This past August, then-Gov. Tom Ridge and Mayor John Street struck a deal: if no agreement on how to solve the financial problems of Philadelphia's ailing public schools was reached, the state would assume control of the district on Nov. 1, 2001.
Of course, things did not go as originally planned. Street and Gov. Mark Schweiker worked well beyond the deadline to reach a compromise on the controversial plan devised by New York-based Edison Schools, Inc., a for-profit company that runs public schools in several states.
And on Monday, the board charged with reforming the city's schools was finally appointed. The School Reform Commission features two former members of the now defunct Board of Education, including Penn Vice President for Budget and Management Analysis Michael Masch, and three prominent area business leaders. It will be chaired by James Nevels of Swarthmore, who has served as the body's interim leader since December.
The commission's first tasks may indeed be its most difficult -- selecting a CEO for the district and a partner, possibly Edison, to help oversee the reform of the schools. The extent to which a private company will play a role, if any, has also been left to the commission.
It is crucially important that the School Reform Commission go about these decisions very carefully and consider all options, including that of not involving a private company at all. These decisions will have a far-reaching and long-lasting effect on the direction of the schools.
Furthermore, this is likely the last great hope to reform the failing schools. As former Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz said yesterday in a Philadelphia Inquirer article, "there isn't another play if this doesn't work." Great care must be taken.
At the same time, we urge the commission to move as quickly as possible in determining the future of the schools. Every day that goes by is another in which Philadelphia's children suffer with woefully substandard schools. The situation needs to be resolved, and quickly. It is too important to delay much longer.
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