COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BUDGET SCHOOL DISTRICT - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, April 28, 2008 10:35 a.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN FRANK DiCICCO COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN BILL GREEN COUNCILMAN WILLIAM GREENLEE COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN MARIA QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO BILL 080158 - An ordinance amending Section 17 19-1801 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Authorization of Tax," to further authorize the Board of Education... BILL 080159 - An ordinance amending Chapter 19-1800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "School Tax Authorization"... - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
Good morning, everyone. This is a public hearing of the Committee of the Whole regarding Bill Nos. 080158 and 080159. I would ask Mr. McPherson to please read the title of the bills. MR. McPHERSON: Bill No. 9 080158, an ordinance amending Section 10 19-1801 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Authorization of Tax," to further authorize the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia to impose a tax on real estate within the City of Philadelphia, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 080159, an ordinance 18 amending Chapter 19-1800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "School Tax Authorization," by amending Section 21 19-1806, entitled "Authorization of Realty Use and Occupancy Tax," to further authorize the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia to impose a tax on the use or occupancy of real 3 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. estate within the School District of Philadelphia.
If we could have whoever is going to testify for the School District to come to the table, please. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Kindly identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Sandra Dungee Glenn, Chairwoman, School Reform Commission, School District of Philadelphia.
Good morning. My name is Tom Brady. I'm the Interim CEO of the School District of Philadelphia.
Madam President, I will speak first and then Mr. Brady will follow, and I believe we also have address by our --
Thank you. Good morning, Madam President, Madam Chair and members of the City Council. I am Sandra Dungee Glenn, Chairwoman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission. The School Reform Commission and the School District of Philadelphia team come before you today to present to Council the District's proposed Fiscal Year '09 operating budget. I am joined by my fellow Commissioners Mr. Martin Bednarek and Commissioner Denise 5 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. McGregor-Armbrister. Following my opening remarks, Interim CEO Tom Brady, joined by the District's Budget Director, Wayne Harris, will touch on the key elements of the proposed budget, and Mr. Brady, key staff members and I will be here throughout the day to answer your questions. I cannot but help reflect on how things have changed and changed in a positive way since we came before Council last year. On the academic side, through the hard and smart work of teachers, principals, regional superintendents and central staff, the involvement of our parents and the efforts of our students, the District has now achieved five consecutive years of increased scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSA test. We anticipate the results of this spring's testing cycle and hope to be able to say this summer that we have made it six straight years. 6 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. On the financial side, again, through the efforts of many, we have slashed what was a $181 million budget gap last spring to a projected Fiscal Year '08 year-end shortfall of $21 million. 4 million in real estate taxes to our schools and an additional $2 million over Council's customary annual contribution to the District of $35 million; the implementation of savings and efficiencies and new financial controls at the District; and the continued support of the Rendell administration in Harrisburg to begin a process to achieve equitable funding for public education here in Philadelphia and across the Commonwealth. We thank Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown and other Councilmembers for your leadership in the City's 7 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. commitment to shift $8 million of School District contracts to the City. We give special thanks to Councilman Goode for successfully promulgating the shift in City real estate tax millage to the School District. We also had on our side Mayor John F. Street and our current Mayor, Michael A. Nutter, who is both a policymaker and a School District parent committed to quality public education. We readily acknowledge that since this time last year we not only have had to work hard to cut the budget gap, but also to win back your confidence. I hope that we have made significant strides to do so. Moreover, I can assure you that our efforts to be good stewards of the appropriations which we receive will be daily efforts, focused efforts and serious efforts. On our watch, I pledge never to come before you with financial surprises of the likes 8 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. which plagued us last spring. That having been said, I am pleased to place before you for your consideration a proposed operating budget that we believe will, number one, build on the successful school reforms initiated since the SRC was created in December 2001; two, reflects priorities which the SRC first promulgated publicly in October 2007; and, three, reaffirm our precept that our students are worth every dollar we are able to invest in them and their futures. This budget includes what we consider our first installment toward achieving priorities which we believe will make significant positive changes for our children. 5 million is invested in sustaining reform in the proposed Fiscal Year '09 budget. Fully $415 million of 9 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. these investments were not part of the District's budget at the time the SRC was established, with the remaining $219 million consisting of payments to charter schools that have been renewed by the SRC.
4 million has been earmarked for Fiscal Year '09 to underwrite our three most compelling priorities; namely, to reduce class size in grades kindergarten through three in our poorest performing schools, to ensure that every child in every school is exposed to music and the arts, and to expand library services. These priorities aren't sexy, but they are proven, fundamental building blocks for raising student achievement. We readily acknowledge that fully achieving class size reduction in all kindergarten through third grade classrooms district-wide will be a multi-year initiative. However, we must begin, and we are beginning here and we 10 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. are beginning this year. We also look forward to future operating budgets when we will be in a position to begin to fund our other SRC priorities; that is, to expand the number of counselors and school nurses. Another initiative about which you will be hearing more in the weeks and months ahead is the expansion of educational and career options for our high school students. We have embraced Mayor Nutter's call to reduce the dropout rate and have asked him to partner with us on this initiative. We all know that students are motivated to attend school when they see a direct pathway from school to either college or viable careers. It is the School District's responsibility to create those pathways for each and every high school student. The School District of Philadelphia and its partners already have implemented a number of initiatives 11 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that provide a solid platform on which to build. They include the Philadelphia Youth Network and Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce summer internship program; Philadelphia Academies' creative partnerships with local employers, such as the Academy of Process Technology at Bok High School, supported by Sunoco; and the SRC's Project Labor Apprenticeship Agreement with the Philadelphia Building Trades Council. I am hopeful that leaders from throughout our region, including Council, will be very receptive to joining the Mayor and the School Reform Commission as we launch a multi-tiered approach to secondary education and the transition to college and career for Philadelphia's young people that will both bolster graduation rates and ensure post-secondary opportunities for our young men and women. The SRC sees as the outcome of 12 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. this partnership the creation of a two-year individual opportunity plan for each high school junior and senior. These opportunities include dual enrollment while still in high school, with subsequent matriculation at two- or four-year college or university upon graduation from high school; completion of a school-to-career program that leads to the workplace or to technical school or college; or completion of a career or technical trade program that leads directly into the building trades, utilizing our Project Labor Agreement with the trade unions. One thing is clear to all of us: Philadelphia will never be the great city we know it can be until we can demonstrate to our students that successfully completing high school on time means that an exciting and successful future awaits them. While I believe it is important always to be forward-focused, I also feel 13 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. it is important to report to you on what return we have achieved on the City's investment in public education since December 2001, when the SRC was created as part of an unprecedented city-state partnership for public education. Where has this partnership taken us since 2001? The answer for us can best be found where innovation and best practices intersect to raise student achievement. At this intersection are four imperatives: innovation, choice, accountability and outcomes. Innovation and choice can be found in abundance among Philadelphia's 61 public charter schools serving over 31,000 students.
Among our innovative charter schools are KIPP Academy, where middle grade students are gaining national attention for their rising test scores; Mastery Charter, where 95 percent of its class of 2007 has gone on to two- and four-year colleges; Wissahickon and Green 14 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Woods Charters, which are breaking ground with their environmental-centered curriculums; the Laboratory School of Communication and Language, where 100 percent of the students are proficient in math. These indeed are innovations that are working. Please don't forget that another example of innovation, our partnership schools, with the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University and with for-profit and non-profit organizations. All are working with some of our lowest performing schools, and many are getting results. We have innovated by working with specialty schools for alternative education, which are returning to the educational process dropouts and overage students. This is another example of innovation and choice that gets results for children. We also have our restructured schools, which are using revamped class 15 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. schedules and intensive professional development to raise student achievement. Here again are proven practices at work. Many have expressed concern that we are moving away from our diverse provider model of charter, partnership, contract and direct-managed schools. We are not. We will continue to embrace choice, but whether schools are traditional, charter, partnership or restructured, they must all be held accountable to the same standard for providing students with a quality education in a clean, safe and nurturing environment. And we must expect academy achievement for students as the common outcome. The School District of Philadelphia has made significant strides in the six years since the School Reform Commission became the governing body for the School District of Philadelphia. We have experienced five consecutive years of rising test scores, with more than a 16 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. 25 point gain in the percentage of students scoring advanced or proficient in math and a nearly 17 point gain in reading; expanded our early childhood program to give students a solid foundation by increasing the number of students attending preschool services from 4,800 to approximately 10,000 young people; put in place a highly acclaimed core curriculum in the basic subjects and have invested more than $79 million in new textbooks and other learning materials. We have reorganized the District on a K-to-8 and high school model to better support middle grade students, and we have launched a Principal Academy to train new school leaders. 5 billion in new schools and upgraded facilities, including science labs and cybraries, in many of our schools, while reaching a historic high rate of 35 percent participation by minority and 17 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. women-owned firms. We've generated a dramatic expansion of high school choice, including the stunning increase of District high schools from 38 to 60, with most of the new high schools having an average of 800 students or fewer. We've initiated quality, year-round professional development for our educators so that they may use the curriculum effectively. We also ratcheted up the recruitment of fully certified teachers for our classrooms so that for September 2007, 91 percent of new hires are fully certified, compared to 65 percent in September 2003. As of January 2008, 98 percent of our entire teaching staff was fully certified. We have introduced for the first time in the history of the District the concept of site selection for the hiring of teachers. Site selection ensures that the most experienced teachers are assigned throughout the 18 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. District and not concentrated in a select number of schools. Currently, there are 81 schools participating in site selection.
An unprecedented 50 percent of all teacher vacancies were filled using site selection since the 2005-2006 school year. In summary, the District has accomplished a great deal since December 2001. Now we find ourselves ready to build upon this solid foundation of success and growth. At this time, we must pause to consider what strategic investments are going to propel us to the next level. We believe that the Fiscal Year '09 budget before you today answers the questions of how we should go about continuing to invest in success and academic growth. Our response is that we do that by focusing funding for new key classroom priorities and for maintaining 19 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. our investment in education programs that have shown results. As we look back at what drove our recent achievements as a district and as a city, I can clearly say that it was our willingness to work together toward a common goal, defined as providing the best quality public education for all students. In the spirit of partnership and public service that binds us together, I invite you to help us deepen that collaboration for the benefit of our students. Our children merit the continued investment of our time, energy and, most importantly, new funding. My fellow Commissioners and I have personally committed to doing all that we can so that the District can realize the vision I have laid out here today. I look forward to working with our incoming CEO, Dr. Arlene Ackerman, whom I believe will work tirelessly to 20 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. make real that vision. I cannot help but imagine the differences we can make if collectively we continue to collaborate and to invest in our public schools. Before I turn the microphone over to Mr. Brady, I want to thank him for answering the call to service during a difficult time of transition and for shepherding through the budget he is about to present. I am confident that he is leaving us a financial roadmap for sustaining the vision that I encourage each of you to continue to support. I want to thank you for your support, for your time and for your attention. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Good morning, Council President Verna and members of the City Council. I am Tom 21 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Brady, the Interim CEO of the School District of Philadelphia. Thank you for the opportunity to come here today and testify. Firstly, on behalf of the School District, I would like to thank the members of the Council and the Mayor for your steadfast support of the children of Philadelphia. This time last year when the District came before the City Council, we faced a deficit of $181 million. With help from our partners at both the City and the State level, the deficit has been reduced to million for Fiscal Year 16 '08. In addition to the assistance the 17 District has received from our external 18 partners, we have put forth effort 19 internally to restore fiscal stability 20 and sustainability. We have introduced 21 increased accountability measures, searched for efficiencies, eliminated waste and increased transparency of our system. The District's ultimate goal is not to be in a deficit position and our 22 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Five-Year Plan shows this happening in Fiscal Year '10. While working to close the budget gap, the District students have continued to achieve and we also have made progress in improving internal operations. The Fiscal Year '09 budget and the Five-Year Financial Plan set forth a framework for building on our remarkable gains in student achievement and financial progress. 8 million deficit for Fiscal Year '09. 8 million in Fiscal Year '09, million is 17 a carryover from Fiscal Year '08. The 18 carryover portion of the deficit 19 resulted, in large part, from factors 20 outside the control of the District; 21 namely, increased energy costs, volatility of the financial markets and cyber charter student payments. Had the District not faced these unforeseen circumstances, the 23 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. deficit reduction plan adopted in May 2007 by the SRC would have produced a positive position and balance for Fiscal Year 2008. The key elements for the Fiscal Year '09 budget and Five-Year Financial Plan are sustained investment in academic achievement, progress towards deficit elimination and financial stability, increased support and strengthened partnership with the City and the Commonwealth, and increased District financial responsibility. This year we are anticipating the sixth consecutive year of rising PSSA scores. As the Chair mentioned, this is the hard work of the regional superintendents, principals and dedicated teachers. 6 percent of our students were proficient in reading. 5 percent in 2003. 6 percent in 2003. We've had more schools 24 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. making annual yearly progress and have been successful in many other academic improvements. We realize that a district serving nearly 170,000 students, that not all students learn at the same pace or have the same goals. Therefore, we are committed to expanding our career and technical education, or CTE programs. We currently operate CTE programs in ten schools with an enrollment of 14,000 students. In 2003, only three percent of our graduates from CTE schools had any type of certification. Today 83 percent of our graduates from these schools have industry-based certification, including certifications in auto safety; culinary and baking; OSHA standards for construction and manufacturing safety; in business education, Microsoft certification; in information technology, Cisco certification; graphic arts as print ed; health occupations are certified nursing assistant, first aid 25 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. and CPR; and cosmetology state licenses. Recently, the Auto Academy at West Philadelphia High School attained National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation certification. This status will be attained in Swenson in the fall of 2008. Students at West Philadelphia were also recently honored nationally for building a world-class hybrid automobile.
Additionally, the School District of Philadelphia has launched an Apprentice Partnership Labor Agreement. The partnership is designed to form strong ties with local unions in the City and prepare graduates to enter the building trades through an apprentice program. In addition to academic rigor, students also gain practical experience in their classes and paid summer internships. Upon graduation, students from these schools are armed not only with a diploma and industry certification to show our prospective employers, but 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. they are prepared to be productive workers and great citizens. Mayor Nutter has charged the School District of Philadelphia with reducing the dropout rate by 50 percent over the next five years. We already have many effective programs in place and are looking to expand them and go forward. The School District participates in Project U-Turn, which is a citywide effort aimed at building effective strategies for reducing the dropout rate. The District also administers several of its own programs aimed at preventing dropouts and retaining students who have dropped out. Programs such as accelerated high schools and twilight schools are geared for our overage underaccredited populations, a group of students at a high risk for dropping out. The District also operates Gateway to College, which is geared 27 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. towards the same population of students. This program is operated in conjunction with the Community College of Philadelphia and it is the only comprehensive dual enrollment program for dropouts in the state. It allows students to complete their high school degree while earning college credits. Next month the District will partner with the City to open a citywide reengagement center aimed at transitioning students who have dropped out back into the District at the appropriate setting. So far this academic year, the District has recovered approximately 2,000 students who have previously dropped out. 8 million in grants from the Department of Labor for the expansion of our dropout prevention programs, many programs remain overburdened and maintain long waiting lists. Overall, we have about 3,300 slots for these programs, and we estimate 28 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. the need, however, to be about 5,000 slots. 5 million for ongoing programs. 1 million for modernizing school facilities, creating small high schools and expanding kindergarten through eight schools. This budget also reflects the priorities of the School Reform Commission. Next year there will be arts and music in all schools, and additional funds will be used for targeted class size reduction in kindergarten through three in Corrective Action II schools, which are those schools that are designated under the No Child Left Behind federal legislation which have not made adequate yearly progress for five years. Every child deserves a safe 29 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. place to learn. This year the District implemented a "Single School Culture" in our most dangerous schools, those classified as persistently dangerous or at risk of becoming persistently dangerous. The "Single School Culture" is a philosophy that sets out explicit expectations in the areas of academics, behavior and school climate. The philosophy is based on establishing shared norms, beliefs, values and goals. The expected outcome is a set of agreed-upon processes and procedures that produce consistency in practices for both adults and students. We have seen success in this approach and are looking to expand it further. 8 percent. The budget we are presenting to you is a reflection of the tremendous assistance and support we have received 30 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. from the City. 69 mills from the City to the District, generating $18 million more in Fiscal Year '08 revenue for the District.
