call of the day. We'd like to see that in full force in all of our schools throughout the City. But where there are programs where a student needs to have a particular higher interest in that program, we want to ensure that that student is going to the school that he or she 452 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE wants to go to, obviously or naturally, based upon space consideration and the like. But what we don't want is for students who don't want to be in a particular place to end up in a place where other students really want to be. I think that ultimately that doesn't serve either of those students well and definitely sends the wrong message to kids who go to school, who do their work, have good attendance, and really want to perform at a particularly high level in a special place. So we will continue to stay on top of this issue and get across the message to the School District get a resolution that is reasonable.
Our next witness 453 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE is Mr. William Mackey, M-A-C-K-E-Y. (William Mackey and students comes forward.)
Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Yes, William Mackey, Citywide Improvement & Planning Agency, 1352 West Girard Avenue, 5th Council District. Go ahead. CHRISTOPHER WAITERS: My name is Christopher Waiters. I'm a youth at Citywide. I've been at Youth for the last three years, three and a half years, and . . . that's me. CANDACE NELSON: My name is Candace Nelson. I'm a youth law intern. I've been there for the past three years also.
Okay. Good, evening Council. My name is William Mackey. I'm the Executive Director of Citywide Improvement & Planning Agency. 454 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE And up at Citywide Improvement & Planning Agency, our mission is to provide educational services to over 300 youth directly, but also to advocate for policy for youth in the City of Philadelphia. And I can just tell you right now, as we move into the 21st, century we are starting to miss the boat some on development, a single point of contact for young people. What's happening really with our young people is services is coming to them scattered. If you look at the services, it's coming to them scattered. We understand very much that the Mayor of Philadelphia has a true Children and Family Cabinet that's doing an outstanding job. However, we have to figure out how do we box our young people in to provide them the full package of services that they need. That's how we have to do it. And to be honest with you, I see one way to get the discussion started as soon as possible, immediately. And that's to create a Philadelphia Youth Resource Card. We have been talking about this resource card about three years 455 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ago. At Citywide Improvement & Planning Agency, we initiated a Citywide Youth Resource Card, which provided recreational services, health care services, tutoring services. And we found out through those service that young people was not getting physicals, young people was not getting tutoring services that they needed, young people was not getting the wholistic approach of services that they needed. That's really what was happening. And that's really what we have to bring to this Council. And we at Citywide Improvement & Planning Agency, over the last six years, have held youth town meetings. Our law students have held meetings on crime preventions, health meetings, health care conferences for the White House. We have the Community Revitalization Conferences, which we have talked about and helped implement a blight arrest patrol. We have done arts and culture conferences. And the number-one thing that comes up that's in your package tonight, in our hearings, in your package is that there's statistics in there that show the number one thing come up. And 456 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE they say, Our City leaders, you and the community leaders, we do not honor them when they do good things. And we are -- they are the first ones accused when something go bad, they the first ones accused, those young people. That's what happens. And I can tell you tonight, this evening, that we have really done our homework on this Youth Resource Plan. It's going to need help, it's going to need the minds of the City planners and the City technical people and the City number crunchers and all that to do this. But we can take control of our young people if we are willing to make that sacrifice and make that commitment. That's what we can do. Now, when you look at the young people, when you look at the students in our community, the youth, it's even a student is doing good in school and he's getting an A and B. Or the student -- and I'm referring to now this draft card in the front and back part of your package. The student on the back part, the student really breaks down at some given time through him going to school through K and 12. They fall in four categories. If you like it or 457 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE not, it's the fact of the matter. They're an honor roll students or they're a student that's maybe a D average that need some services, tutoring services, let's say. Then you have some students that get suspended once the report period. His mother drags him down and say, Why you doing that? And the mother says -- the teacher says she don't know. And the parent say she don't. And the students say I don't know why I did that. I was fine. That's what happens.
