As a frequent volunteer at Philadelphia public schools and intern with PCCY, I have had the “pleasure” to attend a few SRC meetings.

One can always expect to witness drama when attending an SRC meeting and the climate at the latest session did not disappoint. Even though the room was sparsely populated on both sides (only two SRC members were present along with Superintendent Ackerman), everyone in attendance was treated to a reality show as ridiculous as the ones viewed on television.

There were several upsetting moments from last Friday’s SRC meeting—Chairman Archie’s disconnect with the public and the District’s willingness to close full-service kitchens, to name a few. But what angered me the most was the unequal treatment of the members of the public that gave testimony.

Public testimony is a wonderful concept and remains one of the easiest ways to get one’s voice heard by those that directly affect the School District. However, when District officials that control the speakers’ time limit and content neglect the rules, order vanishes and some messages disappear among a flurry of personal attacks and politically fueled testimony.

At least six speakers at Friday’s SRC meeting spoke on the effects of cuts to bilingual services. Not surprisingly, some of these parents needed an interpreter to translate their messages to the SRC. I was taken aback when the woman who called up the testifiers and controlled their time limit asked one of these parents to summarize (i.e. end) her thoughts after the allotted three minutes were up. Surely, I thought, these parents should be afforded some extra time as their testimony has to effectively be told twice (once in their native language and once by an interpreter in English).

Meanwhile, at least a dozen parents came to support Ackerman and her policies with full vigor—blasting her critics, showering her with praise, and begging her to keep fighting “the good fight.” Most of these testifiers were allowed to speak past the three-minute mark without interruption from District officials. One parent even had the timer turned off for her so that she could speak for a full 10 minutes without the red stop light disturbing her.

Many of these parents also directly attacked District financial chief Michael Masch for the District’s budget woes, complaining that he should receive the blame for the mess instead of the superintendent. No one stopped these tirades even though an SRC regulation clearly states that, “Individuals will be ruled out of order if they attempt to comment or complain about the conduct or performance of a particular School District employee.” In fact, when one speaker asked whether Masch was present and how to pronounce his name, both the superintendent and Chairman Archie helped her out and pointed to his seat. The meeting soon turned from public testimony to political rally.

Rules and regulations are written for a reason and should only be breached under certain circumstances to allow for better equality. At the very least, the bilingual parents that were cut off from their speech should not have been punished for speaking a language unfamiliar to the SRC. Something should also been done about the speeches that were filled with personal attacks that lasted well over the allotted time.

The District officials that run the SRC meeting, the SRC members, and the superintendent herself have a duty to keep order at these meetings because if they don’t—as shown by July 1’s meeting—the vitally important issues that face the District, like the loss of bilingual services, will be drowned out by political vitriol that belongs in a rally outside of City Hall.

James Sadler is a student at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science and Urban Education. He is an Education Policy intern at PCCY for the summer and has conducted independent research on Philadelphia high schools. During his free time he has volunteered in several public schools providing free SAT tutoring through Let’s Get Ready, assisting a Recess coordinator through Playworks, participating in a one-on-one mentorship program through Penn Pals, and more. He can be reached at jamess@childrenfirstpa.org.

The Philadelphia Public School Notebook – July 6, 2011 – Read article online