Parents Speak Out At SRC Meeting

Parents took their turn to chide the School Reform Commission (SRC) for cutting teacher jobs at a meeting Monday.

The SRC essentially governs the School District of Philadelphia. It met Monday after to protest the cuts.

PFT President Jerry Jordan spoke at the meeting, which teachers at the rally tried to storm. Most teachers, however, had to watch downstairs after the room that housed the meeting reached capacity.

The large crowd mostly left after Jordan finished speaking. Some teachers, however, stayed inside the SRC meeting.

They heard various parents take the body to task for authorizing . Some said they took issue with how the district was planning on spending its money next year.

Rebecca Poyourow said the district was planning on spending $2 million to retain outside counsel next year. She then listed the number of teachers of various subjects that would be cut.

Among them are 323 special education teachers and 121 math teachers.

"This is truly horrific," Poyourow said.

Some of the largest applause of the meeting was reserved for parent Helen Gym, a frequent speaker at such meetings.

Gym brought the crowd to its feet with her impassioned rhetoric.

"We are here to stand with the teachers of this system," she said, as many of the remaining teachers stood and applauded. "Philadelphia will never be Wisconsin."

There were 39 registered speakers at the meeting.

During its earlier portion, the SRC approved various contracts and accepted various donations.