The Administration has also pledged a $2 million increase in the City's cash contribution to the District to $37 million annually, and assumption of $8 million in social services contracts formerly in the District's budget. Additionally, the liquor-by-the-drink tax established in 1995 is projected to generate $41 million for the District in Fiscal Year '08. In Fiscal Year '08, the City also assumed $8 million worth of District contracts. Overall, City support for the District has grown at a rate of five percent annually over the last four fiscal years. The support received by the City has helped the District on the path 31 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. to long-term financial stability and to sustain successful programs which help Philadelphia's students achieve. The City of Philadelphia has been a strong partner in the past, and we are confident that with Mayor Nutter will continue the steadfast support, and the Council. We have already pledged to reduce the dropout rate, and made very clear in his commitment to improving education in Philadelphia. With the support and commitment shown to the children of Philadelphia from Mayor Nutter and the City Council, we have a unique opportunity to work together to increase efficiencies and performance through shared services. The District is currently working with representatives from the City to establish a shared services task force. The task force will be comprised of executive-level representatives from both the City and the District. The task force will identify areas where a 32 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. City-District partnership could increase efficiency by realizing economies of scale or eliminating duplicative services. The success of this task force will aid the District greatly in allowing to focus more intently on our core mission of educating Philadelphia's children. Examples of the type of areas that the shared services task force will look at will include after-school programs, health and social services, energy management, fleet management, real estate management, capital programs, safety and climate, legal, HR, employment benefits, procurement, risk management, and information and communications technology. Last year, the State Legislature funded an independent assessment of Pennsylvania's current education funding. It set out to determine if Pennsylvania is spending enough to meet its 100 percent 33 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. proficiency in reading and math and other academic standards set forward by the State. The report known as the "costing out study" showed that Pennsylvania's schools are currently underfunded by about $2 billion annually. Philadelphia alone is underfunded by nearly $1 billion annually, according to the study. To look at that on a per pupil basis, Philadelphia currently spends $9,947 on each student. The costing out study, however, tells us we need to be spending $14,131 to meet the academic goals set by the State. Governor Rendell's current budget takes remarkable strides towards closing that gap. 6 billion increase in state education funding, and over the six-year plan, the investment would increase incrementally to meet the funding levels prescribed by the costing out study and close the achievement gap. I believe the School District 34 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. of Philadelphia has a very unique opportunity at this moment to take our proven reforms to the next level. Mayor Nutter has not only committed to reducing the dropout rate, but also pledged strong support for the School District. At the state level, we have a Governor who realized that meaningful and successful reform cannot be achieved without increased funding. Governor Rendell has proposed a budget that substantially increases the State investment in the education of its children. The School District continues to make progress, both in implementing successful academic reforms as well as becoming a better steward of its own finances.
I am confident that under the leadership of Dr. Arlene Ackerman and with the continued support of the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, that the District will continue to improve and our students will continue to achieve. 35 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Thank you for the time to testify today, and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you or the Councilmembers may have.
Thank you, Mr. Brady. On of the Five-Year Plan, you mention that in the first year of the plan $634.5 million is budgeted for ongoing reform programs. Of this amount, $317 million is for charter school options and $163.4 million for reforms in traditional schools. Why is there such a large disparity between the two? What is the number of charter schools compared to the overall size of the School District?
Yes, ma'am. We have 61 approved charters and two in Fiscal Year '09 budget, for a total of 63 approved charter schools, with a population of 30,142, I believe at last count, which equals the second largest school district in the State of 36 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Pennsylvania, our charters schools in Philadelphia. That is the size of the charter schools. The reimbursing -- I'm sorry, ma'am. You looked like you were going to ask a question.
No. 9 I was just asking why is there such a large disparity between the two as far as funding.
If you'll refer to of the Five-Year Plan, I believe it's the third paragraph.
We're going to have our Budget Director come and speak with you, answer that question, Council President.
Because I think what we have done is, we pulled out the portion of dollars for our regular schools that go into specific reforms, 37 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. but that does not reflect the total spending, obviously, in our traditional schools. But I will have Mr. Harris speak again with more detail.
Mr. Harris, why don't you just pull a chair up to the side of the table and you could use the microphone. (Witness approached witness table.)
I now have nothing to say, because the Chairwoman was exactly right; that is, the $317 million is the total amount required under state law to be sent to the charter schools, and that amount runs the entire charter school, every cost, from utility to teachers to principals; whereas, the reform amount for the schools refers only to non-mandated reforms above and beyond what we must provide. So it does not include any of the costs of the basic classroom teachers, the principals, the utilities, all those things. 38 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Thank you. Again, on -- Mr. Harris, you may want to stay up there. On of, again, the Five-Year Plan, you mention the creation of a new shared services task force to review opportunities for consolidation and coordination of support functions and services. Can you tell us who will serve on this task force?
Yes, ma'am. It will be the executive levels. We are communicating with Dr. Shorr, who is spearheading the effort as the initial effort with the City. We anticipate at the school level, at the chief operating officer level and the senior vice-presidents. And I don't know the exact -- who will represent the City, but I would think that it would start with the Managing Director and at the equivalent level at the District at the City, so that we can look at mutual 39 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. opportunities for efficiencies and elimination of redundancies.
Can you tell us what functions and services will be reviewed?
Yes, ma'am. In fact, the details are in the Five-Year Plan, but it would include starting with such things as after-school programs, where can we properly place them, how can we combine both in coverage for personnel and security, but also operating hours and operating costs; health and social welfare services, which would work with the City to provide better services; fleet management. We have over 625 vehicles other than school buses. The City has a large number as well. Perhaps we could look at opportunities to combine. Energy management. We are both huge users of utilities. Perhaps there's some opportunities for bulk buying and distribution efficiencies. It can range 40 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. from landscaping and pest control, where we have two separate units that are doing that. Real property management, where we have individuals who are tasked to do that as well as the City. Safety/climate, we can look -- and we do have a great working relationship with the Police Department, but also look for opportunities to see if we can be more efficient and effective combining our resources. Legal, we have 33 attorneys. You have on the City, there's 182 attorneys. Although there are some unique policy requirements for a school attorney for the support of the SRC and the District, obviously claims may have some efficiencies where we could combine the services. Sanitation services, at one time the City picked up the refuse from the schools. This would be a great opportunity to have that happen again, 41 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. and that would be a $3 million savings to us. Capital projects improvement. You have capital projects, as do we. Perhaps there's some commonality in contracting that could be to our benefit. Other facilities management opportunities, where the staffs could look at more efficiency. Procurement, we have full-time personnel working on 12 procurement. The City has 62. Perhaps 13 we could combine and look for more 14 consolidated purchasing power if we 15 combine both the City and the State -- I 16 mean, the City and the School District. 17 My apologies. 18 Risk management. Again, it's a 19 commonality and both entities do it, what 20 can we do smarter. Other financial 21 activities, and the employee benefits, 22 HR. Of course, there are unique things to a school district in terms of HR for hiring highly qualified teachers and checking certification, but there are 42 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. other hirings that could be a commonality. And information and communications technology. Again, there may be opportunities for shared databases and -- so this is not to say that it's going to happen overnight, but I think it's a very significant effort that we are getting together to, within six months, to prepare a report for the SRC as well as the City to show where there may be opportunities to go forward. And I think the bigger issue is -- or the bigger good best news is that we are cooperating together to make that happen, and I'm convinced that there will be economies and efficiencies that will result from this goodwill effort on both sides.
Thank you. What is the likelihood that this review will be completed before the SRC approves the 2008-2009 budget? 43 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
We're looking for the efficiencies for this to be reflected in next year's budget cycle. It would be too premature and I think it would be --
It would be too soon and it would be simply making promises we can't keep for incorporation. As we go through the year, however, if there are opportunities, we would. But I think just not to over-promise and under-deliver, this appears to be part of the five-year efficiency program.
I would agree. Can you tell us for the record what is the current dropout rate for the Philadelphia School District?
That sounds like a remarkably easy question, Madam President, but it depends on how you compute the dropout rate. We report to the State, I believe it's, 7 percent, 7.1 44 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. percent, but we are reevaluating how we compute the dropout rate and we are looking at a six-year cohort methodology. And so I cannot for the record -- I will get back to you with the latest that we have on record and also an explanation of how we are reevaluating, how we determine what exactly is a dropout. And so the State is doing the same effort.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode for a point of information.
The figure that is usually used and the methodology that I think people are most familiar with is the amount of people who enter ninth grade that do not graduate. Do you have a statistic related to the amount of people who enter ninth grade but do not graduate? 45 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
In just a moment as I research, yes, sir, or perhaps Dr. Jones can assist. I don't have the percentage, but 3,201 students in school year 2006-2007 dropped out, as opposed to 5,162 in school year 2005-2006 and 5,294 in school year 2004-2005.
The question was based upon people who enter ninth grade and they didn't graduate and what's your latest statistic in terms of those people who entered ninth grade but did not graduate.
I will get back to you with that, sir. We will be researching it in the meantime.
You have to have a latest number. Whether you have the latest number or not, you have to have a latest number. There has to be some number that was the last number you knew of in terms of people who entered ninth grade and then did not graduate. 46 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Councilman Goode, if I may, based on the briefings that we have received, there's an estimated dropout rate of about 45 percent citywide for, I guess what we call, on-time graduation, those who enter ninth grade and fail to graduate roughly four years later. That really comes from the work the School District did with Project U-Turn. And it varies greatly school by school. Some of our graduation rates are obviously -- dropout rates, excuse me, are in the teens and others exceed 50 percent. But I believe the average that the Commission has been briefed on is approximately 45 percent failure of on-time graduation.
And people are very familiar with that 45 percent number. Has that number changed since that number was first revealed?
Again, I don't know if it has been updated. That was a number that we were briefed on, and it 47 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. really was at the beginning of the school year. I don't believe it included an '07 update, so there may be a more recent number that Mr. Brady can bring to Council.
Thank you. What is the current dropout rate for students enrolled in vocational training?
I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't hear you well. You're talking about vocational?
What 48 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. is the current dropout rate for students enrolled in vocational training schools?
Great. That sounds better. Can you tell us how much the District spent on vocational training?
For the current fiscal year, for career and technical education, we're projecting $61.4 million, and for next year, $63.1 million. That is operating funds only, so there's also approximately $25 million worth of Perkins funds that will be spent in addition to that from the federal government.
I'm sorry. For next year, $63.1 million for career and 49 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. technical vocational education in operating funds and approximately another $25 million in federal Perkins grant funds.
And you say we have a waiting list of how many students? Was it 3,000?
That was a waiting list for our -- a waiting list for our Project U-Turn, and it wasn't related to the career and technical education.
Is there a waiting list for students wanting to get into vocational training schools?
Good morning. Cassandra Jones, Interim Chief Academic Officer. At this particular point, we are just completing our enrollment for September 2008, and so we will not know about for another month in terms of the students who have applied for our CTE schools, and we are now in the process of doing the match and accepting -- or the 50 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. admission process for those schools. So by the end of May, we will know the students who have accepted, because our students get multiple acceptances, and so once we clear those rates, we will know if there are any waiting lists.
I would think that if we did in fact have more vocational schools, that would be an initiative to reduce the dropout rate. Would you agree with me, Mr. Brady?
I think part of the High School Blueprint, which is in the process of being reviewed now, may see more career and technical education as we go forward. And, again, remembering that CTE is not necessarily just a high school certification and then you move on, elements of Community College and then further preparation for a four year's degree. But, yeah, there may be an expansion of CTE, and I know it's being discussed for the Blueprint that the new 51 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. CEO will review and forward to the SRC for the ultimate approval.
Again, referring to the Five-Year Plan, the chart on shows a change in reserve of $884,453 in FY08-09. Can you explain what this is?
It has to do with the School District's debt service, and the School District is required to reserve a certain portion of swaps debt service in order to meet federal regulations. And so the 884,000 actually shows up as an expenditure in our debt service line and then comes back out in the reserve line. And I don't actually understand it much beyond that, but it's sort of a pass-through debt service information.
All right. I have any number of questions that I'd like to ask, but I see that a number of my colleagues have had their light on. 52 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. I assume that Councilwoman Tasco is not in the room. Councilman Greenlee.
Mr. Brady, in your testimony -- first of all, may I just say thank you for your service to the School District. Best of luck in the future.
You talk about in your remarks about the deficit and you talk about the cyber charters and they can either grant nor disapprove. Can you give a little more detail on that? You're required to fund by whom, just so I'm clear?
By the State. We're required -- it's charter cyber students, and we didn't -- it's very difficult to project the number of cyber 53 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. charter students who are going to be enrolled, but it's after the fact. So there was a number after the fact that we were required by the State to reimburse, and we did.
Okay. I didn't know there were that many in that. Speaking of the funding issue, do we know -- and maybe the budget person can tell us -- how we compare to some of the other cities, particularly the east coast cities, Baltimore, New York, Boston, as far as the percentage we get from the State? Has that ever been 54 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. looked at?
If you look in the Five-Year Plan, it actually shows that Pennsylvania is quite low relative to other states. I think we were sixth from the bottom among the 50 states. That doesn't directly answer your question of how Baltimore, Boston, New York are doing, and since I don't know that, I'm not going to venture a guess.
I was just wondering, because obviously they experience some of the same issues we do in different ways and I know on other issues there's been complaints that those cities -- that the State kind of recognizes their problems better than sometimes Pennsylvania does. So I didn't know if that was ever looked at directly.
We'll get the specifics to you. 55 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Thank you. One last question. You talk about the most dangerous schools and the "Single School Culture." Now, we're not talking -- are the disciplinary schools included in that when you're talking about the most dangerous schools?
Now, I know before we heard some concerns -- and I don't know if they still do it the same way, because I haven't heard it recently -- that sometimes students were put in some of these disciplinary schools that didn't necessarily belong and that it either pushed them to maybe drop out of the school or it just put them in fear generally because maybe they didn't fit 56 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. exactly in there. Did you relook at that at all?
There was an alternative school task force that was created about six months ago that looked at every portion of that on entry and what student code would trigger the entry. We're working with the Safe School Advocate on what can we provide, what is being provided, at what cost and how many seats do we have, and part of that was what does trigger a student to be entered into an alternative ed. We looked at particularly driven by the costing, and so wanted to provide a safe classroom for all students, and clearly, some of our students need and do well in alternative education. So it is the results of that task force that will be out in about a month on costing, rules, changes, et cetera, and that is part of the recommendations that's going to go forward to the SRC. 57 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
I know that last year we had some issues with regard to budget, but we're assuming this year that whatever the District says, the SRC agrees with, so we're in agreement; is that correct?
I'd like to ask -- and maybe Ms. Glenn can 58 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. come back. We had an issue with regard to Sulzberger School that was supposed to be considered at the SRC meeting on the 16th, and we want to -- many of you know, this was a big issue, $12 million deal, kind of first of its kind in the City. We all worked very, very hard and did what Mr. Brady talked about in creating a task force and agreements citywide, statewide, School District, PHA. And so we'd like to know if it will be considered at the next SRC meeting, and, that is, the question of giving the right to negotiate. That's all it did with regard to the ownership of the Sulzberger annex or the Lucien E. Blackwell Community Center. The question was only that all entities talk so that they can deal with the issues of ownership and such. Will that be on the SRC's next meeting?
Councilwoman, the SRC is prepared to consider that. We 59 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. were asked to allow the -- I believe the City Solicitor had asked for some time to review what was being proposed, and basically as a courtesy we did remove it from our agenda in April. Again, we are prepared. We will have our general counsel follow up with them to see if their concerns have been addressed so that we can move forward.
Thank you. Let me say to anyone from the City who is here, that we have had that discussion, and the City Solicitor is telling my staff that it is not on their -- that they're not the ones holding it up, it's the SRC. So we are requesting, Madam President, if you would, that before we conclude these hearings, that we have that issue resolved from the City Solicitor. Because not only does it affect that, it affects 42nd and Fairmount, and we have several issues 60 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. interrelated. And, as I said, it only gives them the right to talk about the issue so that legally we can work out those ownership issues since there are various sides who have invested in that.
Councilwoman Blackwell, I'll make sure I have the most recent information. I'll check with our general counsel, who is here today, to see if there's been some change in status, but we would be prepared to put it back on our agenda.
Thank you very, very much. Let me ask -- I don't know if that would be you. I want to ask, since we have a Lucien E. Blackwell apprenticeship program that Penn sponsors and we have Brandywine who has bought in, Drexel agreed to do it, the Zoo and others, how does your District Apprentice Partnership Labor Agreement work at the School District? I wanted to know how it works and if there are commitments for 61 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. jobs after. Maybe this is the first year. I don't know, but if it exists, how it's going and do the youngsters get jobs afterwards. That's an idea whose time has come for us all.
Fred Farlino, Interim Chief Operating Officer. Councilwoman, there is a target in our relationship with the trades with regard to the number of apprentices that you have brought on during four years of the agreement, and we are coming at the end of the second year and one of the things that we are working with the trades right now is a more specific tracking system, that as young people are brought into the trades, they sometimes get absorbed into the general workforce and we lose track of them, because we're concerned about them and being able to track the effectiveness of the program. So to answer your question, they are brought into the unions. They are apprentices, and the District is 62 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. working with the trades to create a better tracking system to be able to answer your question to say where are these kids actually going.
So two graduations have happened. Do you train them specifically for an apprenticeship test? I know math is an issue, even with the adults that we tried to solicit. Do you have a specific training course for them in terms of math and reading or whatever?
We do, and this year we are planning something called Senior Centers. These will be sites located in different parts of the City to give equal access to youngsters that want to be part of it, and we are really focusing to do a better job in preparing our youngsters to become apprentices. Sometimes students think they want to get into the trades, but sometimes at the apprentice level, the work is not all that glamorous and they're not really 63 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. prepared for it. So we're spending time planning a program for next year that will better prepare. But this year we have had -- probably a great program we had was a relationship with the Glazers and Painters Union where we had youngsters who participated in that program as undergraduates. We call it our pre-apprentice program.
