Title
February 28, 2002
To The President And Members Of The
Council Of The City Of Philadelphia:
I have decided to allow Bill Nos. 010617 and 010666 to go into law without my signature.
I will not sign these measures because they are unenforceable and do not provide geniune opportunityies for Council members, parents, students and community members to have a voice in the on-going effort to improve Philadelphia’s public schools. As explained in the attached City Solicitor’s opinion of February 8, and my letter to you fo February 14, these bills attempt to impose restrictions and regulations on the executive branch and the School Reform Commissions (SRC), which City Council does not have the authority to do. Therefore, neither Council nor the public should expect any changes or actions on the part of my Administration or by the SRC as a driect result of these measures.
The SRC needs to develop appropriate mechnisms to solicit input from parents, students and other community members as it makes decisions about school operators and other critical matters. Without meaningful stakeholder involvement at every stage in the process. These initiatives will not have the broad-based community support they need to succeed. Nor will our children have the cohesive and supportive environment they need to thrive at school and in their neighborhoods.
The full SRC has been seated for just about five weeks now and is undertaking an extensive amount of new work. It will take some time to put into place all of the procedures and structures it will need to perform its duties well. SRC members have said tht they intend to create mechanisms to solicit the opinions of parents, students and other community members to inform their decisions about school privatization, as well as on an ongoing basis. I believe that the SRC intends to follow through on its pledge to do and we should allow the SRC time to develop such procedures and processes.
If for any reason the SRC fails to act along these lines, then I repeat my willingness to work with Council to seek appropriate legislative authorization from the General Assembly to compel such action, so long as the authorization is consisten with the division of authority between the executive and legislative branches provided in our Home Rule Charter.
Thank you for your efforts to ensure that Philadelphians continue to have a strong and effective voice in determining the future of publ8ic education in our City.
Sincerely,
John F. Street, Esquire
Mayor
Cc: Members of City Council
Members of the School Reform Commission