And then you have the fourth level, that some students never fall in, but the system is tainted with it, the youth is tainted with it. And the fourth level of students, the fourth level, is that student that may come in the student with a gun, or he might come in there with some drugs. And the student tell me -- I say, Why you do that? And he said I didn't bring the drugs in my community. Ask the boys downtown, ask the boys in Harrisburg, ask the boys in Washington. We go to Washington, we have a hearing with the drugs czar, and the kids jump up and say, You 458 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE responsible for drugs coming in. They send a letter back to the City and say, Mackey, your kids attacked us. My kids don't attack nobody, they didn't attack nobody. He told you what he thought, and he's just looking for an answer. That's really what happened. The young people are looking for answers. And we got to understand that at Broad and Olney, in Wynnefield, in West Philadelphia, in South Philadelphia, in the Northeast, you can buy a piece of metal that's called a gun easy on our street. And two weeks ago, when it was seven people got killed and five of them was young people. And the folks was jumping up and saying, Oh, Mr. Mackey. I don't know if my son's going to be able to go overnight bowling with you guys or bowling or overnight camping because the streets are so bad. I said, Well, we need your help, we got some people listening and all this stuff. And they say, But Mackey, you know what, we don't really know where our young people at. And that's where the Youth Resource 459 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Card comes in. The Youth Resource Card will work like this, this is how the Youth Resource Card will work. Every youth in the public school system, hopefully in the City if you make it mandatory, and there's some first agreement stuff and the first amendment stuff. But let's say, hypothetically, every student between the age of to got a identification card in school. D. cards. The schools -- they told 12 me, they give 'em all -- right? D. 13 cards, okay. D. , it would be a library card, it would 16 be your recreation card, it would be your health 17 card. You would be qualified, if you're doing 18 good, to get discounts, to participate in corporate department stores. Councilman Cohen, I know you like that one. And it would be a resource card. And it would be your -- you get services from DHS and youth-based organizations. What we basically are saying to you is that a student should not be able to cut out of school at o'clock from William Penn High School, 460 1 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE at Broad and Master, get on the sub with his token, with his school token, ride to Southwest Philadelphia. And at 3 o'clock when the gym opens, he's the star in that neighborhood basketball game. They should scan his card when he come in. He shouldn't be allowed to come in if he cut out that day. That's what shouldn't happen. And if a student is doing the level-one stuff, he falls in level one, he should receive some recognition. And if a student is getting a D average at school, it should be mandatory that they go to tutoring to whoever accepts City money, whoever takes money from the City, the community- based organizations or whatever. They should be referred to one of them centers to get tutoring. And we should track it. And if the student is the one that's getting suspended once every other month, he should receive wraparound services. And the leadership resource councils and the communities will have a social worker a educator, a law enforcement person, a DHS worker, whatever it 461 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE takes to keep 'em straight, that's what we would get them. And the gun-waving, drug-dealing youth that you have, then you also turn 'em turn over and give 'em a opportunity to come clean one time.
Say this is a one-time shot, come in and come clean, throw your little metal down, give up your little things, and come clean, and get yourself cleaned up, and do the right thing. And if he don't, then he should not be in the school, sitting next to my child. I wouldn't want a gun-waving Christopher sitting next to my daughter. I wouldn't want that, would you? No. 16 So that's what we say. D. D. card will work as a curfew card, too. The police cards is already (unintelligible). Some parents is going to say, Oh, you're putting my security in the system. At some levels, there's security measures that have to be put into place. The Library have computers, the Recreation Department have computers, the School District have computers, the community centers 462 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE have computers. It's just probably a matter of upgrading, putting a little chip in them, and we investing in our young people to make it work. It's some kinks that have to be worked out. And what we see is that from April to June, we would like to do a demonstration project, working with some nice technical people, asking them for help, to sit down, to put this together. And before I answer any questions, if I would, I would like to do something real briefly, 'cause I know time is valuable, but Christopher Waiters is going to tell you a little bit about Christopher Waiters. And Candace Nelson, who is one of our top law students in Citywide, been with us for some years. These students here -- this is my third year of young people now. This is our third year. Some of these young people, we seen 'em almost in Pampers. This one over here, I handpicked him in '93 from a vault. He was a bad kid, he stayed in a vault. We put him in here, man, and stood him against the table, never had no more problem out of him. I don't know what was so hard about 463 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE turning him around, I don't know what's so hard. Chris is going to go first, and Candace is going to say a few words. Give it up Chris, come clean, tell the truth, too. Thank you. CHRIS WAITERS: Thank you. I will tell nothing but the truth. ) CHRIS WAITERS: All right, I'm going to try to keep this short 'cause it could become a long story. But when Mackey found me, I was basically a kid who sold drugs on a regular. I normally had a gun on me, you know, stuff like that. He found me 'cause a guy who was in his program used to get locked up. I used to have him with me all the time. So one night, Mackey just asked me to come by, come down. So I came down. And, you know, he got me straight up by this program. At first, I didn't get along with people 'cause I was the type that didn't like nobody. I kept a attitude all the time. And through the years, just getting to 464 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE know people, going on trips, fitting in with everybody, gaining experience on how the program worked, I was getting better in school, you know. This year, I'm a straight A-B student. Mackey, the staff members in the back can verify that. I'm Citywide Youth Government President. I'm on my way to Cheyney this summer. I'm doing a lot of positive things now that don't think I would have done if it wasn't for Citywide, if it wasn't for their tutoring, if it wasn't for me getting out of the City, you know, going to inaugurations, Pittsburgh. I work now at Wawa, at 20th and Chestnut. I had to throw that in there like that.
Tell 'em what you do. CHRIS WAITERS: Yeah, I'm a manager there too. And I only been there for five months, and I'm a manager there.
And do you go in the cash register and put they money back? CHRIS WAITERS: I go in the safe and put money in the cash registers. (Applause.) CHRIS WAITERS: And, you know, I never 465 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE told Mackey before, but I want to tell you now, I want to tell him thank you, I want to thank you. Thank you for everything you did for me, you know. At school, at Franklin, when you were a senior, you had to do a senior project. Mackey know my senior project is on Hillman, his organization and what his organization did for me through the years. He been helping me with that, he been helping me with my materials, supplies, computer work. Anything I need, Mackey be helping me. And I just want to say thanks to Mackey, his staff, all the youth that I bounded with over the years, and everybody that helped turn my life around. Thanks.
