Stories tagged: Michael Nutter
Nutter wants new cigarette tax, liquor tax hike to help fund schools
Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 19:43 Posted in Latest news | Permalink
by Holly Otterbein for NewsWorks
[Updated: 7:07 p.m.]
Your next debaucherous night of drinking and smoking might help close the Philadelphia School District's enormous budget gap.
Philadelphia's Mayor Nutter is proposing to increase the liquor-by-the-drink tax and create a brand-new $2 tax on every pack of cigarettes in order to help fund the schools.
Despite parent, teacher pleas, City Council still not moved on District budget woes
Submitted by thenotebook on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 22:41 Posted in Latest news | Permalink
by Bill Hangley Jr.
Day two of City Council’s education hearings was a long string of bleak predictions and passionate calls for funding from public school supporters faced with the prospect of what one parent called “trying to do the impossible with nothing.”
Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell called the day’s testimony “disheartening,” but gave little indication that she and her colleagues are eager to move on meeting the Philadelphia School District’s request for $60 million in additional funding.
Nutter, coalition plead with Harrisburg for $120 million for city schools
Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 04/17/2013 - 08:50 Posted in Latest news | Permalink
by Benjamin Herold for NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner
Saying it’s time for Gov. Corbett to relieve the pain caused by massive cuts in state aid to public education over the last two years, Mayor Nutter and a coalition of District, charter and Catholic schools are making a push in support of the School Reform Commission’s request for $120 million in additional state aid for city schools.
“What’s happening at the school level doesn’t lie,” said Lori Shorr, the mayor’s chief education officer. “Talk to parents in a charter school or a District-managed school. They understand what the cuts have meant.”
Nutter, along with the Great Schools Compact, is calling on Corbett and the state legislature to increase the state’s basic education subsidy, restore state reimbursements to districts for money they spend on charter schools and adopt a “student-based funding formula” as a long-term solution to the District’s chronic budget woes.
Don't give up the ship
Submitted by thenotebook on Fri, 03/08/2013 - 16:07 Posted in Commentary | Permalink
by Zachary Lax
I am a second-year high school teacher who is proud to serve the students of the School District of Philadelphia. I am also among the many members of our community whose school will be closed. I know that my colleagues, my students, and their parents share my sense of dismay and betrayal over the final decision by the School Reform Commission -- and by extension their appointers, Mayor Nutter and Gov. Corbett -- to ignore our pleas.
An interview with Mayor Nutter about school closings
Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 02/06/2013 - 13:08 Posted in Latest news | Permalink
Late last month, the Notebook interviewed Mayor Michael Nutter on the topic of school closings. The School District, in December, announced a plan to close 37 schools. Since then, the District has held many community and individual school meetings where the dominant reaction has been opposition and anger. The School Reform Commission is now planning to make a decision March 7, after a round of hearings from Thursday evening, Feb. 21, through Saturday, Feb. 23.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
- Citing the District’s financial realities and the decision of parents to leave District-run schools, Mayor Nutter supports the closings -- although he says that the District is listening to feedback and that he wouldn't be surprised if the adopted plan looks different from the initial proposal.
- The mayor defends his decision not to attend any of the community meetings himself. The decisions must be Superintendent Hite’s and the SRC’s, not the mayor’s, he said.
- He chalks up the opposition and the Council resolution supporting a moratorium on closings to, “This is Philadelphia.”
- He says that it is important that additional investment be made in the receiving schools: “You can’t do education on the cheap.”
Following is an edited transcript of the interview.
Sylvia Simms will replace Cary on SRC
Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Mon, 01/28/2013 - 15:33 Posted in Latest news | Permalink
Mayor Nutter has named parent activist Sylvia Simms to replace Lorene Cary on the School Reform Commission.
Simms, who was a District bus attendant for 15 years, said she was "honored," "excited," and "surprised" by the appointment.
In a statement, Nutter said that Simms "will bring an incredibly important and unique perspective to educational advocacy" to the SRC.
Helping homeless students tackle barriers to academic success
Submitted by thenotebook on Mon, 10/15/2012 - 12:04 Posted in Latest news | Permalink
by Charlotte Pope
It’s not always easy for a homeless student to push past the stigma and focus on academics.
To increase understanding about the barriers to educational success for homeless students, Temple University's School of Social Work and the Children's Work Group held the Students Without a Home summit on Friday, where experts discussed best practices for improving educational outcomes among homeless students.
Choosing a high school keeps getting more complicated
By Dale Mezzacappa Posted in Fall Guide 2012 Edition | Permalink
The always daunting process of getting into high school has a new twist this year.
In a system where studies have found that parents are already befuddled by the process, students and their families have a dizzying array of high school choices – small schools, large schools, themed schools, charter schools, themed charter schools, neighborhood schools that have become charter schools – the list goes on.
Lorene Cary takes leave of absence from SRC
Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 09/20/2012 - 17:57 Posted in Latest news | Permalink
The District has announced that SRC member Lorene Cary is taking a leave of absence due to what is described as a "temporary" illness. Doctors said that she needed to rest so it doesn't become chronic.
The leave is effective next Monday.
'Won't Back Down' screened in Philadelphia Wednesday night
Submitted by thenotebook on Thu, 09/20/2012 - 11:52 Posted in Latest news | Permalink
By Benjamin Herold
for NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner
Mayor Nutter and Pennsylvania State Sen. Anthony WIlliams joined more than a hundred Philadelphians on Wednesday night for a special advance screening of Won’t Back Down, a new movie about education reform that is provoking sharp criticism from teachers' unions.
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