State Rep. Dwight Evans called the Philadelphia School District’s top official yesterday with a stern warning: Don’t eliminate or severely reduce funding for private groups managing 41 public schools, or else face a loss of state funding.
The state has earmarked $25 million in annual funding for outside groups that manage city schools, $18 million of which has gone to the six groups called Educational Management Organizations (EMOs). Evans and several other legislators had indicated in recent months that funding could be in jeopardy if the district fired the groups, but Evans decided Philadelphia School Reform Commission Chairman James Nevels needed to hear the message again and directly.

Evans (D., Phila.), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, a key position in budget deliberations, said he also had told Nevels that he was dismayed that the commission delayed action on new charter schools.

„To mess with the EMOs and to mess with the charters would be a huge mistake for the overall district,“ Evans said in a telephone interview. „I’m not going to go along with them just making arbitrary decisions on EMOs and charters. I will not look favorably“ on that.

The six groups are the for-profit Edison Schools Inc. and Victory Schools Inc., the nonprofit Universal Cos. and Foundations Inc., and the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University.

The commission could vote on new contracts for the groups as soon as Tuesday, when it considers adoption of a $2.18 billion budget. The budget still needs nearly $55 million in new state funding, plus new city funding, to close a deficit.

Nevels praised Evans for his interest and help in improving the schools; Evans was a key architect of the legislation that allowed a state takeover, and he has worked closely with Foundations, which is overseeing schools in his legislative district.

„I, for one, will carefully consider his suggestion and his request,“ Nevels said last evening. „I don’t think there can be any doubt that the diverse-provider model has been a feature of the progress that has occurred in Philadelphia and should be supported.“

The commission may consider modifying the contracts, possibly allowing some of the outside-managed schools to become charters or have more autonomy in the district, he said.

Evans and the other legislators have expressed support for the groups even though two outside reports and one from the district’s staff have encouraged the district to end or curtail their contracts. They found that the groups, despite the extra funding, had not raised test scores more than other district schools had.

Supporters say the groups achieved significant improvement in the district’s lowest-performing schools in the last five years and deserve a chance to continue.

„We needed to do something different,“ Evans said. „Public-school choice has to be part of the solution to changing the system.“

Others have shared Evans‘ sentiments.

„If any policy-makers in Philadelphia are assuming they can roll back the EMO initiative but still keep the $25 million, they are sorely mistaken,“ State Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola (R., Dauphin) wrote in an opinion piece in the Philadelphia Daily News. „I have no intention of going back to budgets that appropriate extra money for worse results.“

State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (D., Phila.) also argued yesterday that the managers should be retained.

„The scores indicate the overwhelming majority of EMOs are performing and they’re performing at very tough schools,“ he said.

Evans acknowledged yesterday that employees at Edison and Foundations had contributed to his unsuccessful mayoral campaign. Edison employees gave $5,750 and Foundations employees $11,645, campaign records show.

But he asserted that the contributions had nothing to do with his opinion on outside school managers. He has advocated privatization for many years, he pointed out.

„Those people have a right to give contributions,“ he added.

Also yesterday, Evans praised City Council’s decision to give preliminary approval to $18.4 million more in city funding for the district next year. That would help build support in the legislature for Philadelphia school funding, he said.

„Any time the local district provides more, that’s a plus,“ he said.

State Budget Secretary Michael Masch, who has been reviewing school district finances and expects to issue a report next week, agreed.

„I have certainly heard from state legislators that they were looking to see if the city was going to do more,“ he said. „If the city wasn’t going to do more, they’d be hard-pressed to do more. It has to be helpful in that sense.“

But others were less impressed.

„It’s about time the city is actually putting money into its own school system,“ said Steve Miskin, press secretary for House Republican Leader Samuel Smith of Jefferson County. „In regards to even more money for Philadelphia, it’s going to be a very tight budget year. . . . It’s not a year for bailouts.“