PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mayor Parker said the city is promising to find money to help the Philadelphia School District avoid reassigning hundreds of teachers and climate managers.
“The 340 school-based cuts are off the table,” the Mayor declared.
Superintendent Tony Watlington called it “Christmas in June.”
At a hastily called news conference Wednesday at the Philadelphia School District headquarters, Mayor Parker announced the city would work to find recurring revenue to help the district pay for the positions.
City Council last week rejected the mayor’s proposed rideshare tax, and instead provided the district with an additional one-time $50 million.
Watlington said the district would go ahead with the cuts because it couldn’t bank on that funding year after year. The mayor said there’s no new revenue right now, but the city would make “tough choices” in its five-year plan to find a way.
“We don’t know what the vehicle will be but I will tell you this, Philadelphia – everything is on the table. The Council President and I, along with, I know, members of Council, we will be vetting every opportunity possible to generate that new predictable revenue,” she said.
The district is still moving forward with central office cuts to address its $300 million structural deficit.
City vows to find recurring revenue to save hundreds of teaching jobs
City vows to find recurring revenue to save hundreds of teaching jobs
