A new academic year is set to begin at the end of August, with students shuffling back into their schools’ halls. Behind the scenes many are now working to decide how funding is allocated, which schools are upgraded or shut down, and what can be done to engage the community in the decision-making process.
Hey Philly spoke with Board of Education President Reginald Streater to break down the functions of the school board, its current priorities, and how you can be an active participant. While we didn’t discuss ongoing negotiations regarding teachers’ contracts and a possible strike, you can learn about that subject in this episode of City Cast Philly.
This conversation has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
What does the school board have power over, and what are some misconceptions about the board?
“The state created a statute that mandates our power and authority. We are wholly a creature of the state and we are a separate governmental agency, so we're not technically part of the city. The Board of Education is mandated by the state. Most of our funding comes from the state. But the mayor appoints us and City Council confirms us, almost like the Supreme Court.
“Whatever money we get, we have to be good fiscal stewards of it. We are what's called fiduciaries, which means that we have to ensure that we honor the role that the school district plays in our communities, but also ensure that the institution has what it needs to survive and thrive with the resources we have.
“We also have the power to hire and fire the superintendent, which is our ultimate power.
“The state gave us the authority to be the authorizers of charter schools in the city of Philadelphia. The Board of Education, by way of the state, gives charter schools autonomy. But every five years, the Board of Education cannot renew a charter school if it is non-compliant with law, or if there are other issues around academic achievement, governance, and finances.”
How long is the cycle of service?
“Under the law, the board members cannot serve for more than three consecutive mayoral terms.”
Is this a paid role?
“Under the law, no board of education in PA gets paid a dime. There are some states like California where some boards of education make six figures, but not here in PA and not here in Philly.”
How can the school community be involved if they're not directly on the board?
“Any public hearing or meeting we have, the board has three sets of speakers: Elected union leader speakers, then we have students, and then we have adults. And the way the agenda works out is we try to have students earlier in the agenda.
“If someone wants to speak at the Board’s meeting, they have to go on our website under the Board of Education tab and they can sign up to speak. The list opens up on Monday [prior to the meeting] and individuals can sign up until Wednesday.
“So twice a year, we're mandated by law to just have a public hearing where we just hear from the public. In those meetings, I believe, we have unlimited amounts of speakers.
“Other ways to engage is to email the Board of Education. The district now has a Let's Talk feature…We are able to track if something is a trend or if something is a one-off. And it dictates whether the district or the board should use a mallet or a scalpel for an issue.
“We actually track how long it takes for the district to respond because we understand that when a parent reaches out to the district, often they've gone through a lot of layers.”
Why should one care or engage in what the school board does, even if they may not have a child enrolled in public school or don't have kids at all?
“We want to be able to say that the Board of Education in our district not only created people who have the skills to pay the bills, but [that the community’s] values were protected.
“No matter where you are on this political spectrum, the ability to have critical thinking skills, to have access to a school district that probably looks more like the real world as opposed to a homogeneous space where I'm only going to educate my own, has value and it prepares our babies for not just the United States economy, but the ever-changing global economy. I'm tired of our children being 10 years behind because we have not done what we needed to do out ... to prepare them for the whole world.
“The degradation of our country, our city, will occur if we don't continue supporting public education.”
