via Chalkbeat:
Philadelphia residents urged their city representatives on Wednesday for more funding for education and out-of-school activities in this year’s budget.
Parents, teachers, students, and advocates testified at the City Council’s public budget hearing that they want $20 million more for the Community College of Philadelphia to provide subsidized transportation and child care to working students. They want to increase the share of property tax revenue that goes to the school district. They want more free preschool seats. And they want the city to renovate and reopen several public pools.
These requests come at a pivotal time for City Councilmembers who are currently engaged in the process of crafting their budget that will reflect their priorities in the year ahead. This year’s budget comes with the added urgency of the end of millions in federal pandemic aid later this year that could hit public schools hard.
Sara Morningstar, executive director of the local nonprofit group After School Activities Partnerships, told councilmembers that thousands of Philadelphia students stand to lose access to after-school programming if the city and school district don’t come up with a plan to continue funding the hundreds of programs across the city that have been dependent on COVID aid.
Several other residents urged their councilmembers on Wednesday to boost the percentage of property tax revenue that goes to the school district from 55% up to 58%.
In her proposed budget, Mayor Cherelle Parker recommended the school district should get 56% of that tax revenue. Parker said this week she would like the percentage to shift as high as 58%, but that such an increase would take time to phase in.
“Children are not the future, they are the now,” Sheryl-Amber Edmondson, grants manager for the Fund for The School District of Philadelphia, told councilmembers. “What we do in this very moment with our power matters.”
Among the groups asking for more funding were faculty and students from the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). Members of the faculty union appealed to councilmembers for $20 million more in operating aid for their school. They say that money could go towards benefits for students like subsidizing transportation costs, providing child care for young parents working their way through school, and providing increased salaries for teachers and staff — many of whom make less than a living wage, they said.
In her budget proposal, Mayor Cherelle Parker announced a new workforce program at the college called the “City College for Municipal Employment” and a proposed increase of $10 million to the school to pay for it, on top of the $51 million the college already gets in its annual contribution…
For full article, click here.