Title
Authorizing the Committee on Children and Youth and the Committee on Education to conduct hearings evaluating needs and identifying priorities for services and supports to strengthen Philadelphia schools.
Body
WHEREAS, In 2016, City Council's Committees on Children & Youth and Education held hearings to assess the cumulative impact of reduced state funding on vulnerable student populations as well as on Philadelphia school safety, essential services, and academic outcomes; and
WHEREAS, Since 2016, the school funding crisis has stabilized due to an unprecedented increase in local taxes, which now make up 50 percent of the School District's funding, as well as efforts taken by the City and the School District to mitigate these devastating cuts and to protect Philadelphia's most vulnerable students; and
WHEREAS, After decades of financial instability, the School District of Philadelphia is now in a position to invest. In December 2018, Moody's Investor Services announced that it had upgraded the School District's underlying bond rating by two notches, declaring its outlook as "stable", and applauding improved City finances, new revenues, and strong District management. Superintendent William Hite has remarked that, "Our schools and students can rely on continued investments without the uncertainty of sudden cuts in services"; and
WHEREAS, The return of Philadelphia schools to local control represents an opportunity to evaluate District strategy for investments in essential services and supports. The last three years has been a period of restoration, as nurses and counselors have been returned to schools, teachers have been given a contract, and school closures have ceased. It is time that such a period of restoration is succeeded by one where priorities for new spending are shaped by our school communities themselves; and
WHEREAS, Despite this stabilization in school funding, our schools are still operating with severe deficiencies and are unable to ful...
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