Title
June 2, 2011
TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA:
As we have discussed, and you are well aware, the School District of Philadelphia is facing tremendous financial challenges which threaten its capacity to provide essential programs and services and to meet the educational needs of our children.
I am particularly concerned about cuts that would eliminate funding for full-day kindergarten, public transportation to and from school, accelerated schools, and a level of funding which allows us to maintain the reduced class sizes that are crucial to continuing the educational gains made in recent years. Significantly reduced or eliminated funding for these priority areas would reverse the gains that we have made and would have very negative consequences for our young people and our city as a whole.
For these reasons, I believe there is a compelling case for providing additional resources to the School District of Philadelphia, primarily in order to protect four key items: full-day kindergarten, transportation, smaller class sizes and accelerated schools.
There are a number of revenue options that - when combined with significant restored state funding above and beyond which the District has budgeted, an agreement with SEPTA on the funding of Transpasses, and an increase in on-street parking rates - would generate the necessary revenue to preserve funding for quality education.
In my view, the best of these options would be a School District tax connected to retailers' purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages for sale in Philadelphia. Accordingly, I am transmitting herewith for introduction and your consideration a proposed ordinance entitled:
AN ORDINANCE
Amending Chapter 19-1800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled School Tax Authorization, by adding a new Section 19-1807, entitled Authorization of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax, under certain terms and conditions.
This proposal would establish a two-cent-per-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage tax, to be collected by the distributors of such beverages to Philadelphia retailers. If made effective October 1, 2011, this proposal would generate approximately $60 million for the School District in Fiscal Year 2012. Combined with additional state funding, an agreement with SEPTA and an increase in on-street parking rates (estimated to generate approximately $6 million in additional revenue for the District), this funding would help restore some essential services.
Council has asked me to work with the body to create options to provide relief to the District. I understand there likely will be consideration of an increase in real estate taxes to provide additional funding, or perhaps a variety of options that combine elements of different proposals. Ultimately, my most abiding concern at this point is the provision of sufficient revenue to the School District to ensure that critical programs and services, as I have outlined above, can be maintained for the public school children of the City of Philadelphia.
Whether this is accomplished through a combination of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax combined with an increase in on-street parking rates, an increase in real estate taxes combined with an increase in on-street parking rates, or some combination of the three, we should move forward to provide the funding necessary to preserve these essential services. These are difficult choices, but difficult times require us to be bold and take action.
I certainly remain interested in continuing the dialogue about these issues and know that, working together, we can do what is right for the children of our City.
Respectfully,
Michael A. Nutter,
Mayor