Thank you. (Applause.) CANDACE NELSON: My name is Candace. And I've benefitted a lot from the three years I've been in this program. I was introduced to it be my sister. And, you know, I really don't live in North Philly. But, you know, I came down here anyway, and the program has helped me because, you know, 466 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE in school, I don't really -- there's not really a lot of things out there for me in school. Like I'm not good at sports and stuff like that. But I found a outlet in law. And I participated in mock trials and I go to a law office at South 15th Street, at David Belmont. And Mackey, he tries his best for all his students. You know, he gives them everything they need; research outlets and tutoring and everything. 'Cause I was having a problem with algebra and I got tutoring for that, and my grades are coming up. And I just think it's a wonderful program. And, you know, we need help. At Central, you know, some of the outlets like the tutoring is not always there. But, you know, I think it's a good program, and we should continue to, you know, bring in funds to help our kids that are in need. (Applause.)
Let me give you two more, 'cause I want to show you the level, how you go in. Never been in trouble, look for things to do after school, no. Chris say, I'm turning my hand in, I want something different. 467 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE It's just that simple. We have to track all of our youth down, and we have to know who's doing what. And people just have to understand that. In our City, we have to know what our young people doing. You did a good job, man. JOVONNE HILL: Good afternoon. My name is Jovonne Hill. I'm a sophomore at William Bodine High School for International Affairs. And I've been in Citywide for about three years now. And I'm here just to attest to the fact that Citywide is a good program and that you should continue to fund and support us 'cause Citywide is not just an after-school program; Citywide is like a second home. If you look at most of the statistics, the statistics show that most negative things in the teenage community happens during the hours right after school. And while we're at Citywide, Citywide gives an opportunity not to be a part of those negative things. You know, that's why I'm saying that you should support Citywide more and more. And not just Citywide, but programs like Citywide in 468 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE particular, because after-school programs do work. They have worked for me. You know, I have never been in any type of trouble or nothing. And I thank Citywide because I been there, and if I hadn't have been at Citywide, probably would have been in trouble. That's basically what I have to say.
Why don't you just mention about -- you just received a award. Do you want to tell us little bit about it real quickly, please. JOVONNE HILL: Oh, since I've been in Citywide, I've been very active in the community, you know, doing things to help prevent crimes in the community. And it's this program at Temple called "Teens, Crime and the Community." And I had to write about ten essays and tell 'em how I'm involved in the community and things that I'd do to help solve crime problems in the community. And I had won a trip to Florida on March the 23rd to the 31st, and I will be the representative from Philadelphia from the whole nation, representing Philadelphia. (Applause.) 469 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
And when you get there, you gonna wear that special jacket? Don't you have a jacket that you got special from somewhere lately? JOVONNE HILL: I was in a mock trial about two or three weeks ago. And I had needed a black blazer, and Robert Brown that works for Council President Street, he came down, and he brought a jacket from Council President Street's office.
All right, thank you. (Applause.) MICHAEL GARRETT: Hi. My name is Michael Garrett, and I'm currently in my fifth year in Citywide Improvement & Planning Agency's program. I'm in the business division. And my story's a little different than Chris's. I was one of the first hundred youths to be handpicked by Mackey. He came out to four different targeted schools that he felt was really like the center of the problem, where the problems were. I was at Fitzsimons Middle School. He came, and it was like -- it took him to persuade 470 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE me to get into the program because he -- it seemed like he had a lot of open promises that I couldn't believe. Like for one, he told us we was going to go to Disney world. And I was like, Well, I don't want to go on any of that because he's not going to really -- this is not going to happen. But after talking to him, he persuaded me to get into the program. So, finally, we got to go to Disney world. And during the years, I progressed in a lot of areas. It got me to be able to speak in front of a lot of people. It also influenced me into going into another -- other community organizations, just like the Department of Human Services Juvenile Justice Action Team Operation Peace Program. I'm currently the President now. And we have a yearly annual anti-violence conference at Martin Luther King High School, and what we do there, we'll talk about different topics that affects the youth and which leads to violence. Mackey, just like Jovonne says, it's like a second home, and he has been like our dad 471 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE and everybody else's dad. I don't think he has any biological kids, we like all his kids and stuff. And he does a lot of things for us, being the mentor, being the -- for whatever we need. And that's about it.
In our close, Council and President Street, we want thank you again for the opportunity to come to City Council. I know you get so many requests, and we really appreciate the opportunity. We have plenty of other people that could go on and go on and go on. But it is a school that they need to get back. Basically, at Citywide, what we try to do is provide twelve hours of hard-core time. It's six hours for the high school students apprenticeship where they go to a law firm, a business, architect. This year we have computer technology. We have six training career divisions. They do four hours community service and they do two hours of class time right. Right now, due to our funding being our School District grant, which cut 75 percent 472 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE through today's budget. And one of the federal grants, the fund was shifted. This year, we took a real hard hit in our agency. We took about a $400,000 hit on our agency, but we are still servicing all of the students, and we are still doing what we have to do up in Citywide Improvement & Planning Agency. And it really is a hard time for us. So, at the budgeting hearings, when you go through it, I'm going to ask that definitely you look at how the dollars are spent. We not asking City Council to increase they budget, but we asking you to look and recommend that we be in the budget. But we have some things we have to do, and we really appreciate all the help. The young people's there, we have a lot of volunteers right now involved with the program. And we really appreciate it. I just want to say thanks for your time. I asked for you -- it's a letter in here requesting what we would like for you to do. We would like for you to adopt this concept, look at our hearings coming up, and see what we're 473 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE doing.
