With the verdict still out on a study that will determine the future of the troubled Philadelphia School District, the impact on any particular school is anybody's guess.
But regardless of the decision, which may include privatizing all or part of the 215,000-student school district, many feel the new Penn-assisted school will not fundamentally change.
Faced with years of squabbles with the city over budget shortfalls and declining test scores, Gov. Tom Ridge hired New York-based Edison Schools, Inc. in August to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the Philadelphia school system's troubles. Edison, which is the nation's largest private operator of public schools, will report its findings to Ridge by the end of September.
"I laugh at this because I don't believe there's any way that a state takeover could improve what will be available for those children" at the Penn-assisted school, said Philadelphia Federation of Teachers vice president Jerry Jordan, a member of the coordinating committee for the Penn-assisted school.
The school, located at 42nd and Locust streets, will open today for first grade and next week for kindergarten. The school will eventually accommodate 700 children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Penn will provide a $1,000 per student subsidy to develop and operate the school, plus academic assistance from University professors and students.
"We've done what... those of us in education know needs to occur for a great school," Jordan said, citing smaller-than-typical class sizes, a highly-developed curriculum and a heavy emphasis on technology.
University President Judith Rodin, who spearheaded the drive for a new public school, said she believes the as-of-yet unnamed school would not be significantly affected, regardless of the study's findings.
"I feel confident that whatever the outcome [of the study], it won't impact the Penn-assisted school in the short-term," Rodin said. Edison was "very excited in hearing about it and in getting to know it."
But school board member Michael Masch said that while the building under construction to house the new school is guaranteed due to a signed contract between Penn and the school district, what occurs inside its walls is not immune to funding changes recommended by the study.
"What are we going to say? `It's okay if you cut, just don't cut this school'?" asked Masch, who is also the University's vice president of management and budget analysis. "I don't think Penn would ever take that position."
Masch said that no matter who controls the school district, the financial reality of its $200 million deficit this fiscal year still must be addressed. Per-pupil spending in the district is already lower than state and national averages, Masch added.
"There's no evidence of spending lots and lots more money than other people do," he said, adding that 200 administrative positions have been cut in the last two years.
However, officials in Harrisburg say that they have increased the district's budget by nearly $50 million for the current fiscal year, and $40 million for the year prior to that. Sixty percent of the district's funding comes from the state, with the remainder from the city.
"We have been putting additional state funding into the district ever year," said Tim Reeves, Ridge's spokesman. "It's very unlikely that there will be additional state funding without additional local funding. We couldn't get the votes for it."
Mayor John Street will cede control of school district to the state at the end of October if no long-term plan can be hammered out between the two sides.
"It's not our first choice," said Debra Kahn, the city's education secretary. "But we don't think that we can do this alone."
If the state takes over the district, privatization will likely be part of the answer.
"Gov. Ridge is very intent in looking at privatization and has told Edison that," Reeves said. Due to its experience in the field, Edison would likely be a leading contender to run the schools.
Henry Levin, director of Columbia University's National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education said that any move towards privatization would likely occur over several years. With hostility likely from the teachers' union and the mayor's office, any private company would likely steer clear of highly inflammatory issues like the Penn-assisted school.
"You don't want to look for trouble over a mosquito, and a single school is a mosquito," Levin said.
