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Chester Upland parents start online petition
A parent of two children in the Chester Upland School District has started an online petition calling on Gov. Tom Corbett to release emergency funding to ensure the district remains open.
Chester Upland officials say the district is no longer able to meet payroll. The district’s teacher and support staff unions have agreed to work for delayed pay for as long as possible, but no one knows exactly how long that will last.
Given the uncertainty, Danyel Jennings launched a petition on Change.org for parents to urge Corbett to assist the district on behalf of the students.
The petition had collected more than 1,000 signatures by press time, though many are from outside the immediate area and state. The petition can be found at www.change.org/petitions/governor-of-pennsylvania-pay-teachers-in-chester.
“Every parent I’ve talked to is frustrated,” Jennings said. “We’re all frustrated about the fact that our children aren’t getting a quality education. We don’t blame the teachers. They’re here and they’re trying.”
Jennings, who has a daughter in second grade and a son in 10th grade, said teachers are not given the resources needed to properly teach students. She cited the district’s bloated class sizes and under-funded programs.
“It’s just not fair to these children … to expect them to do something with their future without a good foundation,” Jennings said. “It’s not their fault.”
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education declined to comment on the online petition.
District officials made a public plea to Corbett in December, asking him to advance subsidies due in June. Those subsidies, together totaling $18.7 million, would have enabled the district to meet its payroll through the fiscal year, Chester Upland officials said.
The state refused the request, saying Chester Upland officials were responsible for the financial crisis.
District officials have returned the finger-pointing, citing the millions of dollars the state assembly slashed from its budget last summer.
The cuts forced Chester Upland to cut more than 100 teachers, merge two high schools, relocate an elementary school, cut programs and significantly increase classroom sizes.
Jennings said she and members of ACTION United, a community activist organization, will host a candlelight vigil before tonight’s school board meeting to show support and pray for the students.
The vigil will start at 5:30 p.m. The board meeting commences at 6.
“We need more parents,” Jennings said. “I know word is getting out, but to (further) get it out, we need more parents.”
For breaking news on the Chester Upland School District, follow John Kopp on Twitter at DT_JohnKopp.
Parents Seek State Help for Troubled Chester Schools
Parents in a troubled school system just outside Philadelphia are pressing the state to provide millions of dollars in aid so the district can make its payroll next week.
In December, the Chester Upland School District asked for an $18.7 million advance on expected state funding. State officials have said no, accusing the board of mismanaging its finances. Now, the district says it won't be able to meet payroll by Jan. 18. Meanwhile, teachers and staff have said they will stay on the job as long as they are able.
Danyel Jennings, a mother with two children in the district, started an online campaign in an attempt to get Gov. Tom Corbett's administration to give the district the money. She started the petition last weekend and, so far, has gotten hundreds of signatures. She said she understands that the state wants to hold the district accountable, but that it shouldn't be at the expense of the children.
“I don't think he should hold our students back,” said Jennings, a 1990 graduate of Chester Upland whose 16-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter attend the district now. “We are begging for the help. We need the help.”
Jennings and other parents are planning a candlelight vigil at the district's administration building on Thursday evening.
Joel Avery, a spokesman for the district, said the school and the Department of Education have been meeting regularly, trying to find a solution.
“All parties are at the table, trying to resolve the situation,” Avery said. “The clock is ticking and so the board is considering drastic measures at this point.”
He declined to elaborate on what those measures are.
The district, one of the state's poorest, gets about 70 percent of its budget from the state. It has approximately 7,000 students, with about 3,700 in district schools and the rest in charter schools.
Tim Eller, a spokesman for the Education Department, said the state is concerned about both the students' education and the way the district spends its money. The state has advanced money to the district before, Eller said, and the district has mismanaged it.
“The department is working with the district to get out of this mess,” he said. “Advancing all this money is not correcting the problem.”