Education groups seek more collaboration from next Philadelphia mayor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In just 13 days, Philadelphia Democrats will pick their nominee for the city's 100th mayor. One issue weighing heavy on their minds will surely be education.
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia School District pitched its $4.5 billion budget to Mayor Jim Kenney and City Council. But this will be the final schools budget Kenney approves, leaving the future of education in the city to his successor. Right now, local groups CBS News Philadelphia spoke with are giving the state of education low marks.
"It's disjointed. It is disconnected from the community," Miles Wilson, the President and CEO of Education Works, said.
Each of the top five Democratic candidates in last week's Committee of Seventy poll have made education issues a part of their platform. But education seems to have take a backseat to issues like crime and gun violence. Wilson, however, believes those two are intertwined.
"When we have an outstanding school system, an outstanding education system, might we not have this level of violence in our city right now?" Wilson said.
Advocates admit any mayor is limited in how they can affect the city's education system. Mayors do approve some city funding (Kenney called for a $282 million City Grant to Philadelphia Schools, a $12 million boost from last year), and seat the Board of Education. But where advocates say mayors can really shine is as a collaborator.
"More than anything, it's a bully pulpit. And the way I see it is more of a convener of various partners and community partners that exist," Wilson said.
Organizations we spoke with say the next mayor needs to tie the city, schools and education groups together. Specifically, Farah Jimenez with the Philadelphia Education Fund, talked about the need to boost after-school programs.
"What are the ways that a mayor, recognizing that much of that out of school time or after school work is funding through the city budget, could think about aligning those resources more closely to provide an expanded experience for students," Jimenez said.
Some groups are looking at other avenues the next mayor can take. Sylvia Simms spent nearly 20 years as a bus attendant with Philadelphia Public Schools. But in 2009, she started the group PARENT POWER with her sister.
"In getting involved, I realized the parents really do have the power when they come together collectively to use their voice," Simms said.
PARENT POWER's focus is getting parents more involved in their kids' education. Simms said for too long, parents have not been part of the process, and believes the next mayor should make keeping them involved a priority.
"A lot of times the people who know their neighborhood, their schools, their community, they are not at the table to bring the concerns of what's really going on," Simms said.
Primary day is May 16. The deadline to register to vote in the May primary was on May 1.