As most of you probably have now guessed, Mr. Mackey and Citywide, although they are located in the 5th District, they obviously help a lot of people throughout the entire City. And we believe in this program. We are going to continue to support it. We have absolutely no intentions of allowing it to go out of business. They do wonderful work. Our problem only is if we could have more programs like this who really can reach out to young people. These people -- I mean some of these young people, they don't know very much about who we are and what we do, but they know Mackey and they know the young people. And as a leader of this program, he has evidenced such a strong concern for these young people, and then they become the ambassadors of Citywide, and they really do a wonderful job. And we thank them for coming here. And we want you to know that we have 474 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE heard you, and that we are going to do everything to make sure you're in great shape. Thank you very much.
Is there anyone else on the list to testify tonight? (Sarah Shapiro and Jean Friedman-Rudovsky comes forward.)
Good evening. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your statement. SARAH SHAPIRO: Okay. My name is Sarah Shapiro and I go to Central High School. JEAN FRIEDMAN: My name is Jean Friedman-Rudovsky, and I'm also a senior at Central High School myself. Myself and Sarah and many of the students you see behind me are members of the Philadelphia Student Union, which is an organization run almost entirely by and for our youth. There are two main -- we're made up of Philadelphia high school students and a couple of 475 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE students from private high schools, and also middle schools around the City. There are two main classes to our organization. One is leadership training. We currently have 104 Philadelphia public school students who go through weekly leadership training exercises, learning a lot of skills, public speaking. We have sensitivity and information workshops on racism, classism, sexism, all sorts of things. The other part of our organization, which is why we're here today, is political activism. We, as you can see, we lobby for money for the Philadelphia public schools from both State and the City. And -- 'cause that's incredibly important. But we do more than that. We try to bring about change within the schools by ourselves, without the help of funds. We currently a couple different projects going on. Our main one is trying to establish classroom evaluations in Central and Masterman, which are proposals that we're going to present to the Administration, where both teachers and students would have a chance to review each 476 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE other within the classroom setting and, hopefully, bring about some change in the way education is run in this City. And that way -- And in Simon Gratz and West Philadelphia High School, we have chapters in both those. And they are working on getting more textbooks and getting adequate water fountains. Basically, that's who we are. Myself and Sarah are the campaign coordinators. And Sarah's going to talk a little bit about more about that. SARAH SHAPIRO: One of the main things we do -- our main goal as a student union is to create a voice for the City's youth about public school education. And one of the main reasons that we think that public education is so important is because that's the foundation of society. That's what we believe, that education is really the basis to everything. , and the chain goes on. So we feel that if public schools are 477 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE improved -- and it has to be public schools, not private school vouchers or anything else. Public schools have to be provided so that everyone can receive equal and great education, not just an adequate education. So we believe that everybody should be able access this education, not just people with a lot of money. So that's the reason that we fight so strongly for public education. JEAN FRIEDMAN: We're here today for a couple different reasons. Basically, we're not coming to you, the City, today because you have a financial obligation, which, obviously, you do, and you have done your best to fulfill it. But it's more out of a moral responsibility right now. Next year, the projected deficit for the School District is between 90 and $95 million. And we feel that it is just as much the City's responsibility as it is the State's to make sure that we get that money. And if it happens that the City has done all they can financially, then it is the City's obligation to press upon the State that they need to fund us adequately in any way 478 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE possible and incredibly strongly. We feel the students have the right to hold the City just as responsible as the State, even if they have less money, that we get the education that we deserve. We had planned to testify and do all of this kind of stuff on Saturday 'cause that's when we were told the hearings were going to be.
But we found out at 2 o'clock this afternoon that they were changed to tonight. And we're very proud of the turnout that we've gotten so far on a couple hours' notice. And we're very disappointed at the lack of City Council presence here today because we really try hard to come and speak out about the need for adequate funding and adequate education, and we weren't received as well as we hoped, but we thank those of you who are here. And the main that we feel as of now that the City can really make a difference is by pressuring the State to oppose the 22 -- the breakup into 22 districts. There's a couple of main reasons why it's bad. The most important one is that it will 479 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE create mass chaos, a lot more bureaucracy, and it's just a huge waste. It's really not necessary right now. And the other main thing is that it ignores the problem. It's a distraction by the State to sort of just say, Okay, well, we're going to act responsibly and take Philadelphia education into our own hands and redistribute things, but we're still not going to give you more money. So it sort of gives the State a false sense of security like, Oh, we've helped Philadelphia, it's okay but they really haven't 'cause they haven't given us what we need. And it will also create a lot more corruption within patronage jobs, things like that. So, really, if the City Council could press upon the State as much as possible to oppose the breakups, that would be great. SARAH SHAPIRO: So, basically, we just want you to hear all of what we've said and try and tell the other City Council people as well, since most of them not here today, which is really disappointing, actually, because this is a really important issue, we think, and we think it should 480 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE be taken a lot more seriously within the City and within the State. So we just ask you to put as much pressure on the State as you can. And the Student Union is going to form -- is going to have a lobby date the week of April 20th. And sometime during that week -- we haven't decided exactly what day, but we're going to go down to Harrisburg and pressure and do some lobbying and try to pressure the State representatives to try and get us more funding for Philadelphia public schools. Two years ago when we were here for the walkout, Mayor Rendell said that he would provide us buses for us this. I don't know if his offer's still standing, but it would be really nice if it was, because it does cost a lot of money to go into Harrisburg. And we think that this is one way in which City Council could be really supportive, to help us put pressure on the State and show your support for the State. And you guys could come down with us, that would be even greater if some of the City Council could come down with us and lobby the State representatives for more funding. 481 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE And that would show us that you're taking us seriously.