We found in our Lucien E. Blackwell apprenticeship program that we will need to do some training in terms of -- well, remedial is not the right word, but we're going to have to do some extra training. Maybe we can do it in my area at a community college level. It would be kind of GED, maybe even adult basic ed to get people ready for training tests. And so we're happy to work with you. Because ours isn't a high school program. As you know, it's an unemployed adult program. But we also want to work 64 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. with the Science Center. We've met with them in terms of keeping adults who graduate. That's one of their missions, to keep adults who graduate from college in our city. So we want to work with that and include it from a school level to a college graduate level where we'll use my area as a pilot to try to keep college graduates here, because we have need of them. And I've heard people talk, Councilman Kenney talked in the Caucus Room about us having engineers and electricians. We're having a very difficult time bringing unemployed people into these trades. So it's from a professional level. He talked about engineers on down, that we have to have people prepared, otherwise we're not going to have everybody in our city from all ethnic backgrounds included in this whole tree of life that we're working so hard. And that leads me into one last question. 65 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. The '09 budget talks about eliminating 151 teaching positions. How are we doing on that? What are we going to do and how will we complement classes? You know, there are many of us, especially we former teachers, who don't like two grades in a classroom, because if you have two grades, a kid at the top grade loses out. So we are interested in that issue.
Yes, ma'am, and thank you for the question, because it has caused some confusion. The number of teachers that we project is based on enrollment. And so as we looked ahead in '09, we could see that based on the student enrollment, we would probably need 154 teachers less, but at the same time, the SRC has given us the priority of lowering class size in kindergarten and three and some of our most troubled academic schools. So we will be hiring teachers to fill those positions. So parents will see less students in the 66 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. classrooms. And so we're talking about -- although obviously we're talking about teachers, it's two separate entities. One is simply a reflection of what we have for enrollment and we won't need those number of teachers, and then on the other hand, in a related -- in a very important academic initiative, which is class size reduction, we will need more teachers. So that's the clarity that I think we need to bring forward.
And, Mr. Brady, if I may, just to add, Councilwoman, we also are maintaining the SRC and the District's commitment to eliminate split classes, which you're referring to.
So this is an ongoing, as I've learned -- and I'm a student in this area -- that into the school year, it's not until we're about two to three weeks in the new school year 67 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that we can really make the final adjustments based on how many children actually show up, where they show up, and then the District staff, led by Dr. Jones, makes the appropriate adjustment so that we are not exceeding either contractual limits on class size nor violating the SRC's priorities about reduced class sizes in the early grades. So that's an ongoing process, and it usually doesn't wrap up until mid to late September.
And last year there was a tremendous effort devoted to the SRC priority eliminating split classes, and it was October, but it was a successful effort, and it's monitored every month.
If I can just piggyback on that. I see that you're projecting a decrease of 1,466 students for FY08-09, which would equate to a reduction of the 151 teachers. That seems less than a ten student to one 68 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. teacher ratio. Can you tell us what the actual student-to-teacher ratio is now?
Well, first off, Councilwoman, you found our mistake, that the enrollment numbers are incorrect. The actual drop -- thank you. The actual drop is projected to be 3,303 students. If it had been 1,400 students, we would never have reduced teachers by 151. So you're absolutely correct on that. In general, the District uses a rule of thumb of approximately 14 students to one teacher, but it depends 15 on whether it's middle schools, 16 elementary schools or high schools, are 17 all different. Smaller schools, the 18 ratio tends to be lower, so it differs 19 depending on the school. 20
What 21 accounts for the reduction of the drop or 22 the decrease of students; do you know? 23
Is it 25 mostly because of the charter schools? 69 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. What accounts for that loss?
Well, we cannot give, obviously, a precise exact answer to that, but it's a mixture of demographics, with a lowering birth rate, which is now turning around in the City, but there's a five-year lag between obviously when more children start being born and when they reach us. So we know that that is going to -- that's going to turn around, but it hasn't turned around for our schools yet. And also the charter schools, approximately 60 percent of the children who enter charter schools have come from the public schools. So we're looking at an increase next year -- this is off the top of my head, but I believe it's around 2,000, 1,900 or 2,000 additional students. A thousand or so of those are for the two charter schools that were deferred and the remainder is for a projected increase in cyber charters and some natural growth among the existing charters. 70 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. So if you use the 60 percent number, approximately 1,200 of the drop would be due to charter schools and approximately 1,900 would be due to the demographic impact.
Thank you. Certainly I have enjoyed working with you, Mr. Brady, and all of you who are there, from Mr. Farlino to Dr. Jones to you, Mr. Brady, to Sandra Dungee Glenn to Ms. Armbrister and all of those on that first row. We worked together very closely to do all of the things that we need to do. We appreciate that. We have a lot of challenges, because often even though we have standards for each grade, they're different in different schools in spite of that. So we still have far to go. And I'll mention one last issue that I mention every year and have for many, many years, and, that is, the issue of 71 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Ritalin and behavior-altering drugs. I ask that you consider that. Many of you know, students become -- when puberty hits, students become suicidal if drugs aren't changed. I know after many hearings on it -- we have many, many hearings, so I know that it is tight that if there isn't a nurse in the school -- and that's another issue. I know we deal with nurses -- that students have to have somebody in charge of dispensing medicine. So we got that out of these Council hearings. But it's a very important issue, because we have some students who take drugs who just come from weak homes and they mimic misbehavior in their homes and they need some decent food, and we have some kids who may need them. But it's a big, big issue, and there's still no universal way we deal with it in terms of kids getting on and off. Everybody says that they take drugs, they should fit in, you know. 72 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. It's supposed to make them normal people, but it's not that simple, as we know. And we know Chad and these other pharmaceuticals make money from our kids and they offer parents SSI and they get a lot more money than they do on welfare, many related issues. It's a complicated issue, but I hope that you will consider the issue of children taking behavior-altering drugs. It's a very, very, very important one. I've been fighting it for a long, long time, unsuccessfully, but I ask that you put it in your minds, because it's a health issue and a moral issue as well. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you very much. I am sorry. I had to leave the Chambers for a meeting, so I missed your 73 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. discussion, I'm sure, about the apprenticeship program. So I won't -- I'll read the notes of testimony, because we are concerned about the participation of young people in the building trades and -- I guess I'll just ask this one question. It may have been asked. What is the level of participation within your program of the trades? Was that question asked?
Good morning, Councilwoman. Would you repeat the question, please?
What is the percentage of participation of the trades in the apprenticeship program at the School District? How does it work?
All of the apprentices are given the opportunity to join the unions. So all of our apprentices are part of the trade unions.
Now, do 74 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. you have a special apprenticeship program within the School District?
We do. We have a pre-apprentice program that we would like to expand. We'd like to geographically expand it, as well as quantitatively so we can have more kids involved. We feel we need to do a better job in preparing our students who are interested in going into the trade areas by working with them. Councilwoman asked about preparation for the tests that the students have to take to get into the various unions, and we're working with the trades right now to try to more specifically track the students who are becoming part of the union. We try to target our seniors, because obviously they're ready to graduate, need the work. And a lot of times we see that students are so successful in these pre-apprentice programs, while this is a good thing, they go on to college. They make the 75 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. decision to go to college instead of going into the trades. But it is something we're working on. We are expanding it, and we look forward to being able to hit our goal, which was 425 apprentices being moved into the trade unions by the end of the fourth year of the agreement.
Who specifically at the District is in charge of this program?
At this point, it is a shared responsibility between the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief of Staff of the SRC.
So are you looking to -- I know you have a gap, but are you looking to really focus in on the effort to make this program a success by hiring someone who has some knowledge about the industry and the program and what the trades need and require? Because it seems to me that you need that kind of person to operate that program. 76 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
We have School District representatives on the committees that plan these programs, and the District's representative on that side is our Director of Capital Programs, and he is well aware of the needs of the trades and what areas apprentices can be most successful. So we do have representation on the committee.
But if I may, Councilwoman, the Commission has asked the District staff to take a look at how we could better organize the oversight of this program. Each trade committed to a specific number of apprentices, and we are now trying to follow through to see how we're doing trade by trade. And it has varied in terms of, I think, the levels of responsiveness, if you would, to the program, and part of that is our fault in terms of really being able to have the appropriate, in my opinion and I think the Commission's opinion, oversight. We have asked for the 77 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. consideration of something -- the very thing that you said, that there really needs to be a point person at the District both from the capital program, the actual construction side, and the educational side, because there's two pieces to this, to really kind of work together and have it better coordinated. So I think that's something that we have asked. I think the District staff has come up with a series of recommendations that they want to make to better -- I think to amend different aspects of the working relationship with this agreement. So we are trying to now see where we are with implementing some of those recommendations. So we believe there are areas that we could really tighten up, yes.
Well, maybe I just need to understand how does the program work. We got this big announcement that you're establishing this Apprenticeship Partnership Labor 78 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Agreement, but what does that entail? What does it mean?
And I think we probably need to have a briefing with you and other members of City Council to kind of walk you through the program, because it has several components, from what goes on in our career and technical schools like the Dobbins and the Bok, what goes on there, what the relationships are with the trades and how they, if you would, screen our young people in terms of applying and becoming apprentices and then how they're supported as apprentices. So it's really -- it's not quite a single -- it's not a short answer to your question, and I think it would be best, if you'd like at your convenience, to have a briefing with you to give you a detailed overview of the program.
I'd appreciate that very much. And probably -- 79 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Excuse me, Councilwoman. Perhaps you might make one that we could do in the Caucus Room and invite whomever would like to get that information.
Let me ask you another question regarding the charter schools. There are several charter schools and a lot of them specialize in various areas, math or technology or architectural engineering. When you evaluate them, do you look to see that they're really presenting a program as outlined to you and that it's just not a high school without the 80 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. specifics being taught?
Yes, ma'am. Part of this year's evaluation for the charters that were up for renewal, part of the evaluation was the purpose and approval of the charter, there is something unique or special about that school, other than it's a high school, nautical, science and technology, et cetera. So that is part of the overall criteria now, are they keeping true with the original purpose of the charter, and that's part of the evaluation matrix that's briefed to the SRC, and this -- as I say, this is the first year we're going through that detailed analysis, yes, but it is part of the matrix, yes.
If you find that they are not conforming to the mission that they outlined in their 81 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. application, what happens?
Well, this year if all the -- this rigorous evaluation process for the SRC, for particularly this year renewal, incorporates many, many different evaluation criteria. As we go forward, we'll strongly recommend that if they're not keeping with the original criteria or the original approval authority of their charter, that is a reason to revoke the charter. Such drastic action in this year, no, but as we go forward and we're tightening the criteria for the SRC, I think that that's a very valid reason. If the schools form to do one particular thing and they're not doing that, then that could be a grounds for the elimination of the charter. However, it's weighed by so many other factors, including the student achievement, et cetera, but it is part of the criteria, yes.
Okay. Let me see if I can -- I have a couple other 82 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. questions. On of your testimony, Mrs. Glenn, you talk about the early childhood programs and that you want to increase the preschool services from 4,800 to 10,000. What is the universe of preschoolers that might be reached?
Right now the School District currently serves 9,500 students in at least four or five different programs to include Head Start, Comprehensive Early Learning Centers, Bright Futures, pre-kindergarten, Pennsylvania Pre-Kindergarten Counts. And so to get -- here I was willing to give you all this information, I should have listened more carefully to your question.
Yes. We're serving about 10,000 now. And, Councilwoman, you'd like to know is that what percentage of three- and four-year-olds 83 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. in the City is that. (Bell rung.)
I don't know the answer to that question. We can get you the answer to that question. I believe our goal was to be serving about 85 percent, making sure about 85 percent of our young people were going through a preschool experience prior to coming to our schools. Where we are now, we can get that number for you. I believe we're in the 70's, somewhere in the 70 percent, 70, 75 percent range, but I'll get you an exact number
Do you think we'll ever reach the point where every child could attend preschool?
Absolutely, if it was possible within resources. I know we've made tremendous gains in the last 84 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. couple of years and great emphasis and funding from the State to make most of this happen, but it's absolutely critical, yes.
And I think one thing that we are trying to work in coordination with the non-profit and for-profit daycare providers, they don't all need to come through our programs, but I think what we're trying to understand is somehow, either through our program, private and then non-profit centers, are we reaching the vast majority of three- and four-year-olds so that they have some kind of preschool experience before they come to the schools. So that that's really our goal. It may not be through our programs specifically, but by working with the other providers. And I know there's a lot more coordination. We are doing a lot more training of preschool teachers like with the other centers. So that's something that has been improving a great 85 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. deal, but, again, we can find out between all of us what percentage of young people we're serving.
Thank you very much. If you get that information to the President, she'll make it available to all of us.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. I'll try to move very quickly. Let me first congratulate you on the improvement in PSSA test scores from 2002 to 2007. Clearly, the numbers speak for themselves in terms of scores in general. I am interested in whether that number holds true for high school performance. I believe it probably does not. Do you have a number 86 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. for high school performance in terms of PSSA scores, what it was in 2002 and what it is now in terms of those performing at proficient or advanced?
One moment, sir. We're getting it. If not, sir, we certainly can get it to you.
While we're waiting, without mentioning the schools in particular -- I don't want to stigmatize them -- I would just say that my information I have says that there's a school in North Philly where 87.4 percent did not perform at proficient or advanced. There's a school in North Philly where 90.4 percent did not perform at proficient or advanced, another school -- two schools in Northwest where 90 percent or more did not perform at proficient or advanced, a couple schools in West Philly, high schools, where 94, 97 percent did not perform at proficient or advanced. (Witness approached witness 87 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. table.)
I'm LaVonne Sheffield. I'm the Chief Accountability Officer for the School District. In grade -- and that's the 7 only grade that we test for the PSSA -- 8 for proficient and above, 2002 was 23.6, 9 and in 2007, we're at 30.9. And the 10 change is 7.3. Not as dramatic as the 11 other grades. In reading, '02, 28.7. '07, 34.9, a growth of 6.2. I should note particularly in mathematics, our growth of 7.3 is beyond the State's growth, which was only 4.1, and we're flat in terms of reading.
I'm interested in some other demographics. Chiefly a couple years ago I asked Mr. Vallas two questions: One, whether he saw a connection between the dropout rate and the murder rate, and the second question I asked was about the performance of African-American males, and he never answered the second 88 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. question. So I'm interested in what was African-American male performance in 2002 in terms of PSSA testing and what it is in 2007.
I have the data. I can get it for you. Our gap has been flat. We've not made very much movement with either Hispanics or African-American, both male and female.
I'm extremely interested in not only receiving that information probably before the end of these hearings or before we approve the budget, in addition to that, I'd like information, however you have it demographically in terms of those demographics, that fall far below the improvements you've made. If they're geographic demographics and otherwise, I'd like to know -- as much as I like the overall improvement, clearly there's some problems there, and if it's flat, it's flat, which means that at some point we 89 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. just look at how we address those achievement gaps, which leads me to my next question. Do we have dropout factories in Philadelphia?
Do we have dropout factories in Philadelphia, schools where people go to drop out?
There's been extensive work done in multiple pathways in Project U-Turn that identifies those groups and students who have a propensity to drop out, and you can start that study in looking at fifth and sixth. Primarily it's sixth and ninth grade. And some of the indicators would be poor attendance, poor grades and trouble with law enforcement.
My specific question is, do we have dropout factories? Are there places where you pretty much know a majority of the 90 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. students are going to drop out?
We have that data that we could -- yes, we have that level of data where we could look at the --
Let me ask the question a different way, then. If 100 percent of the students in a high school are not performing at proficient or advanced, would you consider that to be a dropout factory?
Oh, I'm sorry. My hearing is not good, and I apologize for having you ask it four or five times. Dropout factories, yes, sir. Do we have dropout factories? We have high schools that clearly are not making the academic success that the SRC and the District want, yes. Are we in the process of looking at high school reform? Yes. Have we looked at -- has the District made some significant changes in the last couple of years? Absolutely. Is it where we need to be? No. And has there been a group that's looked at it and it's 91 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. called the High School Blueprint that's going to be enrolled in June and enrolled in June for the SRC's approval? Yes. And I would say that there would be success -- there would be plans to identify those high schools that are clearly not making that achievement.
My last question simply is, if you were using PSSA scores as a benchmark and particularly those who not scored at proficient or advanced in terms of reading and math, at what level, 100 percent, 90 percent, 80 percent, if you have a school where the overwhelming majority of students are not performing at proficient or advanced, at what level of non-performance? Like I mentioned a couple of schools where clearly -- the one at the top of the list right here in terms of this particular school in terms of math scores, 0.4 percent score were advanced, only 12.2 percent were proficient, and 87.4 percent were at 92 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. basic or below, as contrasted with, say, Masterman, where 79.7 percent were advanced, 17.8 percent were proficient and only 2.5 percent were basic or below. (Bell rung.)
So if you have schools where you have 70, 80, 90 percent or more that are not scoring at proficient or advanced, are they dropout factories and how many do we have and where do you set that benchmark?
