PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia school principals have called on City Council to adopt Mayor Cherelle Parker's tax on Uber and Lyft rides, to prevent school-level cuts.
About 100 members of Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA) Teamsters Local 502, the union representing Philadelphia school principals, gathered outside Potter-Thomas Elementary School in the city’s Fairhill section to demand that Council pass the mayor's proposed $1-per-ride tax to stave off the reassignments of 340 teachers, counselors and climate staff districtwide.
“We are really talking about funding,” said CASA President Robin Cooper, “but we think the rideshare tax is an excellent strategy.”
Parker said the tax would generate $48 million, which would prevent the reassignments. Olney High School Principal Michael Roth said without those funds, the reassignments would destabilize the teaching force.
“They're going to say ‘I'm done with this. I’m not going to be force-transferred to some other school. I’m going to leave Philadelphia. I’m going to go find a job where I can be for the next 10, 15, 20 years,’” Roth said.
Potter-Thomas Principal Nichole Willoughby said the reassignments would also affect student achievement. “Class sizes will increase,” she said, “Targeted interventions will disappear. And our ability to fulfill our mission will become harder and harder each day.”
With schools having to cut staff, Edward Heston School Principal Don Anticoli put the impact into sports terms. “Can the Phillies work with six out of nine players?” he asked. “Can the Sixers play with three out of five players? Can the Eagles play with seven out of eleven?”
Budget negotiations between the mayor and Council continue, with many Council members still seething over the district's facilities plan that would close 17 schools. Amid those negotiations, Willoughby said the objective should be supporting students.
“This is not about politics. It is about priorities.”