I think most Council Members would like to be supportive of your effort. What I would appreciate your doing right now is getting some little piece of paper that outlines pretty much what you want to do and what the costs are, and maybe I'll get a member of my staff, Mr. Shapiro, to be able to work with you -- just kidding, just kidding. She says, Yeah, right, I got to deal with my dad, right? (Laughter.)
Just kidding. I mean, if you could just get us a little outline of what it is you need in order to do the Harrisburg commute. We don't know whether you might need one bus or ten buses, but we'd like to try to find a way to cooperate with you and help you to have what you need. I'd like to express my personal appreciation for your having come down here today. Some of you might know my son. He's a senior up at Central also. And there's one thing that has always 482 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE concerned me just a little bit. And I will ask you this question 'cause I asked this question when I was over at Strawberry Mansion last Monday. What is today, Tuesday, so it was about nine days ago. And I asked the Student Association President over there. I said, Do you think it is possible to organize all of the past presidents of Strawberry Mansion high school, say, for the last years? There would be about 25 of them. I 12 mean, you probably have one every year. And get 13 that group of people. 14 Now, if you did that at Central, my son 15 would be part of that group because he was 16 President of the Student Association out there one 17 year. And just get these people and have these 18 folks who were leaders in their particular public 19 schools and have them come together and form a 20 lobbying force. 21 Now, that kind of lobbying force, in 22 addition to what you are talking about, is a very 23 different thing because these are people who are 24 now out of college, a lot of them. Some of them 25 are professionals, you know what I mean? They 483 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE have money, you know what I mean? They could do a whole lot of things in addition to what it is the current students could do. And I would like at some point to see the classes in the public schools as you graduate 'cause you all are seniors, am I correct? You are seniors? SARAH SHAPIRO: Yeah, but a lot of students in the Student Union aren't seniors, though.
But you see the seniors and leave go to college and go about -- it would really nice if they could then, when they get back or are available to be able to continue to organize in support of the public schools. One of the big problems we have, one of the reasons why it is so difficult is because there are just -- not a lot of people have children in the public school system. And we all believe that it's everybody's responsibility, whether or not you have a child in the system or not. And so that to the extent that people like yourselves graduate, get into the work place, 484 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE go to school, and you organize, and then you say interested in public education, it will become a lot easier. There are some of us who have been involved -- I've been on the City Council for 7 years. And so that may be -- I may have been on 8 the City Council when you were born, down here, 9 you know, struggling and arguing and fighting and 10 doing all kinds of things to try to make sure that 11 the public school system is properly funded. 12 So we really appreciate your coming. 13 We look forward to hearing from you. I think 14 every member here is supportive of what trying to 15 do. If you'll let us know that date far enough in 16 advance, a specific date far enough in advance, 17 I'm sure some of us would be more than willing to 18 travel to Harrisburg with you. 19 Because when you go, you make a very different statement than when I go. When I go to Harrisburg, they say, Yeah, here he comes. You know, here he comes. When Superintendent Hornbeck goes up there, they say, Here he comes, here he's got his hand out. Councilman Cohen goes, and they say we always are up there asking for money and 485 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE all the rest of us, the members here, right? I mean, we're always up there, we're always agitating about money. It's very different, though, when young people like yourselves go up and say, We need this, you need to do it for us because we're the future of the City, we're the future of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. SARAH SHAPIRO: That's why we're asking for you to help us out with that. JEAN FRIEDMAN: Right.
We'll be glad to do it. SARAH SHAPIRO: It would be great if we could get some of you to come along with us. But, yeah, definitely the main point of the day would be for youth to be up there and make ourselves known.
The youths should be the speakers, the youths should be lobbyists. JEAN FRIEDMAN: Yes. We've done it in the past and --
And we should be there for supportive purposes, but this shouldn't 486 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE be us; it should be you. SARAH SHAPIRO: Oh, yeah, definitely. That's -- the whole Student Union is youth empowerment, so -- but the adults take over the day .
We pay for the buses, you do all the talking. SARAH SHAPIRO: You help us to empower us, so it works out fine.
Thank you very much. SARAH SHAPIRO: Okay, thank you. JEAN FRIEDMAN: Thank you.