Councilman, we have a number of schools and there are a number of high schools -- and, again, I don't know the exact number -- that are in that mix. I believe there may be 10 or 11 that are included in our lowest tier of corrective action schools. That's what we've looked at. These are schools that not only do they have high numbers of students who are not on grade level, but we can't see any progress. We don't see it getting better. And we call them our Corrective Action II schools. 93 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. In those schools -- and we're looking at what we call the third tier, those schools at the very bottom, where we are preparing and asked staff to work with us to prepare an intervention plan that could include anything from restructuring the school, charterizing the school, potentially even looking for contract partners who would bring in a different educational program, one that has been shown to be effective, though, a proven program, because what we are currently doing is not working. So we are looking at ways that you might consider radical interventions in those schools. A number of them are high schools. It's not just limited to high schools, but there are -- the high schools that you're referring to would be in a category. So, yes, we have our eye honed in on them. We are very clear where it is not working. We have -- and we can't do all 70 schools at one time, but we 94 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. have a group of about schools where we are looking over this next academic year to lay the groundwork for this intervention program and begin to turn that around.
Just lastly, 8 I'm interested in as much demographic 9 information as I can get in terms of PSSA 10 scores. Thank you. 11
Yes, and we would 12 be happy to break them out that way. And 13 they tend to be our comprehensive high 14 schools. I don't think we would be 15 surprised by the names, but it's now time 16 to do something radical in terms of 17 changing what is going on in those 18 schools. 19
23 You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones. 95 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
I have a list of questions, but I'm going to start where Councilman Goode kind of left off and focus on some of your schools that I'll leave names out of and just say that one of them is the corrective action school, if you would, that deals with discipline, and these are students that actually leave the regular system and are sent to schools that are specialized to deal with those kinds of matters, and some of the performance ratios there are a little bit disturbing, and I would cross-reference probably some of those graduates or lack of graduation, dropouts, and wonder if some of those are troubled young people who wind up going on to violence and say that that corrective action plan needs to focus on them and be targeted towards them. 96 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. A couple of things, too. I would be concerned about the administration of some of those programs and some of their success ratios and who is monitoring that. The cost that individual students have range from $1,500 in one school versus $6,000 or somewhere thereabouts -- I think that's right, Councilwoman -- about $6,000 per student, and the outcomes don't correlate with the amounts of dollars spent for those two schools. And we are going to take a hard look at that in Council in a separate hearing that my colleague, Maria Quinones-Sanchez, is going to take a lead on, but you need to put a pin in that and note that we are noticing those disparities and, in fact, want to know what we're doing to kind of address them. In those same schools, there are acts of violence perpetrated on teachers on a daily basis and to the degree that they have become accustomed to accepting that as their way of life. 97 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. So I want to know specifically in those cases what we are doing for some of those students that probably fall in the same category by way of performance that Councilman Goode talked about.
The review of the alternative education and how we provide it to the students has been an ongoing project for the last four months, headed by Dr. Jones, who is the Chief Academic Officer. It included all the stakeholders, including the alternative ed providers, and it looked at not only the curriculum and results, but also the costs and what happens to the students within the program. From that, at the beginning -- and that work is nearing completion, but from that, we already have an RFP, a request for proposal, to go out to providers, successful providers, with much more strict accountability and measures, that the District will have to look at success rates of those programs. 98 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. If a teacher is attacked in one of those schools, then we will take immediate action to make sure that -- and to the best of my knowledge, it has not been reported in the last year where a teacher has been assaulted.
Excuse me. Just last week a teacher was interceding in a fight at one of your schools between two students and was viewed as too aggressive in breaking them up. The student went back to school and the teacher was suspended. The teacher was suspended. You should look into that.
So that happens, and it is a demoralizing kind of condition where you are putting them on the front line, asking them to deal with the toughest population, and we have a policy by which that is more geared towards the protection of our students, which it should be, but it should also 99 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. take into account the difficult task that teachers face in dealing with that population.
Correct. I couldn't agree with you more, and after the hearing, if I could get specifics on that, I would personally follow up. Thank you.
To move on with my time, I'm looking at my capital budget. I've learned as a rookie not to give the compliments out like this part, but I feel compelled to use some of my time. I've had a great interaction with the School Board on a number of cases within my district, specifically the Mifflin School where we had to intervene. Councilwoman Blackwell was there and other members of Council, but I want to specifically give praise to them on a difficult situation which they helped me with. Mrs. Jones, Dr. Jones, was a part of that. 100 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
But in my 30 schools in the 4th Councilmanic District, I'm looking at the capital improvements and what gets repaired and whether a boiler gets repaired. And I'm going through it, and I appreciate the information that was provided, but I would be curious as to know what is your formula by which you determine which are the priorities of capital budget and what neighborhoods and is there -- I've been in economic development for a time and I understand one of the biggest decisions any business or individual corporate person makes is not so much what's going on in the neighborhoods, but what's going on in the school system in the neighborhoods and where will I send my child to school. So how are you determining what schools get these capital improvements and when?
Thank you, 101 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Councilman. About four years ago, the District, prior to full implementation of the capital program, conducted, with external support, a condition assessment of every facility in the School District of Philadelphia, and that assessment was used to help us prioritize the work across the District, and we primarily focused on the kinds of things that you're referring to, boilers and things like that, where we've tried to use the money to protect the envelope of the building, grooves, windows, boilers, things like that, and the condition assessment guided us in how to spend that money. And I might add that while our capital budget is really the largest it's ever been, it's about $1.4 million, we probably have about -- I'm sorry; $4 billion. We have about $4 billion in need. So there are schools out there that do need capital work. (Bell rung.) 102 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
So you're saying to me the condition of the neighborhood and its viability as an up-and-coming versus low-and-moderate has nothing to do with your appropriations of capital budget?
I think Mr. Farlino was talking about the process about four years ago, Councilmember, but the good news is that we've engaged and a firm is already assisting us, CRE, in preparing an updated facilities master plan, which will incorporate and work very closely with the City in terms of demography, in terms of city planning and what -- in the next five- to ten-year window, where the students will be, what communities are developing, and it will come up with -- when we do go to the SRC in about a four-month period, what will the City of Philadelphia look like five years from now in order to make those investments in that capital program. Some areas will gain schools, some areas -- where to 103 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. invest. It goes to your point that you were talking about before.
All right. Here is my point on my point: My point is that I should not see disparity between investment in education, which is the single most important pathway out of poverty, based on, oh, here's some new neighborhood and it's up and coming and we're going to make the schools look nice there, without in fact investing in low- and moderate-income areas that need that educational venue as much as other neighborhoods.
No question. Don't misinterpret my comments at all, and we can lay out exactly what we have in the short term and part of that plan to revitalize neighborhoods as part of the education -- investment in education and schools within a neighborhood can help to revitalize. So it's simply not looking at those on the rise. It's also what can we do with the established neighborhoods 104 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. and equity across the City.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez.
Thank you, Madam President. I also want to thank Mr. Brady for responding to the call of duty. As I mentioned to you at our meeting, in Philadelphia we tend to be pretty brutal with outsiders sometimes. So thanks for surviving some of that. Going back to some of the issues around class size, there was a commitment by the CAO's office for a report on class size. Has that report been completed and when do you expect to roll that out?
We do a weekly report that we share with the Interim Chief Executive Officer and -- 105 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Excuse me. I'm sorry. Would you identify yourself for the record?
I'm sorry. Cassandra Jones, Interim Chief Academic Officer. We do a weekly report that goes out from the Interim Chief Executive Officer to the principals' union and the teachers' union monitoring class size every week so that it is up to date, and we can certainly forward a copy to you.
How many classes would you say are oversized at this point?
At this point, we know that we have two high schools that have oversized ninth grade class that we are monitoring and that we report that. At the middle school level, I want to say that we are leveled, and at elementary, I believe we have two that are oversized by one in third grade and -- I don't recall off the top of my head. 106 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. What we do -- and we monitor it every week. If we see that the attendance, that it has remained constant, that we do add teachers. So even in the last -- at this point in the year, if there is a need, we do add a teacher or an aide. So we do monitor it very carefully.
So what would be the number on average weekly that we have oversized classrooms, or does that number fluctuate?
Oh, no, no, no, never that large, but I will tell you that in the last month, in one of our high schools, we had a lot of students who came in at the ninth grade level and we have one high school that is the ninth grade level that I would say easily maybe ten oversized classes. And we are working with that high school in that 107 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. region to try to resolve that, because it's actually a transition of students that came between two regions. That is our highest.
I'm sure you'll share with us, because I know that we've allocated over $11 million to reduce class size, so I'd be interested in what methodology you'll be using as to how do you target those monies. That's something you can share with us later. Going back to some of the alternative school questioning that Councilman Jones was making, can you tell me the success rate of some of the alternative schools in terms of actually graduating? I know the intent is for these kids to go into these schools and potentially come back to their schools. How many of them are coming back and how many are staying there and graduating from them in comparison to our traditional high schools?
I would have to get 108 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. the exact information for you, but the process is, as you say, that many of them do come back. And one of the things that has been a focus of this task force is to really look at that, because it's very uneven between the providers. And so one of the things that we've been doing in terms of the meetings with the providers, as well as with the task force members, is to look at that figure and to look at the process, as well as to look at the schools that they're coming back. Because we also want to know what happens when they come back to the schools, what did they learn, what did they gain, what was the transition plan back. So I can absolutely provide that information for you.
I appreciate that. I want to encourage my colleagues, thanks to our Chair of Education, Councilwoman Blackwell, we will be having some hearings in the evening at the school-base level next 109 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. week, and I invite all my colleagues, both who are on the Education Committee and ones who are not, to join us on May 6th at Hunter High School where we will have hearings specifically targeted at correction action schools and specifically high schools, which is of great concern. So I want to plug those hearings in and thank the Councilwoman for allowing us to do that. It's part of our commitment to going out into the field and listening to folks and engaging folks. In terms of the shared services that I've heard folks talk about, having been a provider for the School District, every few years in our reform efforts we go from the family support services network to the resource support networks to the cluster support network, and we go from school to career to out-of-school youth services, and I know there's been a lot of attention paid to Project U-Turn and some of the other initiatives, but I 110 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. want to remind folks that we have folks like Fairhill Community Academy and others who have been doing this work for years, but have just never been in 6 style, you know, because we kind of go 7 through these phases. And they're 8 dealing with the same population as some 9 of these challenged schools that my 10 colleague, Councilman Goode, mentioned, 11 and really want to encourage the School 12 District to look at what they're doing 13 and why they've been so much more 14 successful in doing some of the work, and 15 I'm particularly concerned around the 16 schools that feed into that same 17 community, the Edisons. 18 I've made it a point to visit a 19 school every single week since beginning 20 my term in Council, and I'm very 21 encouraged by the commitment that's at 22 the school level, but I want to make sure 23 that the Administration is paying 24 attention to those programs that have 25 been successful. 111 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. I ran a twilight program and one year at Kensington. We graduated more kids out of our twilight than we did out of Kensington, and what that showed me was that sometimes taking the kid out of an environment where they've been unsuccessful and putting them in a partnership where they get a clean slate -- what I used to tell me kids, you get a clean slate -- and it costs us a lot less money to do, but it was in partnership with the schools. And because, again, we go through these phases where we create new initiatives. Let's look at what we've done in the past that has worked so that we're not reinventing the wheel and we're not using our kids as guinea pigs. Okay. Let's try something new. I'm very concerned -- I'm very encouraged by what the Chairwoman Glenn said around we're going to make sure that whatever we do to some of these corrective action schools, it's proven 112 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. successes versus trying that out. But I'm a little concerned that we haven't paid attention to some of the successes that we have internally. And I think Councilman Kenney mentioned this earlier in our briefing where Dr. Ackerman is, that we don't praise the good stuff that's going on in the most challenging, because we're always looking for new, innovative things as opposed to applauding what works. (Bell rung.)
So I just want to put that out there, that there's a lot of good things in the District and we need to study them better.
I think that you will see in both with Correction Action II task force and alternative ed, we have absolutely done that, and one of the reasons that we are taking our time in terms of especially around the alternative ed or request for proposal -- 113 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Fairhill actually happens to be one of the groups that we'll be reviewing, because we feel that they have had a lot of success. And one of the things we want to make sure is that we investigate and study and replicate the things in the District that we have done well and we are making sure that we're taking the time to have the multiple voices in. So we absolutely are doing that.
I appreciate that. I have more questions, but I'll ask them later.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
I want to ask you a question about truancy, a 114 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. longstanding problem. I'm sure I was a truant at some point in my life. That was in the olden days. It was a little different. You actually were afraid to be caught. It's a little different now. During the course of the hearings, particularly related to some of the issues around Safe and Sound and some of the children in youth programs, and then here more recently during the District Attorney's testimony, there was issues relating to truancy. There was some concern raised by Councilmembers, and I know particularly Councilwomen Brown and Miller, about the proposal to eliminate all of the parent truant officers. And then when we got into the discussion, there was some thought that there were two things: One, they were viewed as not being effective, although I thought, frankly speaking, they weren't given enough time, but the other issue came up that there was no relationship between the School District and the 115 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Administration and the placement and the formulation of that program, which was perplexing to me. I couldn't understand how you could not have that relationship. And then during the District Attorney's testimony, she said that she felt that her office, to some degree, was a better placed position to provide a truancy program in the District Attorney's Office, pointing to some past successes, and requested from Council that we increase her budget to reflect her ability to do that. My question is, one, do you think that the School District should take the point as it relates to truancy? And I'm sure you're going to say yes. I'll be a little surprised. Two, if you do agree with that premise, what is the position or what is the strategy as it relates to truancy relating to our young people? What are we going to do? Are we going to have these partnerships? Just kind of talk to me about how -- 116 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Just reflectively, it would be yes, but I think more careful thought has to be going into it, because as you said, if it's a City-driven initiative -- and as I recall, the PTOs, or the parent truant officers, was a very important item in, I believe, the last Administration and --
But let's forget about that for a moment. Let's talk about the active engagement of the City and the School District together, because if you're not working as partners, it can't work. And I think that the delivery systems are also absolutely critical. If the parent truant officers are trained and they're doing their job between 9:30 in the morning and, I believe it was, 12:30 is their normal span and they are in fact approaching students and asking why they aren't in school, and if they aren't, then where 117 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. are they going to be delivered to, and when they transition back to the school system, do we have a robust system to get them to where they need to be. I don't think you can simply say it's going to be the School District alone without the City assistance. So I really think that it needs to improve, but I think it needs to be a collaborative effort. Clearly, I don't think -- and, again, I haven't studied the proposal and I haven't talked to the District Attorney, but eventually the District Attorney for law enforcement purposes and prosecution, but I think we're talking about well before that in terms of prevention. So I'm not sure that you start at the end and work backwards. You'd start at the beginning and work forward.
Exactly. First let me say that -- and I forgot to mention, Councilwoman Sanchez is being a very vocal Councilperson, because 118 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. actually I think a significant number of those parent truant officers actually live in her district. So it not only was an issue with respect to removing that much-needed program, but actually now having people unemployed. I'm not clear, and I hear your answer. The first part was yes. So as we move ahead, who is going to take the lead on this? Because I know from my perspective in talking to the prior Administration, the reason why they got into that business, because they believed that nobody was paying attention to it to the degree that it needed to be, so they came up with a process that didn't include you, and I think it was born more out of frustration than anything else. So again I'm going to ask you, how do we take the lead on this issue? Because I was a little concerned, because I didn't really see it reflected in the testimony, what we're going to do with this. So can you kind of talk us -- I 119 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. mean, if you don't have a sense of what you're going to do yet, fine.
It's not totally fleshed out, but I can respond to what we're doing. It actually sits in our Office of Specialized Services, headed by Brenda Taylor, and that's been part of this alternative ed review, because the students that were in truancy programs and then coming through alternative ed and then what was coming through twilight, they were crossing, and many times we had looked at them in silos, and that's been part of what we've been discussing. So I can tell you where it is sitting. We don't have the final answer yet. It is sitting and it is on the radar.
The reason I ask -- well, and I'll not necessarily ask in a different way, maybe a little more direct. We have a significant number -- Councilwoman, what do we have, like 200, 300 PTOs? 120 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Over 300 PTOs that are either out of work or going to be out of work, and I thought, frankly speaking, it was a good idea. We had a District Attorney who was going to be asking us to increase the budget to reflect her ability to do truancy programs, and I don't know what that will be. Timeline-wise, when do you all think that you're going to be in a position to give us some recommendations? I mean, at the end of the day, these are school kids.
It's all of our responsibility, but more so the School District than anybody else, in addition to their parents, because ultimately that should be a part of it, but we haven't figured that one out yet, how to get parents to be a little more responsible. 121 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. In the next week or so, what can we expect as we come to this process of finalizing our budget? Because all of these earlier issues that I discussed will be a part of that budget process and I kind of -- I guess we kind of need a little more direction from you.
The other element of that is also the shared services task force that I talked about before where we're going to look at things like this and what would make sense to put this together. (Bell rung.)
And I appreciate the urgency, and more often than not when -- we can certainly look at it very carefully, and we'll -- I'm ah-ma-mon (ph). I appreciate that we don't want in the haste in the next week to put something that should be within the School District in some other operating agency and not have it work. So we will come back through the SRC with a proposal 122 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. but not fleshed, not to the degree of where it would be, but some timelines and specific responsibilities that we feel comfortable in putting forward.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez for a point of information.
