Philadelphia SRC Investigates Hiring Of Key School Officials Without Public Input
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The School Reform Commission has launched an investigation into why key personnel hires were made out of public view.
The School Reform Commission has ordered its lawyer to investigate why dozens of top-ranking Philadelphia School District leaders were hired over the last two years without public notification, in violation of district policy and the Sunshine Act.
The issue came to light after a report in the Philadelphia Daily News. District General Counsel Michael Davis says it appears a computer coding error failed to generate a personnel resolution for inclusion on the SRC's public agenda.
"We do not think it's straight-out human error," Davis says. "We know that it's certainly not intentional. Whatever happened was inadvertent. But nevertheless the technical problem now has to be fixed, has to be corrected, and that's what we're attempting to do in the investigation."
Davis wouldn't speculate on whether sanctions would be warranted. He says even though it's well after the fact, he might recommend that the School Reform Commission hold public votes on the hires.
