Authorizing the Council of the City of Philadelphia to work with the Pennsylvania Auditor General to comprehensively assess the financial and operational health of the School District of Philadelphia by the fall of 2015, and to use such findings to develop a funding approach for the FY17 budget that proposes sustainable solutions to the School District's ongoing structural deficit.

WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia has calculated that the Council of the City of Philadelphia has authorized $327 million of increased recurring, annual local funding since FY11; and

WHEREAS, In 2015, for the fifth year in a row, Council has been asked to authorize additional funding to address an anticipated budget shortfall in the District, as well as to partially restore reduced services and programs, for a total of $105 million in new funds; and

WHEREAS, Section Fourteen of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania states that “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth”; and

WHEREAS, Studies have repeatedly shown that Philadelphia schools are funded at levels far short of those required to allow all students to meet state academic standards, and many students lack access to core resources such as nurses, counselors, and libraries; and

WHEREAS, In 2011 the state of Pennsylvania reversed progress towards equity in education funding, drastically cutting funding to school districts by over $860 million, with an additional reduction of $119 million between FY11 and FY15; and

WHEREAS, Fixed and mandatory costs have continued to grow, increasing $462 million in the same period, with notable increases in spending on charter schools, as well as on staffing costs including pensions and benefits; and

WHEREAS, At the same time that spending on District-operated schools has decreased over $160 million and $30 million less is spent on administration, spending on charter schools has increased over $325 million and debt service by over $62 million; and

WHEREAS, The School District continues to experience a structural deficit due to the fact that its required costs continue to grow faster than its revenues, even with the additional local funding support provided since FY11 and even while schools lack sufficient resources to provide students with the quality education they deserve; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has commenced a periodic, comprehensive audit of the District, including academic performance, financial stability, school safety, and administrative governance, with a report expected before the end of this year; and

WHEREAS, As the request of the School District, Auditor General DePasquale has extended an invitation to Council to work collaboratively to ensure this audit addresses all necessary issues and provides accountability; and

WHEREAS, Council possesses exclusive taxing authority to provide increased local funding for the District, but has not to date engaged in its own financial or operational review of the District; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Is hereby authorized to work with the Pennsylvania Auditor General to comprehensively assess the financial and operational health of the School District of Philadelphia by the fall of 2015, and to use such findings to develop a funding approach for the FY17 budget that proposes sustainable solutions to the School District's ongoing structural deficit.

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