I want to agree with Mr. Brady. I think in this shared services task force, for us I think it's important, because the Mayor, through some of how we're going to reorganize the money that was flowing through Safe and Sound, it has to be put in a priority area. So I agree that it's in your shared services task force, but it's been missing on all your information. So it's a big concern, because I think if some of the increases that we 123 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. saw in terms of attendance at some of these schools was directly related to some of these truancy officers -- and I know there was a variation of success rates -- but if that's not a priority area, it's going to get lost in how we reallocate some of that needs-based money that will be allocated through the HR. So it is a priority.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Five minutes moves quickly, so let me first formally welcome your new School Reform Commission members to this forum, and let me also congratulate you also on the dramatic increase that has happened with the number of young people attending 124 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. preschool. I'm going to pick up from where a couple of my colleagues left off, starting with Councilman Goode, who provided us the real clear numbers around high schools that are not meeting AYP. At what time during a child's, young person's attendance in school do they take those major statewide tests? It's third grade and -- three through eight?
Focusing on those tests that happen between third and eighth grade. I contend that we see signals of young people not doing well long before they get to ninth grade, starting with truancy-related matters and how well they're doing or not doing on AYP. So my question is, what triggers are in the system systemically where you see early on that this young person who is not reading, not learning to read or reading to learn after third grade, 125 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that's a signal, not attending school between fourth and fifth grade so they're catching up with their reading. Because if they're not reading to learn, then they're not getting the concepts, consequently not doing well on AYP. So what signals are there in the system that send the signal that we need to get our hands around this student or these students so that we can give them a better starting point at ninth grade? What instructions or whatever are given to principals who give to teachers that says, I want to know what students are not where they need to be so that we can get them and not lose them before they get to ninth grade? What is in the system that send those kind of triggers?
Currently, using the core curriculum, that's the first thing that's standardized, this is what a child should be able to learn. And then how do you use the professional development for the teachers, for their 126 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. the administrators to make sure that they are learning it. But it goes beyond that. Then what are the assessments. First of all, they start with the daily assessments that our teachers make, and then they have that information fed into what we have systemically, which we have our benchmarks.
So every six weeks for the students in K through 8 and then every ten weeks for students in high school, we give an assessment, and it says what the child should have learned in that time period. And if indeed you can tell child by child if that work has not been mastered, then we also give very specific strategies for the teachers to go back to reteach and to use that work. But then it's also attendance. It's also how are the teachers and our administrators interfacing with our partners and with the parents, because part of this information is what are we 127 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. sending home so that a parent knows what does my child need to do or the parent knows if the child has not been in school, that the parent knows this is the homework. So when a child is coming home and saying, I don't have books, it's that constant communication. So that if a child says, I don't have a book, we reach out and make sure that that child has a textbook. So it's not only the assessments. It's looking at attendance. It's looking at how we communicate with the parents in terms of what is being done, and then how do we coordinate with our after-school programs. When we talk about the extended day, how are we really working with them. With those kind of assessments, that information goes to those providers also. So there are lots of triggers, but lots more to be done.
So knowing that this clock is going to go off in a minute, and this is only one question, if 128 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. we know between sixth and eighth grade young people are not doing well, acknowledgment of that is one thing. Stipulating that something different needs to happen with this student is another thing, because we are about to move them to ninth grade. And so my question is, what kind of arrest happens where we say this student is not where they need to be and we need to come up with a different corrective, preventive plan of action? That's the question I'm trying to answer.
If I may, Councilwoman, we asked -- because for the Commission and most of us, the majority of us, are not educators, they have to keep it simple for us, and the way they broke it down for us was that the gateway was first third grade. So there's a special attention now being placed on it. That's why you've heard us talk about reduced class size K to 3. The second half of second grade and third grade are 129 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. really the key places that staff is saying they're really honing in with teachers, particularly around literacy skills.
The next point is sixth grade intervention point, where that seems to be the next grade, if you would, that becomes particularly critical to make sure that young people are where they should be. Different kinds of interventions -- I'm not the educator, so I can't spell them out, but the sixth grade is where we've also made now the next intensive, I guess, support.
Triggered in. And then the transition from eighth to ninth grade. So we go through our budget years and one of the things we're trying to understand is how we then have to prioritize those grades in particular for the kinds of supports to make sure that they can be in place. So that's how 130 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. we've begun to think about it, if that's helpful.
Yeah, that is helpful, and it goes again to Councilman Goode's question. If you were to look at the performance of African-American boys at sixth grade, period, you could see the dot easily connect to what's happening or not happening with African-American boys between ninth and twelfth grade. So that is helpful, and that's just one question. Truancy. We really do need to hear back from you on this truancy question, because as Councilman Clarke indicated, in a minute we have to make decisions, and it is my personal opinion as a former educator truancy belongs in the School District, because it's also the message we send to young people with where a particular program is housed. So I will look to the document that tells us where you're going to put -- what you're going to do with regards to the truancy 131 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. program. (Bell rung.)
And I'll see you after the next round. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. This Committee will stand in recess until 1:30. Thank you. (Short recess.)
The Committee of the Whole is now back in session. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. If we could please go back to the line of questioning raised by Councilwoman Tasco around the agreement with the building trades and opportunities for young people. As I understand it, three years ago the understanding was that the $5 billion 132 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. capital building program would be leveraged or the equation would include the hiring of Philadelphia public high school students. So that program, in effect, is how many years old?
The agreement was signed two years ago, as I understand it. End of the second year.
So we're at the end of the second year. The School District's practice is always to have a document, a curriculum, a plan or something before the actual signing of the agreement. When could we get a copy of the actual plan that articulated the provisions of the agreement? Long before you sign an agreement, you have to read something. You have to read a document. So when can we get a copy of that?
I'm sorry. You're going to have to identify yourself for the stenographer. 133 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Fred Farlino, Interim Chief Operating Officer. Councilwoman, the agreement was signed in June of '06, and at that point, the document was presented to the District and we operated for a full year under the agreement.
There was no plan that was prepared before the document, the final agreement, was signed. We are now working with the trades, because much of the language in the PLA itself is not specific, and we are working with them, and I'll use the example of the whole term of "apprentice." The District had its own perceptions of what that was, and, in fact, we are working with the partnership committee, which is part of the PLA, one of the components of it, and we are working with the trades to make some of the terminology specific so we can track apprentices, we can better evaluate the performance of all the 134 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. components of the program.
So let me make sure I understand what I think I heard. The School District signed a document, an agreement, with no written plan about how the program would work; is that what I'm hearing?
You're working with the partnership and working with the trades to determine the terminology. Who is the partnership?
The partnership committee is made up by four members of the School District of Philadelphia.
It's the Chief Operating Officer. It's the Senior Vice-President for Facilities and School Operations, also the Senior Vice-President for Capital Programs and the third one is our Senior Vice-President for Procurement. 135 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
We are preparing an end-of-year report for the SRC. We are working with Philadelphia Area Labor Management to work through some of the issues and concerns that we have about the language in the PLA, especially as it relates to some of the issues that have been raised here today around apprentices.
So all dots in terms of accountability for the first and second year ultimately lead to where?
There is a four-year goal that the trades will recruit 425 apprentices from the School District of Philadelphia and have them become members of those various unions 136 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that they apply to.
The program is two years old. How many apprentices have been recruited thus far?
We don't have this year's number, but the first year's number I think was 65.
I want a documentation, something that says who they are and where they come from. So what reports, documents have you produced -- you have a document that says there have been 65 young people?
Yes. We actually have a database that we had concerns about around the accuracy, and that is a very specific part of the PLA that we are asking for clarity. We are working with the trades to revise that to be more specific, to have a database that will allow us to track our students as they become members of the trades.
When can we get a copy of the tentative database 137 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. of students?
That's available immediately. We could provide you with what we have.
If you could forward that to the Chair. Who is responsible for the curriculum?
The curriculum is part of what we call the pre-apprentice program and it's part of our vocational education program.
So there's a document that exists that says that this apprentice curriculum is directly linked to the opportunity for young people to ultimately have access to the building trades?
If you 138 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. could forward that to the Chair. Who is responsible for the recruitment, the orientation, the retention and the graduation of young people who complete this curriculum program?
It's part of the vocational technical high school program. It would be under Dr. Jones.
So all lines ultimately lead to Dr. Jones with the recruitment of students?
Okay. And all lines lead to the COO when it comes to building trades and that part of the equation honoring what you put in the PLA?
So the relationship with the building trades and them honoring their part of the equation 139 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. rests with whom?
Ultimately it rests with the SRC, because we will be making a report --
No, no, no, no, no. Forgive me for cutting you off. I try not to do that. Accountability is the issue here. It's two years old. We should safely assume that no one has actually graduated yet and, therefore, found themselves actually in the trades. So who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that young people get the access, which is what the agreement was months ago? 18
Okay. And 21 you say currently the numbers for the 22 first year are 65 students? 23
And you're 140 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. going to get that hard document to President Verna?
Yes. To make -- to further elucidate on that, the database actually shows a much higher number, but as far as the School District is concerned, we have our own expectation and profile of what we think apprentices should be, and as a result, we have been very selective in what we acknowledge as part of the overall goal that we have set with the trades.
At the end of the fourth year, that's correct. And we have a database that shows somewhere in excess of 300 students or apprentices were selected by the trades, and once the District analyzed the data, we felt that 141 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. those students -- that 65 of that number met the District standard in terms of what an apprentice should be, and it was specifically around the issue of residence and age.
Okay. So are we clear about what's coming to President Verna?
So you're telling me that Dr. Cassandra Jones would be able to walk us through the program from the recruitment prospect of young people to the graduation of those young people, and then the ball falls to you and the COO and your relationships with the trades to ensure access to the trade unions?
That's correct. There is a transition, because staff members from vocational programs are part of our committee that works on the PLA and there is a component of the PLA called the Apprentice Committee, and 142 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Dr. Jones' staff works -- they work with that committee, and that's primarily made up of trades, specifically those parts of the trade unions that deal with recruitment and testing and evaluating apprentices.
Thank you. Just one other issue I want to raise that you've raised in your line of questioning. The issue of apprenticeship is 143 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. important, obviously, and each individual union and trade has their own apprenticeship rules and regulations, but the next step is even more important, and that's the transition from apprentice to journeyman or journeyperson. Apprentices are much easier to employ because their cheaper hourly rate. Where the rubber hits the road is when you transition from an apprentice to a journeyperson, that's where you really need -- that's where we're going to see them hopefully not fall by the wayside, because if they don't get called at that level that they're at, they're going to go somewhere else and find work somewhere else. So in your negotiations on language, I think you need to clarify what the future of that young person is going forward beyond their apprentice designation, because I know people who have gotten into the building trades on their own through just applying, that once they became journeymen, they very 144 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. rarely got called. So they went and drove a truck or did something else. So I think it's very important that, in addition to the numbers, clarifying what an apprentice is, how many there really are. You need to figure out what their next step is after they're through their apprentice training. Thanks.
Councilman, we made about recommendations when we 14 made our last presentation to the SRC on 15 amendments that we were recommending be 16 addressed in the PLA, and one of them was 17 exactly the one you just mentioned. 18
How soon could we have those documents to President Verna?
We should be able to have them tomorrow. 145 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Thank you very much. I can continue, Madam President?
Thank you. African-American history is part of its curriculum. Can someone please just give us an update on that new opportunity there for young people at the School District. How has it been received and at what level of children engaged in the African-American curriculum studies?
Cassandra Jones, Interim Chief Academic Officer. Our African-American studies curriculum, we have presently over 12,000 high schools taking this course, and we have -- actually, it is a mandated course and it is now part of our promotion and graduation policy, so that we have now as a requirement our students take four 146 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. years of history, one mandated, and this is it.
Okay. The only reason why I raise that as a footnote is, soon our Mayor will be signing a bill calling for the professional certification of tour guides, and one of the reasons that was introduced as legislation is because Philadelphia's entire history has not been told, and if we're going to require tour guides to be more knowledgeable about the diverse history of Philadelphia, we need to make sure our own students are as well.
Okay. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, did you discuss the four closings at West Philadelphia High School? I just don't want to repeat that if it was already addressed.
Did I discuss the closing of West Philly? 147 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Pose questionings around the status of that and the future.
I did about -- no. I did about Sulzberger and how it relates, but not about West Philly High per se.
Okay. What were the lessons learned, then, from the West Philadelphia High School experience for the School District regarding the four school closings? Can you speak to the -- scheduled for West Philadelphia High School. This is going forward. I'm misreading this question. So West Philadelphia is scheduled to close?
Yes. We're working with the community and we have an opportunity. In the short term, we are moving the two programs that are now currently in the old West Catholic Boys, in that particular building, and we're relocating those programs because of the 148 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. age of the building and the cost to renovate or bring it up to safety standards. That may be the site of the future West Philadelphia High School, but in the meantime, there is a community planning effort that's in design for the new West Philadelphia High School to include four smaller portions, four smaller schools housed in one building. And so that's the plan that the community is working on now with the design, and that design will be able to be located at either one of the sites.
So it's premature at this point to say West Philadelphia is going to be closed on this date and the new construction will occur at this particular site. But the lessons learned, like all closings and openings and working with new schools, is that we have to have an active and repetitive involvement in the community, listen, make changes as 149 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. necessary. And I think we're on the right step in working with the elected officials in the communities to make sure that we're doing the right thing in West Philadelphia.
If I may add, where Parkway Maya is is the site for the new West Philly, but the other won't close until a new one is built, so that kids won't be displaced.
And as a reminder, I mentioned in a separate meeting, as a reminder, don't forget about the U.S. Attorney and our criminal justice/public safety to follow up for Sulzberger.
Thank you, Councilwoman. 150 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
You're welcome, Madam Chair. Please give us an update on the progress with regards to art and music systemwide. And let's just go with grades K through 8, recognizing that dollars simply don't permit to have a systemwide K through arts and music 10 program. Where are we? 11
Actually, that is a 12 good-news story, because in the preparation for the '09 budget, the SRC was very clear in the priorities, and in addition to $15.4 million we added to the budget, one of those requirements was to have art and music in every school in Philadelphia. So I ask Dr. Jones to elaborate on that, but it is part of the '09 budget.
If you look at the budgets that have just been released and returned from our principals, you will see that all of the schools have a 151 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. provision now for art or music in grades K through 8, but also in the high schools. And many of the schools using -- because some of the schools have some additional dollars; for instance, because they're Title I eligible, some of them have even increased that. We also have a commitment working with our Central Office and Human Resources to recruit and provide professional development for the teachers that are going to be coming in providing the art or music experience for our children, as well as partnering with some of our performing arts organizations throughout the City and our community-based organizations, because this is how we can make sure we have the connection, and we're very excited about that.
Well, a lot of the arts and cultural organizations want to partner. They want to do more in the schools, and typically 152 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. they can do that at no additional expense to the school. So it behooves the system to take advantage of that. So what I'm hearing is that principals no longer have to choose between providing art and music and something else?
Yes. This was actually a budget revision that was done and completed last week, and all of the principals have been notified. They actually have this in their budget. They've been working through their allotments and making the appropriate adjustments so that we make sure that every child has that experience in September.
Congratulations. That's an enormous improvement. Let's go to police involvement with your Operation Safe Schools.
Excuse me, please. 153 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Green for a point of information.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just on Councilwoman Reynolds Brown's last point, are the art and other programs she mentioned mandatory or elective?
This is an SRC priority and so you will see it in every school.
Mandatory for the students or elective for the students?
The reason -- it's a clarifying question. The reason it's a priority and you'll see it in every school is because if you make it a mandate -- and I just want to explain why it's a priority -- that it is a deliverable, you'll see it in every 154 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. school. If you make it a mandate as a deliverable, then that eliminates the use of certain funds that schools will want to use to add it. So that's why it is a priority that will be in every school.
And it will be required. Students are required to have that experience.
Art or music. And many schools because of additional dollars do art and music, but it's required that they have art or music.
We did not break down the yearly requirement, but for this year, it's in every school. And we would 155 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. have to go back to see -- I would be able to go back and look at every school budget to tell you how much, but in every school every child will have art or music. Some will have it --
Every year? Every child every year will have art or music?
Surely. I might add, Councilman Green, in the short years that I've been here, that's an enormous progress and 156 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. improvement that they've come to. So we're excited about that and what that means for young people. Let's talk about the libraries, which was another concern raised in years past. Where are you with libraries systemwide? Have you ever explored the possibility of a school ID being acceptable at our Philadelphia Free Library where children can -- children and young people -- young people don't like to be called children -- where students can use their student ID for a library card? Have you ever explored that possibility, knowing that some of our schools, for reasons we understand, simply are not equipped with well-stocked libraries?
We're actually in partnership with the Free Library now and they are looking at for the summer actually making sure that all of our students get a library card. They are actually forgiving all of the past due 157 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. fines as part of our --
They're forgiving all of the past due fines. So that part of this initiative has been that we want to make sure that we can get a library card in the hands of our students. So that's another initiative. And in terms of can the ID, our technology, we still have some work to do around making sure the technology can be the same, but the first step towards that was to work in partnership with them right now to make sure that effective this summer, actually July 1, 2008, all of our students will have a library card, forgiving their fines, and then actually working with the libraries to have -- this year we have a required summer reading list, and they are working with us and they are stocking all of their shelves with additional books, because this is a requirement, for all of our 158 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. students to read books over the summer and complete an assignment, and so the Free Library has partnered with us to do that. (Bell rung.)
