Vigil Held In Center City In Support Of Philadelphia Teachers
By Kim Glovas, Elizabeth Hur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A candlelight demonstration was held in front of the Pennsylvania Governor's Philadelphia office on South Broad Street in Center City Sunday night where parents and teachers protested the Philadelphia school's lack of funding.
Thousands of students are starting school on Monday, and many will be heading to a new school because their old school is closed. Organizers of the protest say they are angry Governor Corbett isn't doing more.
"We're going to negotiate a contract that's good for the students of the city," George Jackson, director of communications for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said. "You have to remember what we negotiate, we have to live for the duration of the contract, so we want a contract that's makes sense educationally, that doesn't drive educators out of the district, that doesn't put a financial penalty on teachers for choosing to work in the city of Philadelphia."
Jackson says it's not so much the first day that is the concern:
"It's what happens as the school year wears on, and the work load increases the issues that students have, that they will have will crop up, and it will be harder and harder for staff to deal with those in a manner that is sufficient, safe, and appropriate and conducive to a high quality learning environment."
About a hundred people turned out for the vigil, which was organized by parents and students, and it ended with a march to city hall, demanding answers.
