Philadelphia Schools to Open on Time, But Cuts Will be Implemented

Philadelphia schools will open on time in September but not without significant cuts to the budget, Superintendent William R. Hite said Friday in a letter posted to the district’s website.

The city’s schools are facing an $81 million shortfall in the current year’s budget.

“For the sake of minimizing disruptions for families and for the sake of educating children, we have made the decision to make a series of additional, difficult—and hopefully, temporary—cuts in order to open schools on time,” Hite states in the letter.

The letter lays out the following cuts that will be implemented so that schools can open on time:

“We implore our state legislators to quickly enact the Philadelphia-only cigarette tax, which is expected to generate approximately $49 million this year if implemented by Oct. 1. Each month of delay in authorizing this tax results in the loss of millions of dollars of revenue,” Hite said in the letter.

He also encouraged the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers to make concessions. “We are not seeking across-the-board wage reductions from the PFT but rather benefits changes that would enable us to restore essential services to school,” he said.

If a solution is not reached by mid-October, Hite said the administration will be “forced” to cut into school budgets, increasing class sizes and reducing other services.

Governor Tom Corbett also weighed in on the fiscal state of Philadelphia’s schools.

“Now, more than ever, it is incumbent upon the paid union leadership of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers to join all of us in these efforts to finally fix the financial crisis confronting the Philadelphia School District. The students deserve no less than everyone’s full focus.”