Congratulations. To know that there's a summer reading list now systemwide -- I mean, the past principals took it upon -- some principals took it upon themselves, but if it's a systemwide expectation, that's great. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. I just have a couple more questions I'd like to raise. On -17 of the budget, there is a seven-year breakdown for your Capital Projects Fund. Can you explain what the Administration Support Services category is and why are you projecting to spend $126.1 million in this category 159 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. over the seven-year term?
Sure. On -17 of the budget, there is a seven-year breakdown of your Capital Projects Fund. Can you explain what the Administration Support Services category is and why are you projecting to spend $126.1 million in this category over the seven-year period?
Madam Chair, it's broken down in this way: Alterations and improvements, and it has a figure, if you'd like me to provide that for you, or I can provide you this.
Very briefly, it's facilities planning and space 160 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. management; M and WBE compliance monitoring; the OCIP program, safety program; the School District of Philadelphia's just general management of the program; and self-insurance, which is workers' comp.
Thank you. If additional revenues and/or savings are not identified, how will the SRC close the projected gap of $38.9 million?
Madam President, as much as we've taken the example from the last year where we went from 181 million to million, it's a combination of 18 those three elements you just talked 19 about: revenue, reductions and 20 efficiencies. Of course, we'd love to 21 rely on the revenue to take care of the 38.9, but the requirement of a balanced budget remains and so, therefore, we would recommend to the SRC a reduction plan that will get us to a balanced 161 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. budget. We would work very carefully with the City and the State to maximize the revenue portion, but if what I heard you just ask saying there was no 7 additional revenue, then we would be forced to recommend to the SRC a reduction in $39.9 million. Having lived through this this year and knowing the amount of reductions and staff efficiencies and cuts that we've made, it would be very, very difficult choices that the SRC will have to make. So we are very encouraged by the partnership with the City and the Commonwealth to look for additional revenue, but to answer your question with full disclosure, we would have to recommend severe and I think very dramatic cuts to -- as much as we tried to stay away from classroom and schools, that would be a very, very difficult $39 million to get to. I am optimistic that working 162 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. together with the team, that we can find revenue sources and look for other ways to get to where we need to be in keeping with the SRC priority of not hitting the schools.
Thank you. I know a couple months ago I was bombarded with calls from irate parents who apparently were told the child's school would be closed. Are there any plans whatsoever to close any of the schools?
Part of this facility -- I agree, that that's probably the worst thing that could happen, is to have a school closed without proper community engagement, and we will not do that. What we intend to do is incorporate the soon-to-be-released capital facilities plan, which will include, I would think, some recommendations for school closures. Not necessarily by name, but perhaps by the 163 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. geographical area, which allows the school system to then work with the community based on what's the best educational environment for the child in that neighborhood. It should come as no 7 surprise and, in fact, it should be an active engagement and it should be based on what the community says. And so we've had this model successfully used in other cities. I know Philadelphia has the model, and we're going to use it here. When there is a school closing, it has to be with, I think, a very involved community and it has to be predicated on what's going to be academically better for the child and it's not just a case of closing a school to save money. So all of that is factored in. I think you'll see -- every year I think by City Code we're -- I mean, City ordinance we're required to provide a listing of potential school closings, but I think this list or the 164 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. coming -- the next few years will be much better informed by having a capital master facility plan that identifies by region potential school closures, and then we'll go from there. So I don't think you should anticipate any short-term school closings other than the ones that have already been announced and already have been worked and now the SRC has that decision in June. I think there will be a whole new process after that.
Thank you so much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I spent the weekend at a conference, and part of what we discussed during the conference was schools generally across the country and in Pennsylvania specifically, and one of the participant's father was a doctor and he 165 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. described sort of going into a -- when people come into an emergency room, the first thing they teach doctors is to check for breathing, not pulse, not anything else, but breathing. And at first, doctors don't necessarily believe that. So in your view, I guess I'd say, what is -- he was using this to an analogy for schools and he was saying, I'm not sure we know what the breathing is. In other words, what's the first thing you check for to see whether or not the patient is alive, the School District is working, et cetera. Do you have a thought about that or an answer to that question?
Sure. Many thoughts, and here's an answer: I think in a triage of a school system, the first thing you look for is the standardized achievement models and see what results are. And so if you're trying, again, in a triage example that you used who is 166 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. breathing, who is not, well, you have data. And we'll use Philadelphia for example. The standardized score was the PSSA. Well, you can see that the School District in the last five years has made tremendous progress in that. That's a very good indicator if the patient is breathing. Then you can get into all the other revenue sources, et cetera, et cetera, what's the core curriculum, what are the teachers' professional development, et cetera, et cetera. But the first blush is where are we at on scores. That would be my reaction.
Well, there was a lot of criticism of the School District, and they pointed to Chicago where Paul Vallas came from as an example, that you can only teach to the test to raise scores for so long and then it plateaus and you stop seeing the progress. And I guess there is quite, among the crowd I was with over the weekend, quite a degree of skepticism 167 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that we're going to be increasing test scores, that we're going to hit a plateau. Do you have a thought or comment about that? There are many school districts that people gave examples of -- Chicago is the only one I remember -- where it worked for so long and then it plateaus. That's the end of it. It's not really changing anything fundamental. It's just teaching to achieve higher test scores to show progress, to get increased funding, but ultimately it doesn't serve the children, because it doesn't teach them life skills, it doesn't teach them how to survive in the world. Thoughts about that?
I don't think you could look for teaching the test and plateauing for test results as the ultimate future for the Philadelphia School District. I think to incrementally -- 168 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
No. To incrementally raise scores, you have to do fundamentally different things, and Philadelphia has been doing that in the last five years. You have a core curriculum. You have professional development so teachers can make that work in a classroom. You have to have principals who understand data and teachers who can understand data on individual students. That's all part of -- it's not just teaching to a test. It's a disciplined way a system approaches it. Will it be a plateau? Well, according to No Child Left Behind, absolutely not, because in 2014 and according to the State as well, all children will be proficient. Will it be a challenge? Yes, absolutely, but the building blocks are already here and I don't think -- and, Councilman, I 169 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. respectfully just take issue with whoever said that, which is you can only get to a certain point and then it's just a case of trying to get resources. It really is a fundamental way that the school system approaches academics. And, of course, I have the Chief Academic Officer here, who I'm sure would like to opine.
I would like to respond to that. That is not what we do now. One of the things that Philadelphia did very well -- and I can actually applaud it, because I was not here when they introduced the core curriculum, so I can really talk about that. It's not about me -- they were able to phase in over the last five years this core curriculum that really talks about the eligible content, what students really need to know and be able to do and to demonstrate it. Yes. Will the test scores go up? Yes, if you're doing this larger piece. But as Mr. Brady has also said, 170 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. it goes to then what are we doing with our diverse learners. So you heard him, we start to break this out, looking at our ELL students, our special education students, how are we accommodating and changing this curriculum and the experiences that our children are getting so that they perform better, but then how are you doing these experiences with our curriculum that go beyond the schoolhouse. So we're talking about field-based experiences, community service learning, as well as internships. When you hear about the apprenticeships that we're talking about, this is giving real-life experiences for our children. That goes way beyond a test. It's the life experiences. It's how you're going to engage them. That being said, we still know that we have to continue to reach all of our students. We know that as we are looking at dual enrollment, how do we partner with our universities. We have a 171 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. rich community with university partners that can help us deliver this curriculum in a different way. That's not teaching to a test. It is teaching to excellence.
I understand. That's a different thing. I'm talking about -- I mean, by sixth grade, we know whether or not basically if we look at a person's file whether or not they're going to graduate from high school, what their path is, and we're really doing nothing to -- I mean, let me put the question a different way. Forget the Philadelphia school system.
You're dropped into Philadelphia. How would you educate our children? Start from scratch. Just ignore everything we know.
I'm going to 172 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. respond. But one of the things that the first thing you have to say is, don't ignore everything you know, because if you're not going to go to best practices and if you're not going to look at some data, then we're just going to keep making the past mistakes. So now I'm not talking about Philadelphia. I'm just talking about in general. So the first thing --
We don't do anything in Philadelphia that's a best practice looked at in other cities in the country, do we?
We absolutely do, and we search best practices all across this country and what we do in Philadelphia. And let me just say, it's actually not even sixth grade. We can look at third grade performance and start 173 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. to project what a child is going to do. And so that's part of what we're doing in terms of making sure that what we teach and what we have written is actually being taught. So the first thing we have to do is make sure that we have the capacity, our human capacity, to deliver the instruction that we're talking about for our children. So that means that's one-on-one instruction, that's small group instruction, that's looking at what teachers are doing in a classroom, that's looking at different ways of assessing what the children are learning and then working not only with the home and the school and their teacher together to change the practice of what happens every day. That's -- if we're looking at now, say forget Philadelphia, just globally, that's what you have to do. And it is looking at our early childhood preparation and it is looking at making 174 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. more access for education that's structured for our young people, so that when they come into kindergarten or they come into first grade, not only are we working with the children, but we're working with their caregivers, because part -- we can't do this in isolation. So how are we equipping our parents so that they can help with our children when they're in extended school time.
So the question -- so I think that was an answer to the question what you do if you forget what the Philadelphia school system has, look at best practices around the country. What would you do to change the outcomes so we don't have 45 percent dropout rates, we can graduate people, get them qualified for a good-paying job or send them to college? And what I have here is, based on what you said, early childhood education. 175 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Small class sizes, one-on-one instruction. I don't know what you meant by "access."
Making sure that all of our students are able to have the resources that they need and the education. So, for instance, if I have a student that's an English language learner, I shouldn't put them in a classroom without the proper supports that they would need. So I'm trying to be very specific.
Okay. And then you said change practice of what happens every day. What did that mean? Because obviously that means -- it implies what we're doing every day doesn't work.
Well, what it implies is that one size does not fit all. And so in the past, we may have had a broad paintbrush and if we're looking out every day, we want to see what's 176 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. going on in our schools in our particular classrooms for our students and making sure that you're taking a look at the data, looking at best practices and seeing what the professional development and what is the actual direct service to children that needs to happen.
Okay. Can we do that in a big centralized system versus de-centralizing, giving authority to principals and essentially eliminating much of the administration between the SRC and principals?
There's a tendency in any large organization to say you don't need the top level and we can empower those subordinates, and I think there is a combination. I think a very successful school system has both a small central office to drive key curriculum, professional development systems, but there has to be a capacity at the principal and school level to be able to work the products that are being at a 177 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. smaller central office. (Bell rung.)
And so I understand your model, but that infers that every principal can be an educational leader and --
Are you saying -- how many of our 291 principals are not educational leaders?
Well, they're all educational leaders. Some are better trained and have more professional development than others.
Thank you, Madam President. If we can move now to Operation Safe Schools, where that is, what are you doing differently this year versus last year in terms of police presence. I 178 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. believe previous testimony said that an average of 40 officers are on call to respond to any flare-ups at various schools. And, lastly, what new strategies have you adopted, if any, as you look to continue to deal with the issue of safety?
Yes, ma'am. Actually, I covered in the testimony one of the key differences this year is the implementation of what we call the "Single School Culture," which is a combination of all the resources within the school to change expected norms. And it's not just police. It's not just about police. It's about all the Central Office and all the principal -- all the staff within the school to center on what behaviors need to change and what resources need to assist. And it was really driven by -- I mean, I remember distinctly a West Philadelphia High School student said to me, When we get in trouble, you send cops, but if I'm in the 179 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Northeast, you send counselors, and you're not stuck with me. And I think that there's -- to get to that "Single School Culture," which actually is a different way to approach the behavior side and incorporates all the resources. But Mr. Golden is in charge of the school safety and security, and I'm sure he'd have a much more elaborate answer than that. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good afternoon. James Golden, Chief Safety Executive for the School District. I believe the question, Councilwoman, was, first of all, about the 40 additional officers?
I'll just speak to that first and then, of course, respond to your questions. We have, as part of our cadre 180 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. of safety and security, a group of mobile school police officers who actually work on patrol in marked cars and uniforms and who are deployed day to day on pretty much an as-needed basis in terms of any kinds of extraordinary events or circumstances that would require additional support.
Okay. Thank you for that explanation. Mr. Brady has spoken to the new strategy, if you will, and so it's too early to say if that new approach is effective, working, simply because it's new?
Well, it's dangerous to say after less than a year any strategy is working, but it appears to be, on a couple of different levels. Number one is that at the school level, principals and staff understand that there is more to the safety and security beast and getting resource help than just police officers. 181 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. The second piece is that it was centered on the 40 most persistently dangerous schools, and data indicates to date that it's about an 8.8 percent reduction in serious incidents. But, again, it's very dangerous and early to link those two things together, but it appears to be more on the promising right track.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Reduced class size. If you could please give us an update on where that is, because, again, we know we're not able to take that citywide, but every year that I've been here, there's been a discussion of reduced class size. So 182 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. where are we? Are we continuing to move the needle?
Actually, last year it was more than a discussion. It was an additional $5.4 million that the SRC authorized at the beginning of August where it was driven down to K-3 in our kindergarten through three and our underperforming schools, and the actual class size was -- we had done a historical data based on the previous five years, and it indicated that against -- even though it appeared that resources were going to reduce class size, that the data indicated it didn't. It was at 28 and 29 and even 30 in some of our underperforming schools. So thanks to the SRC's directive, we actually did reduce class size down to 24, and this year in this budget we're going to continue that, and the ultimate target would be 22. Dr. Jones.
And that's 183 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. systemwide K through?
No. Right now we are only centering on those in Corrective Action II. We would need a great -- and I don't have the figure in front of me, but millions and millions of dollars to do lower class size than that. And these are the worst -- the schools most in need of help. That's the priority.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I missed -- I'm sorry. I was talking to Sophie. I missed the end of what you said about class size. Did you give a number for what class size is?
It was -- overall, there's different class sizes in high school. By state law and collective bargaining agreements, they are different at high school, middle school and 184 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. kindergarten through eight. We are targeting this year on the kindergarten through three and those schools that are the most in need, in Corrective Action II. And so we will have $11.6 million dedicated to that effort. We're looking for a target of 24. Many of them are in the 28 and 29 range. So it would be good news -- parents will see less students in the classroom and more teachers.
When you say a "target," I don't know what that means. Does that mean there will be in a 15 class or is that a goal? 16
That means we're 17 going to do it. Targeted means what 18 schools that we're sending those 19 resources to. 20
So there are 21 schools where there are still 28 and 29 22 in a class? 23
So the analogy I gave earlier about the 185 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. breathing, what people were concluding actually is, you can look at a patient and tell whether or not it's dead or alive -- in this case the patient is the School District -- by looking at several factors. One is class size. Eighteen or less is what's needed. One is engaged principals who have authority with respect to teachers and authority to make decisions about curriculum and students in their charge and that are leaders. Those two factors are significant determinants of whether or not schools are successful. And if you are using that to determine whether or not the Philadelphia School District is breathing, I would suggest that it would be very shallow breaths.
Here's two reactions to what you just said: The principals -- I agree with two of the three categorizations you used. I wouldn't say the ability to make decisions on curriculum. The other issue 186 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. about class size, if is the standard, then most of the school districts in the United States are on respirators, because there's only very few and they are very limited to usually wealthy suburbs to where they're or below. 8
Right. 9 Yeah. And they do very well and create a 10 workforce where employers want to go, 11 that create jobs for their graduates, 12 that -- 13
Right, Councilman. 14 And I had five years in a place called 15 Fairfax County, Virginia, which is one of 16 those -- I think it's one of the most 17 wealthiest counties in the United States. 18 And if you look at median income, the parents and the numbers of revenue that that county was willing to put into the school system, it allows you to have 18 in a class. So, yeah.
I understand. Let's look at the other metrics that people mentioned. Early 187 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. childhood. Where are we now compared to where we should be?
Where we were -- and you have to start at a point -- in the last two years, it's been a tremendous turnaround in pre-K, in -- kindergarten through -- pre-kindergarten programs. We went from serving 2,000 to now we serve almost 11,000, and it's increasing from there. These are the children that need to be prepared to go to kindergarten. So it's a fantastic investment. Much of it has come from the state in grants targeted towards pre-K, and it's a great investment from a number of ways, but if you look at -- if a child is prepared for kindergarten, then you're preventing that sixth grade decision in many cases that you were talking about before, where they can't read, bad attendance, so they're going to drop out. So it's an investment, and I know some people have done the -- if you invest a dollar in pre-K, you avoid 188 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. having to invest $40 in the dropout at the sixth, seventh and eighth grade. Actually, you said that Philadelphia didn't have many models, and I would counter that one of the benchmarks, one of the national programs is our pre-K program as we institute within the Philadelphia school system.
Right. But we took -- I mean, the studies, the academic research, everything was there before we implemented it. We weren't the maker of the model. We followed the model. I was talking --
Execution model is not too shabby either in some school systems.
Okay. So back to de-centralization. I mean, could you just talk about that a little bit just sort of in the abstract, why we need the size of the administration we need above the principal level. And before you answer that question, give me the 189 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. breakdown of employees not in schools versus employees in schools, and you can include everybody from the cleaner to the teacher to the principal in and outside schools. Does anybody know that number of people?
We'll get you that number, Councilman, but I did just want to -- Sandra Dungee Glenn, Chair of the School Reform Commission.
