PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — With Mayor Cherelle Parker and City Council still at odds over Joyce Wilkerson's seat on the Board of Education, the remaining board members took their oath of office on Wednesday.
Seven of Parker’s nine picks for the school board officially began their volunteer terms at a ceremony at City Hall. Parker said nominee Crystal Cubbage couldn’t attend because of a long-standing commitment. The mayor said Joyce Wilkerson, who was not confirmed by City Council but whom Parker asked to remain on the board anyway, didn’t need to be sworn in.
“The nine members, with continuing member Joyce Wilkerson, bring the right balance of experience and change," Parker said. "You are by far our best and our brightest.”
Board President Reginald Streater and previous board members Sarah-Ashley Andrews and Chau Wing Lam were sworn in Wednesday, along with new members Cheryl Harper, Whitney Jones, Wanda Novales and Joan Stern. Cubbage was to be sworn-in separately.
The mayor said the members have already been the focus of a public tug-of-war. “As you have learned during the nomination process, you all are going to be pulled in many directions and you’re going to be the subject of intense public debate.
“I also ask you to operate with transparency and to help me to overcome the division that we cannot deny currently exists between charters and traditional public schools.”
The nine-member school board oversees the education of 197,000 students in 217 district schools and 82 charter schools.
Wilkerson wouldn’t comment directly about the controversy surrounding her seat on the board, but said her new colleagues on the all-volunteer board would face a challenge. “The focus on student achievement will keep them going," Wilkerson told KYW Newsradio. "It’s not what they think it’s going to be, but focusing on student achievement makes it a lot easier.”