Pennsylvania Lawmakers Want Philadelphia School Reform Commission Abolished
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Some Pennsylvania state lawmakers want to get rid of the five-member panel that runs Philadelphia's public schools, and return control to the city.
Calling the School Reform Commission's removal of superintendent Arlene Ackerman a "sideshow," state senator Mike Stack stood with several of his Democratic colleagues outside the school district's headquarters on North Broad Street and announced legislation to abolish the SRC.
"The last six months have been a debacle of planning, financial mismanagement, a leadership vacuum and a human resource crisis," he said.
Stack's bill would replace the SRC with a nine-member elected school board, and it would give the mayor the power to appoint the superintendent.
Two similar bills have been introduced in the Pennsylvania House, But the idea faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled legislature.
Reported by Mike DeNardo, KYW Newsradio 1060