Good afternoon. I did just want to respond to something else you had said earlier while we get your specific information. You had asked a question about if the School District was a body, a human body, and our breathing was shallow, are we still breathing, and I would just like to tell you that, yes, and I think the breaths are deepening, and I say that for a number of reasons. I do think -- you hit on this 190 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. issue about best practices. This is a school district that I think has continued to hone in on what best practices look like, everything from early childhood education to implementing reduced class sizes, to standardizing a curriculum, to focusing and reforming, to high schools and the career pathways in dual enrollment programs. In each of those we can show where it is gaining traction and the number of students who are now improving who weren't before. It doesn't mean that we have gotten to the end game where all of our children are where they need to be, but I think important indicators like attendance -- and our overall attendance is going up as opposed to down -- there are other things that are indications of a school district that is catching on. You talked about de-centralization, and I think in this District, if you would, from the Commission's perspective, we've looked at 191 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. de-centralization less as how you might set up the entire system versus the different models of school that are in this District; for example, the growth of charter schools. That's a different way to deliver instruction that for different types of children has been more effective. Sixty-one charter schools, they have different themes, they have different grade structures. That works with some number of our children. We have alternative education schools, where young people who are returning to school who are overage, they're in a different kind of setting. The disciplinary schools. So there are different approaches to reach different needs of different students. So in that way, I think de-centralization is helpful and important, but I think what the Commission has taken as being very important to centralize is what children are required to know, the standardized 192 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. curriculum, what the expected standards and outcomes are, that they are not -- if you would, they are the non-negotiables. There may be a number of different approaches to reaching them, but those are the non-negotiables.
The problem with those, though, are, they're a really base minimum level --
Well, no, they're not. Our standards are not base minimum level. In fact, Pennsylvania has some of the more rigorous academic standards. And now the percentage of our reaching young people, reaching them, again, we still have less than 50 percent of our children who are where they need to be, but that has doubled to where it was five years ago. So it is work in progress. There's no question that we have a long way to go. Significant progress has been made. I think what we are trying to do now is differentiate our implementation 193 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. strategies, so that we look at where charters are most effective and do more of them, where some of our restructured schools are most effective and do more of that. That is not a one-size-fits-all approach. I just wanted to share with you that that's kind of been the philosophy, if you would, that we are looking to apply using this diverse provider model as an implementation strategy, but trying to be very clear and being very consistent on the expected outcomes.
Councilmember, if I could answer your specific question, it depends on how you couch the answer. So I want to make sure that we're very clear on this, because when you ask somebody from the School District, Well, how many direct personnel, how many do you have teaching and learning, et cetera, let me give it to you the way we're divided. We have 1,332 central administrators, 1,332. We have 22,540 that are school-based 194 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. personnel. In other words, that's not all teachers, but it's teachers, principals, assistant principals, food service workers who work at the school and provide lunches, et cetera, et cetera. So somehow that's about 5.2 percent. And we actually reduced 240 last year in the budget. So we are not a bloated bureaucracy where all the resources are at a central office. In fact, six percent -- I'll round it to six -- is not bad for a central office sized operation.
I've looked at other cities and it could range from three to five, six percent. Would you agree that six is on the higher end?
Five to six percent. It depends. I would like to see what school district it is and the methodology they use to describe who their central office is and who isn't, because often times other school districts, not Philadelphia, would say if 195 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. you're a school psychologist and you worked on the central staff, then you're school based, and you haven't seen a school in your 20-year career. So, again, I think we're fairly -- we're within a pretty good parameter. (Bell rung.)
Let me just finish that one thought. So 1,332 people managing 291 principals. I guess --
Well, manage a $2.3 billion budget, manage all the services necessary to run a school system, yeah.
What is done at the central location by those 1,332 that can't be done by people in the schools?
Manage a capital -- just the business operations we'll save just for a second, but the curriculum instruction, the preparation and implementation of core curriculum, the signing of textbooks on how to execute 196 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that, the oversight and accountability and the measurement of progress, the running of the student information systems that make all of that happen, the intense management required of special education and special education dollars and individual education plans, et cetera. Those are all by necessity important centrally managed functions. So, in other words, as much as we would like to drive it to our principals, between federal funding and the requirement to have that careful management to just the operations of a large organization, it just -- it makes it more efficient to have a selected number of people to do it at a central headquarters rather than redundantly doing it 285 different ways.
Well, I guess when you look at smaller school districts, I mean, if you just -- it seems to me that there are still a lot of savings at that level at six percent, 197 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. because you're not in the service delivery business, and the more dollars we can put down there, the better off our children are.
Actually, I agree completely, and that's one of the reasons why we're doing this shared services with the City, to see how many business operations can get to be more efficient by another way to drive those dollars down to schools. I think we agree completely on that.
Okay. I'll come back to my point. Thank you, Councilwoman.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Shared services was one of my questions. I clearly remember my first year here there was discussion about there being a task force to do just that, look at shared services, like the 198 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. carpool, like buying supplies, and here we are eight years later and again we hear the notion that there will be a shared services, I believe you call it, task force someplace in your testimony.
Only because we might look up four years from now and have a report or not, have these things in place or not. So where are we with that and what's the end picture, the end game in when we can expect to see some implementation and/or action?
We've had initial discussions. In May the task force will begin. We have a requirement within six months to provide a report to the SRC and the City and the Mayor, and from that, it should inform the preparation of next year's budget.
So who in 199 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. the Mayor's Office are you working with?
Dr. Shorr at this point. She's going to open it up to the other executives.
No. I'm saying within six months we'll have the final report -- no. I'm sorry. I'll rephrase that. Nothing is final. We will have a report on the services that make the most sense to share. That will be within six months. What I'm saying is that it will inform next year's budget. It won't be a quick fix to this year's budget, but I really think that the momentum is there and I think if we look at it as a five-year process, that -- we won't be sitting here four years from now saying, Well, we used to have one and nothing happen.
All right, then. Thank you. Let's move now to contracts. 200 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Who is your largest contract? Who do you have your largest contract with, what entity? I'm just cross-referencing my notes here, because I could be wrong.
An initial reaction indicates it's one of our alternative education providers, which may be CEP, but I'd rather check that before I tell you.
That's what my notes tell me, but I don't like to put it out there, because it could be wrong. So their contract amount is?
And my homework tells me that the state cut the funding for this by $8 million last fall.
That's correct. They did, yes, ma'am. 201 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
I'm not sure that they were into the rationale and why the legislators chose not to put it in. It was normal -- I do not know the rationale for that.
So we don't know if it was due to performance or lack thereof or inadequate -- simply there not being enough dollars at the state level so they had to --
It was traditionally an add-on from portions of the Legislature. It was legislators. It was an add-on every year, and as I understand it, it was not added last year. But I don't think it was directly related to performance.
So I guess what I want to get to is, are they the only entity in the business of working with, dealing with alternative education, and why did they end up being the lucky organization, entity that ends up with this, some might say, 30, others might say $50 million contract?
No. We have five other alternative ed providers, and I don't think that that particular organization was the lucky one. I think that when the -- and, again, this is just -- I believe when they first -- when this was first proposed as a method for our students, that they were here very quickly with an organized program. They also made a significant investment in some of our facilities. In other words, once the need was determined, they were very quickly here to fill that need. So I'm not sure it was -- they were just --
Just to help Mr. Brady, this does precede his 203 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. administration. CEP had been identified, I believe now, it may have been six or seven years ago.
And the members of the School District leadership at that time, along with, I believe, the teachers' union, had visited their work in Texas.
I believe Houston, Texas. They were a model of providers in alternative ed. They were sort at the front end of this whole focus on alternative education as a specialty. And so they were asked to come in to Philadelphia. They were like the first ones to set up the beachhead here.
So I think they then became the largest of our providers. 204 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. There have now been subsequently other alternative education providers added on, and as Dr. Jones spoke to before and she can again, the District is now undergoing a whole review to make sure we have an understanding of what are the differences amongst these different providers, are there differences in terms of quality of services, in terms of outcomes and also in terms of their cost, and to better standardize what it is we are looking for from them and also the cost that they are receiving for their services. So now about five or six years into this process for the District, we are trying to now sort it out to have a better understanding and also, I think, more uniformity across the programs for alternative education.
Okay. All of those factors you mentioned were my next line of questioning, so I don't have to ask now. If you could just speak to that. 205 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
As the Chairwoman has said, we are now in the process of reviewing the actual performance based on the data of all of those providers, but we also know as a district what we are asking for for our services now. So, again, looking at some best practice model as well as outroom data to say what are the services that our students need and then how do we put out a request for proposal to really reform this. In the short term, we're actually -- all of the alternative ed contractors have actually been notified that their contracts are up on June 20th this year, and we are in the process now of looking at a one-year contract as we do a transition to totally reforming the alternative ed program, looking at, again, as the Chairwoman said, all of those indicators and starting with what do our students need now in this transition. The needs are different now five years later. 206 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
And what the performance has been or not for the dollars that the School District has expended.
Absolutely. And we looked at the contracts, and that was one thing that was very different. The contracts were actually different. I think that's one thing that everyone was not aware of. So everyone had different indicators in their contracts because they came in at different times and asked to do different things. What we've looked at now is standardizing it based on the needs of our students, looking at the resources and then best practices.
Okay. All right, then. Does that apply also to the EMOs or is that a separate set of criteria, accountability, assessment, expectation for the EMOs?
That's a separate process, but, again, the District very clearly said last year when they had a 207 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. one-year extension for the EMOs that they wanted to make sure that we had a rigorous review of their contracts. And so we're actually in the process of doing that now, looking at each contract, making sure that we do an assessment of it. That information will be presented to the SRC and, actually, there will be public sessions also so that people will be able to see the performance of the EMOs based on their contracts and the data.
All right. Now to the School Reform Commission. In looking at this document and listening to the line of questioning from Council colleagues, there's an enormous amount of responsibility at that School Reform Commission level, and I'm curious to know what staff support do School Reform Commission Commissioners have, because there is no way on a volunteer basis that someone can consume so much important, critical information, upon which you have 208 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. to make major decisions, alone. So I want to know two things. One, the role of your government relation officers, Mr. Brady, and, two, what is the picture of the staff support for School Reform Commission members.
Well, let me speak to the School Reform Commission staff, and going back to Councilman Green's questions about core and central administration, we really have tried to be lean and mean. We have two full-time professional staff on the School Reform Commission. Joe Ferguson is our Chief of Staff and Executive Director for the Commission and Amy Guerin, who has come on board recently, is the Policy Director. They're the two full-time professional staff to the Commission.
For five members. I do have to say that we do have a full complement and we rely heavily on our 209 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. District leadership and executive staff, Mr. Brady's office, our Chief Academic Office, our Chief Operating Officers, and requiring and requesting information and ask them to, of course, prepare and provide briefs to the Commission so that we don't have a duplication of staff. But as the Board, if you will, we do operate with two full-time staff and I believe a complement of five administrative staff support. There are other offices that come up under the Commission, like the Inspector General's Office operates from under the purview of the Commission. They aren't, let's say, Commission staff per se. Our general counsel's office is technically, I think, structured under the School Reform Commission, but, as you know, the general counsel and our legal staff really serve the function for primarily the District but, of course, provide overall legal counsel to the Commission. So they supplement Commission staff, but also 210 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. they kind of have dual responsibilities, if you would, to both the Commission and the District.
And that aids you in doing what the world expects of the School Reform Commission when it comes to reporting back to Councilmembers and reporting to parents and reporting to the School District staff themselves?
Well, hopefully you'll be the judge of whether we do it well, but we do -- yes, those are the supports. We do use -- and, again, sometimes people are critical of consultant support, but we do also supplement our staff with some consultancies. The Five-Year Plan, for example, was prepared by financial consultants, PFM. We have legal counsel support and also periodically public relations support as consultants to the Commission to help us carry out our work. (Bell rung.)
Sure. 211 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Thank you very, very much for your testimony. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I didn't understand something that was just said, then I'll get back to my questions, or said three or four minutes ago, which was that we're looking at the diverse provider model and that we're looking to standardize it to create uniformity, and I thought the whole purpose of a diverse provider model was to allow people to do things in different ways so that we can use that knowledge to see what works. Why do we want to create uniformity in our diverse provider model?
Let me clarify. I 212 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. was speaking to standardizing the outcomes. For example, we are expecting to see student achievement improved for all of our children, all of our students. No matter what type of school they're going to, we want to see that trend line going up, more children moving on to grade level. So whether you're a charter or a contract school or a traditional school, we expect the number of your students that are approaching grade level to be improving every year, so that outcome is uniform. How you do it, how you approach it, how you structure your school day, that's where you can have your innovation and your differences.
Let me follow up on that. You say you expect performance to change every year. When we look at major changes, say, for a corporation or for a city government or for anybody sort of outside of what you're doing and we say, We need major change to really turn this ship around 213 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. and make it work for the benefit of whoever -- in this case the stakeholders are the children -- you don't do that through incremental change every year. In fact, often you're doing things that have really long-term impact. Whereas, in the short term, you may be working on things -- I want to suggest that maybe you should be working on things other than just test scores. Is that the determinant of what's going to be a great school system 10 or years from now, yearly increases 15 in test scores, or are there things that we should be looking at in a much longer time horizon than every year this is our goal to say if we make an investment in this child in second, third, fourth grade that's different than we're making, that spends a lot of time with them on things that don't necessarily improve test scores every year, but get them feeling like they can be successful, and then we start to see the benefits of that 214 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. investment, whether it's one-on-one teaching that was mentioned before or smaller class size or things, we start to see the benefits of that two, three, four, five years down the road when we're keeping that child in high school. So I'm not -- I guess I'm asking a question. We keep talking about test scores as if that's the goal, and to me, the goal is to educate children and put them out in the world in a way where they can go get a college degree or have the skills they need to get a good-paying job, which may or may not relate to a standardized test score. So can we talk about what the long-term plan is for that? Is there a business plan that's other than yearly test score increases?
We have what we call our Declaration of Education, and we've defined certain goals attached to that and benchmarks. Academic outcomes, though, is at the core of it, because 215 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. ultimately our, as I interpret, our core mission is making sure that we provide children with the level of information and their ability to apply that information in a way that enables them to be successful in the world and beyond. That is a function of what they know and how they use what they know. So I do -- it's difficult -- without getting into whether the PSSA is the right test score to use, I do think you have to have and we should have regular and routine benchmarks that help us understand and help to indicate what our children know. So we have in maybe some ways a flawed system, but we do have our test scores as a benchmark, one benchmark. I don't think it necessarily is the only thing, but I do think at the base of what we do, we have to be able to look at the academic performance of our children. And I don't think it's wrong to do that annually and to look at that across our schools. I do think we should 216 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. be able to see trend lines, not necessarily for every child in every grade in every year, but I do think we should be able to see trend lines with our schools and across this District where you see more children who are reaching those benchmarks than you did in previous years. I do think that's a fair assessment. I don't think it should be the only one, but I do think that's a fair assessment to use.
It's a metric, and I would suggest it's not the metric, because whether or not you meet the minimum skill levels doesn't necessarily have any relationship to whether or not you're prepared to go into the workforce and show up on time and do your job well and learn your job and get promoted or go out and become some kind of apprentice and become a plumber and go out and start your own business. The old adage in college was that the A students are going to work for 217 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. the C students.
And with all due respect, Councilman, I don't disagree with you philosophically, but I do have to say that whether a child can read and interpret and comprehend is a fundamental, I believe, component of their ability to navigate in this world, and as information becomes more complex and the ability to apply technology becomes more imperative, I do think that there are certain skill-sets that, yes, our children have to have to be giving them a chance at success. So I hear you, but I do think there are some things we really can measure that will give us an indication of children's likelihood of being successful, and literacy is one of those fundamental skill-sets that I don't think we can or should try to get around.
And I guess what I was suggesting earlier is, if we measure class size, effectiveness of 218 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. principal, leadership qualities in a principal and a bunch of other criteria you guys are familiar with, if we measure that, we know whether or not the children are going to be successful. So we have -- because everywhere that those things exist, children are successful.
So my focus is on changing the school system to match models that we know are effective rather than focusing on children's test scores.
Okay. So -- all right. Well, then I'll ask a couple of other questions. I mean, what is our plan to get there? It doesn't sound like we have a plan other than looking at 219 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. different models. Oh, I have one more point on the sort of de-centralization/diverse provider model question, and, that is, I'm sure you're all familiar with public school choice, which is essentially a market-driven model that allows parents to decide where kids go to school, which tell you where the effective principals are, what schools are working and what schools don't in a way that may not necessarily be reflected in test scores. Has there ever been any thought to trying public school choice either in a region or in some kind of study to see whether or not that's part of the model we ought to be looking at when we look at getting different outcomes for children?
Yes, and I think probably for us where we have moved to it, I think, most -- in the broadest form is probably around our high schools. The thinking behind the expansion of high schools, the number of high schools, the 220 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. type of high schools, regionalizing certain programs like the CAPA, so you not only have a CAPA in South Philadelphia, but I believe -- in Kensington, but also the Northeast are opening a CAPA, regional performing art schools, where we are looking particularly at the high school level trying to provide that kind of choice so that young people can look around the City and determine what the best fit, they and their parents, what the best fit of school is for them and they're not assigned per se to their neighborhood school. They have many other options. So that's probably where it's most developed in our School District. Probably the second area is the charter community, but we need to be more strategic than we have been, I would say, in that arena. (Bell rung.)
