Parents United for Public Education Take Action on the BRT! |
What should $4.5 million
of school cash buy?
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THIS . . . . . 80 employees of the Bureau of Revision of Taxes whom the Mayor's Task Force said were perceived as "patronage hires who do not add value" OR THIS . . . . .
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Reduce class size by one-third in elementary schools citywide;
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Hire 50 music teachers;
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Employ 50 new librarians for schools that don't have them;
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Give 500 spots to students on a wait list to return to alternative high school degree programs;
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Ensure that more than 800 sports teams citywide remain in place;
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More full-time nurses for every school
What are 80 employees of the Bureau of Revision of Taxes doing on the School District's payroll? That's a question Parents United has been asking for over a year. This month, the School District of Philadelphia, the Mayor and parent and education advocacy groups called for an end to a practice where city kids are forced to pay $4.5 million for 80 BRT employees who are neither hired nor supervised by the District.
With the District seeking to cover a $200 million shortfall by taking $4 million directly out of school budgets, this cost becomes even more clear.
What's the problem? City Council apparently disagrees. A new Council bill leaves all BRT jobs at the School District, eating up precious dollars that our kids need for school based funds. Our kids - their politics!
Will you give us
5 minutes for $4.5 million?
CALL OR EMAIL THESE COUNCILPEOPLE TODAY!
LET THEM KNOW PARENTS ARE WATCHING.
His council bill keeps the BRT jobs at the School District.
Councilwoman Marian Tasco: 215-686-3454"I don't think it's an issue for any of the Council members, just for the mayor." Tasco, Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 8th. Councilman Darrell Clarke: 215-686-3442 Clarke dodged the issue of whether school kids should pay for the workers and said instead that "he did not believe in a political ban for any city employees" and that "it's wrong to assume that patronage workers cannot be effective." Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 23. Councilman Frank DiCicco: 215-686-3458
"The patronage employees become a good scapegoat . . . because they don't have the skills that are necessary to do the job correctly, through no fault of their own." DiCicco, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 23. Council President Anna Verna: 215-686-3412 She says she'll address the BRT's problems but declines to comment on the patronage workers. Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 23. Please take a moment to call upon Education Chair Jannie Blackwell (215-686-3418) to support the BRT call. She has withheld initial support for Green's bill.
Please thank Councilman Frank Rizzo (215-686-3440) who is the first councilman to openly support the removal of BRT workers from the District payroll!
"If you're going to just cherry-pick and not take on the tough part, the political part, you're going to have another bureaucracy with a different name." Rizzo, Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 9th.
SCHOOL FUNDS ARE FOR SCHOOLS -
NOT POLITICS!
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