PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — At least 70 people have submitted their names to be considered for the Philadelphia Board of Education, ahead of Friday’s application deadline.
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Educational Nominating Panel is collecting applications from people who want to volunteer to serve on the nine-member board overseeing the education of 200,000 children in the city. Sharon Ward, the mayor’s deputy chief education officer, says the application period is open until midnight on Friday.
“The mayor’s message is: This is your chance to serve your city,” Ward told KYW Newsradio.
The city’s school board members serve without pay. “Mayor Parker believes that this is the most important volunteer position in this city, and she is looking for people who want to make a difference for Philadelphia’s schoolchildren,” Ward said.
The Nominating Panel is scheduled to convene on March 12 to provide the mayor with 27 candidates from which she’ll appoint nine, subject to City Council confirmation. Current members who wish to remain on the school board must submit a new application.
Board President Reginald Streater said last month he would like to stay on.
“If you’re asking if I would love the opportunity to continue serving this mayor, serving this city in this capacity, I’m ready,” Streater told KYW Newsradio. “If the mayor would have me, I’ll be happy to take the call.”
The term of the new school board begins on May 1.