We appreciate it. (Applause.) - - - (Sean Cook comes forward.)
Good evening. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your statement. SEAN COOK: Hello. My name is Sean Cook. I live at 4420 Sansom Street, 19004. I go to West Philadelphia High, and I'm here to like, you know, have conversation about -- about problems, problems in the schools due to money 487 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE issues. And I know how people always say money issues and they always asking the City for money. I understand. For one, I understand that the City doesn't have a lot of money. Or they may not, you know, 'cause they got to pay taxes. The city taxes are high. So you all should urge, if you all could urge the State to give more money so you all could -- I know they have more money to give to ya'll, and they could do that. And it's like people say -- people say in our school they might -- they might be like -- or they might say, I would like to have a great education or start a high-paying career. And then one reason -- one reason why that person may not be able to achieve those things they want to achieve or she wants to achieve is because the tools that we don't have. Like we might not have textbooks, we might not have certain classes that are needed due to lack of teachers or due to lack of payroll. We might not have certain up-to-date computers, the computers, they aren't up to date. And this -- the reason because of all this is because of lack 488 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE of money. That's all.
Thank you very much. - - - (Kareem Holland comes forward.)
Please identify yourself for the record. KAREEM HOLLAND: My name is Kareem Holland. I live on 4814 Greenway Avenue, and I attend West Philadelphia High School. And I'm in the Law and Public Safety Charter. I would just like to address our lack of technology as in things like computers. And I mean, 'cause when I was in middle school, I mean, our computers -- I mean, I went to Hamilton, the middle school. And I mean, our computers were more high-tech even in middle school than they are now in high school. And I don't feel that that's really -- I don't feel that that's right. And mostly because -- I mean, we have lack of things like good textbooks, and I don't want to give you all like a long, drawn-out story 489 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE about how we're like crying for money or anything. But I mean it would just be nice if you would like urge the State 'cause I know you all been trying, and I'd like to acknowledge that. But we just need the State to try to give a little bit of money, just anything would be sufficient, just so -- I mean, so we could have the things that most other school districts around our country have that we seem to be lacking. And I mean, having a good education -- I mean, you need a good education. And if you don't have things like good textbooks, good computers and -- I mean, what's the use of even having computers if our assignments and class work and things like that aren't revolving around our computers. I mean, we just sit there -- I mean the computers that's in our classroom, most of the time they're either broken or don't work or are not up to day. And, I mean, how we suppose to do get an education like that, if we don't have anything like material, I mean things and such like papers and pencils, those are things that we should have. 490 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE But as far as books and things like that, that's something that the School Board and the State should supply. And I don't -- in fact, I and the Student Union as a group feel that they're not doing their job. And I mean, I'm not trying to knock anybody for not doing their job or anything, but that's just the way it is, and we need to have a lot of things corrected. Oh, I'd also like to talk about our transportation needs. I mean, sometimes -- I mean, if SEPTA breaks down, it has the same effect that they had like last year and the year before that. If they have that this year, I mean, that's going to leave a lot of people in the cold. And I think that the School Board should try to stock up on giving people who can't make it to school on foot or have rides to school or things of that sort stock up on tokens, at least try to get students something to get to school just so they can't have the excuse of, Oh well, oh, I can't get to school so I just won't go. I mean, 'cause that's just not going to be good. And I mean, things like giving 491 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE everybody free tokens that should need them, I think they should have 'em instead of having to come and pay 'cause, I mean, some people can't exactly pay for tokens because of whatever family environment they're around, they can't exactly afford tokens. And they shouldn't have to be held in the background because of this. And that's just about it. Thank you. - - - (Angel Sheared comes forward.)
Please identify yourself for the record. MISS SHEARED: Hi. My name is Angel Sheared. I'm part of the Student Union, and I go to West Philadelphia High School. I'd like to talk about our school. Our school has been built since 1911 so, therefore, it's old and it's worn. We have approximately two bathrooms -- well, four bathrooms; two for the girls, two for the boys on each floor, 'cause we have two sides of this building. And we're only able to use one bathroom for each male and female has one bathroom to use. Well, either the doors on the stalls are broken or 492 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE they don't work or the bathrooms are just out of order, period, or they're locked. We also have water problems that we can't use because they're either torn or rusted or just don't work. And if they do work, it's like a little bit of water comes out, about this high (indicating), and you have to put your mouth on the nozzle, which is very unsanitary. But I do want to commend the City and the State for what they have given us, that we -- and we do appreciate their efforts in trying to provide money for us to further our education to get better supplies. And due to the lack of, like he said, computers and textbooks that are actually up to date, we won't get a good education because we don't have the experience and the knowledge that other schools have, like William Penn. That's practically a brand-new school. They have all types of technology that we don't even have, all types of different sports. Like they have swimming pools and stuff that we don't have to further our education and our experiences to go further in education, in our education. 493 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE We also wanted to talk about the District being split up 'cause you have a lot 4 of schools like Masterman or Bartram or some 5 schools like that that aren't a part of the 6 cluster, that actually will be closed down if we 7 have this 22-district break. . 8 SEAN COOK: I'd like to add something. 9
Please repeat your 10 name. 11 SEAN COOK: Oh, my name is Sean, Sean 12 Cook. 13 And I wanted to ask, like in today's -- 14 the year is 1998. A lot of things in this century 15 will be moved onto a new century or whatever, but 16 a lot of things in this century, they move on 17 technology. And the computers in our school, they 18 -- they're like, I don't know, 1968. This is 19 1998, that's what, 30 years? 20 But anyway, if we don't -- if we don't 21 get to experience or work with, you know, deal in 22 somewhat way new things, such as electronics, new devices coming out that certain schools do get a chance to try out or use, if we don't get the chance to do things like that, say, when we 494 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE graduate, when we get out of school, they'll be like, Do you know how to use such and such, or do you know how to process this? And we weren't never taught that. So they'll be, like, What school did you go to? We went to West Philadelphia High. A person might say 'cause does have a reputation. So the person might say, Oh, that's why. He'll be like, Oh, he went to West Philadelphia High, that's why, it figures. And so, just like they say, at certain high -- they said certain schools -- well, no 14 school should be thought of as a bad school. They shouldn't have a reputation, they should all be thought of as equal. That's it. Thanks. (Applause.) ANGEL SHEARED: I have one more thing to say.