So I would think those are the two ways that we have been 221 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. exploring and implementing choice in this District.
But by the time people get to high school, I mean -- I guess what I'm saying is, don't we need to make the change at the much -- there was a focus earlier, a lot of focus, on early childhood, et cetera. Don't we need to move the diverse -- put it at the other end of the spectrum?
Allow parents to have public school choice when they're applying in kindergarten so that maybe they don't move to Bucks County, give them the option of charter schools and the public schools they want to go to and --
Well, again, I know our time is up. It's more difficult for us at the elementary school level because that involves so many more schools. So there is some issue of cost attached to that. And our other experience has been 222 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that parents are also more concerned about, for elementary school and young children, schools being close at hand. So the ability to do that in so many more schools is a challenge both financially and I would say educationally, how to diversify at that level to that extent. So we have not drilled it down that far for those reasons. Those have really been the challenges for us. So we really have looked at it and been able to take it on more aggressively at the high school level for the reasons that I've just said.
Do you have a fundamental objection to that? Is there a reason we're not looking at it?
I think for the reasons I just outlined. Again, I'll speak as one Commissioner, and I'm not an educator, but also what I have seen is at that part of life when what a child needs to know seems to be, again, more 223 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. standardized, more uniform. And so it has not been as much of a pressure per se at the K-to-5 and K-to-8 level as at the high school level where young people are differentiating themselves much more. And what we need to do to motivate them and keep them engaged is also a broader range of interest to respond to. So it just made more sense for us to deal with it at that level first and then kind of work it backwards.
There's a lot of pressure for the City, though, because that's when young people sell their homes and move out to go to Bucks County or Montgomery County or other places to educate their children. I know many, many young couples that have done that.
And that's really -- and I live in a neighborhood where that has happened in a number -- I can name five families on my block. Really what families are looking for at 224 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that point is school quality. They want to know when their young person enters kindergarten, that it is a high-quality program, in first grade at a high-quality program, and it's less about choice. And they want to know predictability of school quality, and I think we are spending a great deal of time K to 8 to improve and raise the standards of what the educational offerings at our K to 8 schools. Again, that's been my experience.
But it's also about they're making a choice, and quality is often affected by the ability of parents to make those choices. In other words, you have parents that are choosing where their kids go to school. Those parents are going to be active in that school. We know that is another one of the metrics that when you're checking the patient determines whether or not it's alive. So I would really like to have 225 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. a further conversation about why we don't think that that's a model that we can look to try in Philadelphia in addition to everything else that we're doing. And I do -- my questions, by no 7 means, didn't -- I acknowledge the progress you've made. I think it's terrific. I think this is the number one issue for the City of Philadelphia. If we don't turn our schools around, we won't have a quality workforce, we won't attract business and we'll continue on the cycle we're on.
Councilman, we'll be happy to talk with you about this in more detail.
Thank you, Madam President. MBE/WBE activity. Years ago, I guess before the launch of the $5 billion commitment for capital improvements, the 226 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. School District endured a lot of criticism around its inability to ensure that small business people of color and women were getting fair access to those opportunities there at the School District. Can someone give us an update on where you are and what the prognosis is going forward?
Yes, ma'am. I'd be glad to. Very good progress. We had -- the District achieved an overall M/WBE participation percentage of percent, 14 for a total of $136 million. 15
Yes, ma'am. Well 21 above our target, and I'll be glad to 22 provide you without eating your time up, 23 but we certainly have by category, by numbers, by firms, by dollars. But it's been a tremendous increase in the last 227 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. couple years.
Just tell me for my own understanding -- and, again, I have history as an experience here -- what is the role of the Government Relations Office in the School District?
I think it was three at one time, and you probably know more than I.
Lee Whitaker and Hugh Allen. So it's always been three you're telling me?
I was told it was three. We're two, and that office, one provides -- does a number of many important things. Provides a liaison to 228 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Harrisburg and provides a liaison to City Hall. The two individuals who are assigned those functions answer, hopefully on a very responsive manner, the questions from the Council and the Mayor, keeps you informed of School District activities. More importantly, keeps us informed of your concerns. Head of the preparation of key issues for budgets, as well as individual constituencies, looking forward to community involvement. And on the state level, it's looking ahead at budget preparations, influencing key legislators and reacting to Governor -- to Commonwealth issues.
I will share for the record what the practice has been, and I've gotten a little spoiled, so I would like to see the practice continue, and, that is, always prior to budget hearings, in addition to a briefing with President Verna, Councilmembers had a briefing one on one 229 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. with the leadership, and the glue for that, the connector, was the Office of Government Relations. I could have missed it, but I don't remember that connect or that ask happening this time around, which is why I ask has there been any change possibly in pursuing that.
There hasn't been, and my apologies. I know we reached out to each one of the Councilmembers, and depending on the schedule, that the team, including me, visited as many as possible based on their scheduling. And so I'm chagrined and surprised that you weren't asked to participate, and I'll find out what happened, but it did in fact happen based on the availability of the calendar. So if in case you weren't asked, I apologize.
Let me say I could have been. I'm just -- my staff could have been. I'm just suggesting it's a practice that we --
-- look forward to, because it's extremely helpful. There's no way we can cover the gamut of issues during a hearing, and we want to keep that going.
All right. I got two more. Going green. In the testimony -- well, you should know, first of all, that a small group have convened to get a handle on the School District's status as relates to going green. What does that mean? With any new construction going forward, we're curious to know what is the School District's commitment, expectation, plan with regards to continuing to build buildings that are in some way like the School of the Future.
Right. And as you well know, the School of the Future was recently recognized --
-- certification, right. We're committed to that. And in the long term, you make a business case that if you make the environmental in terms of systems and in terms of raw materials at the beginning, that it will pay itself back over the long term. So we're committed to following standards. There's two different standards. As you know, there's LEED standards and there's also the California CHIPs, the California -- that are more applicable to schools. And so somehow between either one, we will incorporate those into school specs as we turn them over to design teams, because that's the right thing to do and it saves money in the long term.
Because I 232 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. was going to ask "commitment" means what. So you're saying it's now written into the specs that go --
Well, as the design teams look at the school -- and we provide the specifications --
-- for new buildings, that it will be as part of those specifications, yes.
Okay. All right. Just a couple more. After-school programming. How was the School District impacted with the discontinuation of Safe and Sound as it relates to your after-school programming and/or Beacon schools?
Perhaps Dr. Jones could assist on this. I know it came up earlier when we were talking about the truancy program and who would be responsible for the parent truant officers. 233 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. So Dr. Jones.
Depending on what happens with the reorganization of Safe and Sound, we certainly fund, partially fund, some of those after-school programs, and so we were meeting with Dr. Shorr earlier, because we had some questions about it. She was the person we went to for some questions about that information, because depending on how that reorg is finalized, it is going to have impact on what we do in terms of Beacons and some of the programs that are jointly funded by the School District. It is our understanding that everything is supposed to be resolved by June, so there's going to be a smooth transition. And so we have certainly responded and said that we are willing to serve on this committee or hope that they move forward, and I have said that I will absolutely serve to make sure that transition is smooth, because we are concerned. 234 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Yes. It's a lot of -- how many young people are attending after-school programming in the schools, approximately? I'm just curious. I mean, ultimately we want to know what the impact is going to be for parents who are relying on young people to be in a safe structure, stimulating place after school.
I'll get back to you with that figure, but what I will say, in terms of the summer especially, we understand that that transition will be finished for the fall. Our concern is, as you're raising, for the summer for those children who will be in extended-day activities, this is a concern, and I will get that exact figure for you.
Finally, on the summer schools, is that still a reality for parents and students systemwide, or how is it structured?
It is systemwide. 235 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. That is part of the promotion and graduation requirements. Summer school will be kindergarten through grade and 5 summer programs for grade 12. It's July 6 1 through July 31, and we try to use the 7 air conditioned buildings as much as 8 possible. The students will have an 9 opportunity to earn their credits and to 10 have promotion requirements -- to meet 11 promotion as long as they meet the requirements of coming to school, passing the assessments and then looking at what the transition will be. This year what the District has added is that we want to make sure that there is a transition plan for every child who goes to summer school so that the teacher in the fall knows exactly what happened.
Yes. On 236 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. after-school programs, we have a number run within the District. One that I think to go to your question, which was the Beacon schools, 29 sites with 3,500 students. We have five other programs that Dr. Jones administers and would not be part -- or will be functioning, and that's thousands of students. But we're really concerned about the impact on that 5,500, as she said.
Okay. All right, then. I thank you all for your testimony, and I will look forward to the MBE/WBE report.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We left last time talking about 237 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. an important metric determining whether or not a school district or a school itself succeeds is the involvement of the parents, and I guess what I'd like to suggest is that it's important for the future of this City and it's important for the children in the schools and the schools for parents who would be involved to stay here in Philly and send their kids to the public schools, because that is a factor that will make a large difference, and I think it should be the mission of the School District to provide a school acceptable to every parent in Philadelphia who would be involved in their child's school if they sent them there. I don't know how to tell you to do that, but it's not a way I think the District is operating or thinking today. And if that becomes one of your missions, maybe we can -- it's something that you can look at. I just throw that out there.
Councilman, let me assure you that it is our thinking. We may not be where we should be in implementing it and bringing it to reality, but I do not disagree and no 7 member of the Commission disagrees with you, that that is our goal, to make these schools the schools of choice for every parent who has children of school age in the City of Philadelphia. So we share that mission and would look forward to your suggestions in terms of how we may do that better and can be moving more aggressively in that direction.
And I guess the corollary to that is, if you can't do that, shouldn't those parents whose children would otherwise go to the suburbs, shouldn't they get a voucher to send their children in a school that's acceptable to them if you can't provide an acceptable school?
Point of order, please. 239 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Did you say the suburbs?
No. I'm just -- the choice is parents leaving Philadelphia to go to the suburbs, selling their house, moving out because we're not providing a school acceptable to them. My question is, if we're not providing a school acceptable to that parent, what obligation should the School District have to provide money for them to send their kids to school in Philadelphia where they want? And I recognize that charter schools are filling some of that void.
I think it becomes a bigger issue than what the School District would provide to the parents. I realize the mission, and I understand your intent and I do agree with you, but as far as the funding of vouchers, I believe is what you said, I think that --
Well, some way to keep the parents -- in other 240 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. words, if your mission is to keep parents in Philadelphia, have their children educated here and involved in schools here, whether or not it's the School District or not, our overall goal in Philadelphia is to have a highly educated workforce, whether they went to the public schools or private schools or whatever. So how do we accomplish that? How do we keep people here when they don't choose to send their children to the School District? I mean, whatever the answer to that question is, I'd be interested in it. I didn't mean to suggest an answer.
No, and I think it deserves a thoughtful answer, and I don't think in the next 30 seconds you're going to get that. I think it's an intriguing and a very important question that needs to be answered. I was just keying on what you had said, which is what is the School District going to do for the parents in terms of a voucher, and I 241 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. think that that goes to what you said before. You just dropped into Philadelphia. What's the signs of a system that's working. And I would tell you that I didn't say part of the system would be is it an engaged Mayor, is it an engaged City Council, is it an engaged business community, and do they all care about the success of the school. So a long way of saying, I don't think it's a school problem in terms of vouchers.
And that money needs to be reinvested in our public schools to make them better to prevent the parents from having to make the choice.
Okay. So one more sort of big question, then I have some specific questions that I'll talk to you about about infrastructure, investment and other things. 242 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Is the passive teaching model just broken?
Is the passive teaching model broken? By that I mean teacher standing at a blackboard.
What you will see throughout our classrooms is that we use really interactive, engaged teaching. Will you see it in every classroom? No. 12 Do you see that as the structure and with the intent of our professional development and assist of our teachers? Yes. And so what you will see is that it is interactive. It is using manipulatives. It's using -- having the problem and project-based learning, using exploration, and there is a place where you do stand and deliver.
Sure, yeah. But what percentage of classrooms between kindergarten and sixth grade or kindergarten and eighth grade are truly experiential learning like you're 243 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. describing versus, Okay, now we're going to look at , children?
It's on a continuum, and I would say that in every school you will have classrooms that will look just like I described, but you will still see far too many classrooms that have the standard deliver, and that's why that is a focus for our professional development.
Do you know the answer to the question, though, what percentage of classes --
Well, can you please provide that to the Chair with a grade-by-grade breakdown?
Well, to quote Councilman Jones, if you don't have it measured, you can't manage it. So if that is a goal of the School District's, 244 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. you should know the answer to that question.
Let me tell you why I'm qualifying the answer. Because as I said, in every school that you will go to, you will see that, and so as we're providing professional development, we do walk-throughs. We can tell you a class by class. And so there will be classrooms where a teacher may have started out the year not doing that and at a snapshot in time, we can tell you, yes, we can. So we can provide you with that information. And one of the things that I would suggest is that we did a walk-through about two months ago and we're doing another one in May. As a result of that walk-through, we do go to every classroom, and we'll be able to tell you that at a snapshot in time for that day. So that walk-through is scheduled for May and we can give you that information. 245 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Well, I will suggest to you that on the walk-through day, far more teachers will be doing experiential learning than on the day when you're not there.
I can tell you based on the first one, believe it or not, that's not true. I can tell you that based on the results of the first one, teachers teach the way they teach. You can't fake that. If you're not doing project-based learning, that's not something you can just do.
Well, that's good. So can you send me -- did you say you did one in September?
We did one about two months ago, so we can give you that snapshot, but we're doing it again --
Was that a box that the reviewer checked, whether they were doing project-based learning or --
It's not just 246 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. project based, but it will talk about whether it was student engagement, the methodology and the strategy, so we can tell you from that whether it was standard deliver, whether it was interaction, whether -- what the strategy. So we can do that.
I think it will be good information for both of us to have.
Thank you. Okay. According to the testimony, the estimated total needed to renovate and repair the School District buildings is in excess of $4 billion. You have a five-year $1 billion capital outlay and nothing is -- there's no 21 funding identified after 2009. So how much of the one billion is actually identified?
Actually, the one point -- it's 1.5, I thought. One point 247 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. five billion has been identified, bonded and is in the process of being built, designed, built, constructed, et cetera. But we will be going out to the bond market to get the 600 and -- I'll get the exact figure -- 600-and-something million for the rest of the authorization, but that requirement is much larger than what we've had authorized to date. And so we have 1.5. Two seventy will complete the 1.5, and that's in January. And, actually, the four billion is probably understating it and the newest master facility plan will give us a better feel, and I'm thinking six to seven billion. The average age of our buildings is 65 years old and not a great deal of investment in the infrastructure in the last years. 21 (Bell rung.) 22
25 Councilman, our schedule indicates that 248 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. we would be completing our testimony today at 3:30 and continuing the hearing until o'clock tomorrow morning. So it 5 is now 25 after 3:00. So if you want to 6 ask a question, this will be your last 7 for today, or you can wait until 8 tomorrow. And I know -- 9
It's a very 10 long question. That's perfect. Take notes.
And I do know that you're feeling under the weather right now.
You have five minutes today or you could go on and on tomorrow.
I'll just finish this point on infrastructure and then I'll move on.
And, Councilman, 249 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. I'm sorry, I just wanted to for the record just announce that Commissioner Heidi Ramirez has joined us and I just wanted to make Councilmembers aware of that. Thank you.
Welcome. So have you done any sort of study that looks at what the deferred maintenance you have or whether or not your maintenance budget is sufficient to prevent an increasing capital need over the next few years? In other words, if you don't fix the hole in the roof, then you have to replace the roof and the walls. And is the maintenance budget sufficient to keep your capital needs predictable or have you requested enough money for maintenance so that capital is not going to continue to grow?
The proverbial you don't change the filter and then you'll have to change the air conditioner in five years, a problem now versus a 250 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. problem in the future. This was looked at about two years ago, I'm told, and it's approximately $265 million a year that we should be spending on maintenance activities, and I believe we spend about 167 million. And so we are -- and this is not just Philadelphia. It's pretty standard across most school systems, that if you look at what private enterprise corporations invest in infrastructure versus school systems, we find that we're underfunded. So, yes. Is that a part of the seven billion? Probably. But capital versus operational costs and investments every year and how much can we put in a classroom and what do you not put in a classroom to fund completely your capital program.
Can you tell us the difference between if we were to spend what's really needed for maintenance how much we'd save in capital over the next five or ten years? 251 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Because maybe we could get a positive return on investment.
But I think the bigger question wouldn't be how much necessarily you'd save on your capital bill in the fifth and -- I'm not justifying it. I'm just trying to explain it. The ten-year capital program you'd probably save a bunch of money, and maybe you'd save the debt service without having to invest in the capital funding, but that would require heart-wrenching decisions every year to the tune of what are we not going to teach children this year because we have to put it in maintenance.
Well, we're paying one way or the other ultimately. I mean, we're paying for it. We're going to fix it --
No free lunch 252 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. either way.
Thank you. Thank you all so very much. This Committee will stand in recess until 10 o'clock tomorrow, and then we will recess until 1:30. We'll come back at 1:30, and whatever testimony we have will go to 3:00, and then tomorrow evening, if we have public testimony, it will be from 5:30. So we will see you all tomorrow. Thank you. (Committee of the Whole adjourned at 3:30 p.m.) - - - 253 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on April 28, 2008, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)