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A Plea to Rescind $190,000 Cut: Powel Elementary, Like Other Phila. Schools, is to Lose Discretionary Funds. The School Reform Commission Heard From Parents

Posted on: Thursday, 18 May 2006, 09:10 CDT

By Martha Woodall, The Philadelphia Inquirer

May 18--Wearing red "Powel Owl" T-shirts, parents and supporters of the Samuel Powel Elementary School yesterday urged the Philadelphia School Reform Commission to restore nearly $190,000 in planned cuts to their school's budget.

The cuts are largely the result of a 5 percent reduction in discretionary funds for public schools throughout the city.

At Powel, in West Philadelphia, the parents said, the cuts would result in the loss of two teachers as well as support positions in the library, the lunchroom and elsewhere.

"Over the last four years I have witnessed a distressing trend of increasingly devastating budget cuts for our tiny but wonderful school," said Elaine Jenson, vice president of the Home and School Association at the West Philadelphia school.

She pointed out that the kindergarten-through-fourth-grade school has met standards for adequate yearly progress contained in the federal No Child Left Behind law for four years.

"In these times, when the state government and the federal government are demanding results, why are we killing a good school?" asked Jamal Hampton, another Powel parent.

The parents vowed to continue their fight. But district officials said that one teacher position had been restored and that university interns could fill the support positions in the fall

The Powel parents spoke at the end of the commission's regularly scheduled meeting and one week before the five-member board is scheduled to vote on a proposed $2.04 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

After the meeting, James Nevels, the commission's chairman, said staffers were looking at the impact that proposed cuts could have on individual schools.

"If we've got schools that are improving, that are doing well, we certainly don't want to hurt them by cutting back on resources," he said, noting that some funds might be restored at Powel.

But Nevels pointed out that all city schools were grappling with less discretionary money because of the district's budget crunch. He said individual principals decided what would be cut.

He said the district was facing tough times because it had used all the additional money it received from a bond sale a few years ago and by refinancing debt. And last month, the Pennsylvania House decided to scrap the annual $25 million appropriation the district has received since the state takeover in 2001.

If the legislature approves Gov. Rendell's proposed $8.7 billion education budget, which includes the $25 million, the district will be spared making many painful cuts, Nevels said.

The legislature will not vote on the state budget until this summer.

Before the meeting, activists for the disabled rallied in front of the School Administration Building on Broad Street to call for expanding inclusion of disabled students in regular classrooms. Members of the Alliance for Inclusive Education also said the district had not kept its promise to make schools more accessible and to include images of disabled students in new murals.

"By including the disabled children, other children will have the chance to learn the challenges that disabled children face in their daily lives," said Marsha Peurifoy, one of the 20 men and women in wheelchairs at the rally. "They will also learn that other than perhaps needing assistive devices, such as crutches, disabled children are just like them."

Amy Guerin, a district spokeswoman, said officials had met with the group more than a dozen times over the last few years to discuss disability issues. She said Vallas would meet with members June 1.

Guerin said the district had spent more than $5.5 million since 2003 on ramps, elevators, grab bars and other features to make school buildings accessible.

"Between now and 2008," she said, "we have another $21.1 million of the capital program planned for accessibility issues."

Contact staff writer Martha Woodall at 215-854-2789 or martha.woodall@phillynews.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer

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Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

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