Anger and Accusations at SRC Meeting

A School Reform Commission (SRC) meeting Monday that had been scheduled mostly for the SRCfor the 2011-12 school year turned combative after public speakers began to discuss various rumors and reports that have been in the news lately.

After the SRC took care of its primary business, parents and others stepped up to the microphone at School District of Philadelphia headquarters for the public comments portion of the meeting.

Some didn't pull punches.

Helen Gym, who is a district parent and helped found Parents United For Public Education, made sure to bring up published that listed schools the district could soon close.

District officials—as well as The Notebook—have emphasized that the list is a draft and that what it says is not final.

Parents at throughout the year to discuss its facilities master plan, which has focused on the buildings the district could potentially close during upcoming years. The forums have also focused on the potential for downsizing some buildings as well.

Gym said she wished the district would have shared the list with the public before it became available through the press.

"We're not the enemy," Gym said. "And we deserve to be treated better than this."

Gym also talked about how Superintendent Arlene Ackerman has given Deputy Superintendent Leroy Nunery an ability to sign documents for the school district through July and August.

That raised questions about whether the superintendent was planning an exit strategy, and Gym said she didn't want to see any big buyout for her if that were the case.

Nunery responded in an unequivocal fashion.

""Ms. Gym has made some interesting allegations," he said.

He said that the draft document of potential school closings was never meant to be leaked, and said people have jumped to conclusions because it's now out there.

According to the document, most of the proposed changes wouldn't take place until the 2012-13 or 2013-14 school year.

Nunery said the district was planning on publicly revealing more information about potential school closings in the fall. When that happens, he said, officials will meet with parents to discuss the matter further.

"A working list is not a final list," Nunery said.

People, he said, should look at the list as more of an analysis than anything.

"To now face criticism for putting together good work seems to be the kind of thing that makes it hard to swallow," he said.

Nunery also said that it's normal for the CEO of a business to delegate power to the second-in-command. That's all Ackerman, he said, when she gave him the authority to sign district paperwork over the summer.

The district released a statement on the matter.

"The School District of Philadelphia routinely delegates authority to the second in command in the absence of the Chief Executive Officer," the statement read. "This routine process has long been in place."

Ackerman, meanwhile, said during the meeting that she has no plans to leave her job. 

Another SRC meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, during which the panel is expected to authorize various resolutions for cash flow purposes.