Please identify yourself. ANGEL SHEARED: My name is angel Sheared. We have in our locker room for our gym, 495 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE we have showers that don't work, that -- well, like the boys, they'll play basket, and they'll be sweaty, and they'll have to put on their clothes without even washing or whatever because the water doesn't work or the showers just don't work. It's all part of the water concept. Our water fountains, our bathrooms, our showers. It all revolves around one thing: They just don't want don't work.
We have the Managing Director of the School District of Philadelphia with us Mr. Clay Armbrister, he's right there, the good-looking man in the back. Right now, he has a big smile on his face. If you will just see him and give him a little bit of detail about where and when, I'm sure he'll be glad to work with you to take care of those immediate concerns. We readily acknowledge that the facilities that most of the students in the system have to deal with are not exactly first-class. The average school building in our system is about 60 years old -- a lot younger than Councilman Cohen, by the way. 496 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (Laughter.)
As a matter of fact, Councilman Cohen was an adult when these buildings were built. (Laughter.)
When you get as old as Councilman Cohen, you start bragging about it, right, Councilman? You start bragging about it. The rest of us only hope. But we really do understand. As a matter of fact, I just wanted you to know that the School District of Philadelphia did a study and has determined that it will take about three quarters of a billion dollars to put the facilities in the kind of shape that they really need to be in. In many respects, you're preaching to the converted here. We not only think that there should be enough money to take care of the deficit is what you hear about, we think that there needs to be enough money to take care of the technology needs. We have heard testimony that in some of the buildings, there are just not enough outlets to plug in computers, and the wiring is inadequate 497 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE to use modern technology, and various things. But all of it costs money. We have, as you know, made repeated efforts to get the State to contribute their fair share of money. We have recently sued the State -- you probably read about that yesterday or today -- alleging a violation of the civil rights of students in the public school system. And we have made an absolute commitment that we will leave know stone unturned in our efforts to make sure you get what you deserved. Public school students are deserving students and they need exactly what you're asking for. And we appreciate your coming here and making the case because we need as much support as we can. And we hope that you'll be a part of the trip to Harrisburg. Because, I promise you, if you make that trip, it will be a very interesting experience, one that you will remember for a long time. So thank you very much for coming. We certainly appreciate it. And see Mr. Armbrister. (Applause.) 498 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - (Jermaine Dobine comes forward.)
Good evening. Please identify yourself for the record. JERMAINE DOBINE: My name is Jermaine Dobine, and I live in Southwest Philadelphia, and I attend West Philadelphia High School. I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight for listening to the problems in the Philadelphia School District. One of the main concerns is the transportation that I have personally. Many of the students that attend the school in the Philadelphia School District lives far away from the school that they take place. Not a lot of students can afford to pay money back and forth to get to school five days a week, especially like if you live in Frankford and you attend West Philadelphia High School or you attend University City. I was hoping the City Council could help us get money from the State to provide school buses for the students who are not close to the schools. 499 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Also, like when the other Student Union member, Council Members was saying. Also me and like the other members, we are planning on going to the trip to Harrisburg to talk to them about even more harder issues. And we are going to need some buses, and we are not going to be able to pay for that alone, by ourselves. So if you all can do that, we would like really appreciate that. And if that works out, so then it can probably be like even better education for the West Philadelphia High School or maybe the whole state or other states as well, so we really appreciate that. - - - (Antonio Funk comes forward.)
Good evening. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your statement. ANTONIO FUNK: My name is Antonio Funk. I attend West Philadelphia High School. I'm just going to tell you about some of the things that are wrong with West Philadelphia High School. Our water fountains are dirty, they're 500 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE not working, or there isn't enough water coming from them. Our bathrooms have graffiti in them, are dirty; some of which, they smell bad. And our technology is out of date. We should have new computers or something that will help us with our work. I want to ask you if you could, as they were saying, help us with the Harrisburg trip, and help us with what is wrong with West Philadelphia High School. And that's basically all I have to say. - - - (Vincent Thompson comes forward.)
Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your statement. VINCENT THOMPSON: My name is Vincent Thompson. I go to West Philadelphia High School, and I live at 1312 South Ruby Street. But a main problem with our school is that it's a problem everywhere, from the third floor to the basement. I'd like to comment what he said on the bathroom, that the technology is not up to date. 501 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE What I ask is that we try to fix the school up, piece by piece. Frankly, no one's doing nothing to help us with our school system. And it's just like, just like -- they just, like, keep it the same.
Thank you very much. We appreciate your coming. (Applause.) - - - (Amanda Kaplan comes forward.) AMANDA KAPLAN: Good evening, Council. My name is Amanda Kaplan, and I'm a junior at Masterman High School, and I'm also a member of the Philadelphia Student Union. I came here today to basically say everything that everybody else has already said. I think that it would be really important that Philadelphia puts a lot of pressure on Harrisburg to provide public schools with adequate funding. I've been going to Philadelphia public schools since I was in third grade, and I know that they have extreme potential to be 502 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE environments where students can flourish and students can excel, and all student have this potential. And it's the City's job to basically ensure that it gets utilized by convincing the State to allot more funds to Philadelphia for the purpose of education. By helping us in our fight, you are showing us that Philadelphia does care about public education and its public school students. And the future of this City relies on education. And to give us the opportunity to excel not only in Philadelphia, but in the entire world. And as a student who is aware of everything that you've done, I greatly appreciate all the moves that you've made to support Philadelphia public education so far not. And I'm asking that much of you; all I'm asking is that, basically, you use your voices and your influence and your hearts to help Philadelphia public school students change the world. Thank you. (Applause.) - - - (Octavia Harold comes forward.) 503 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Please identify yourself for the record, and proceed with your statement. OCTAVIA HAROLD: My name is Octavia Harold, and I attend Masterman High School. I'm a member of the Philadelphia Student Union, and I am currently a student in the Philadelphia public school system. For years now, I have attended these 11 public schools, and I have watched the gradual 12 cutbacks and fulfillments the City and State has provided to us, the students. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate what the City has done for us already, but what we want is more. I am here to encourage you to speak up about getting more money from the State to fund our schools. Me and several of my peers encourage you to speak against the 22-district split. Already, we don't have enough money. The last thing we need are methods that will create an even higher deficit. Last, but definitely not least, money is power. We need money to keep our schools open, not vouchers to create a bigger problem, but money 504 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE to keep our schools open and operating to fulfill students' needs. I will be leaving in three months, but what I will be leaving behind is the future. And without a good education for the future, what will we have? Thank you. (Applause.) - - - (Djinge Lindsay comes forward.)
Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your statement. DJINGE LINDSAY: Good evening. My name is Djinge Lindsay, and I'm a member of the Philadelphia Student Union and a senior at J.R. Masterman High School. The reason that I've dome here today along with these other students is to plea for education. As you know by now, the Philadelphia School System is anything but perfect. And in a lot of ways it's, less than satisfactory. Although there are many reforms that need to be made, the first thing public schools need is more money, money that will go for books, 505 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE extracurricular programs, supplies, improved facilities, just basic necessities for a student to come out with the proper education. I would like to thank you for the support and money you have given us already. It has been a great help, but we need more. I have come here to urge you to put more pressure on the State of Pennsylvania, to stop playing games, and to increase our funding. My education is more than a political issue to be argued about within Congress and Governor Ridge. It's my future. And in order to ensure that my future and the futures of thousands of other Philadelphia public school students is to ensure the future. Educational funding in the City must be increased. I implore you to join us in fighting for our education and putting more pressure on Harrisburg officials in fighting for our future. Thank you. (Applause.) - - - (Tequan Blanche comes forward.)
Please identify 506 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE yourself for the record and proceed with your statement. TEQUAN BLANCHE: All right. My name is Tequan Blanche. I'm a student at Simon Gratz High School, and I'm a part of the Philadelphia Student Union. First, I would like to thank you all for the job that you all have been doing with the Philadelphia public schools. But I believe that we need a little more of a it. I believe that as long as we continue to deprive the Philadelphia Public School District of funding, we will stay at the bottom, we will stay at the bottom of the list in terms of test scores; and at the top of the list in terms of dropouts. A lot of the things that Simon Gratz would use their funding for are things that were promised to us or will play a big role in our education. At Simon Gratz, we needed things, but two of the most important things that we needed were books and a new cafeteria. And I know a lot of people will say that students complain and don't do anything. But we did complain. And because of the Student 507 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Union, we received the books -- we will receive the books that we need. And I guess that's basically it. We need your help in helping us receive the funding for our schools. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you very much. Is there anyone else to testify? Is there anyone else to wishes to testify? (No response.)
If not, this Committee will stand in recess till a call of the Chair. Thank you very much for being with us. (Adjourned at 7:13 p.m.) - - - 508 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Tuesday, March 10, 1998 were reported and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: RECESSED HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE BILL NO.'S 980131 AND 980138 __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, RPR