“. . . Philadelphia students are being abandoned at the intersection of greed and power.”
Tom Rogan takes on teacher union official power and greed, as well as the Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia. The story is in the National Review.
Last Friday, the Philadelphia superintendent of schools, William Hite, announced that his 2014–15 budget is short $216 million. Moreover, he says, Philadelphia schools actually need $440 million to escape their present state of disrepair. As a start, Hite wants $120 million in new taxes + $75 million from the city + $150 million from the state. A lot of money.
Still, to be fair to Hite, he has also demanded $95 million in concessions from the city’s teachers’ union. That’s a testament to a courage that other liberals (New York City’s Mayor de Blasio, for example) lack. If Hite had been a political hack, he’d simply have called for taxes alone. Instead, since taking office in 2012, he has faced down angry parents, disgruntled teachers, powerful unions, and Mayor Michael Nutter.opportunity.