It was a familiar plea by school district leaders: we desperately need more money.
"The zip code should not determine the quality of education that you deserve," George Washington High School counselor Adam Bachmann said.
Bachmann, the one counselor the school has, came with some of his seniors to discuss how much they are being shortchanged as they try to get ready for college.
"At our school, due to the budget cuts, we went from six counselors to one for 1,800 students," senior Jeremy Estes said.
"Suburban schools like Council Rock or Lower Moreland have five counselors and 200 students per counselor," senior Janae Robinson-Wright said.
"Somebody said 'they are dysfunctional and dangerous, that's why they're not funding the schools.' I say no, no, no, the funding is dysfunctional and dangerous, the kids are not," Bachmann said.
On Monday, Philadelphia School District leaders told the council they need a total of $440-million more in city and state money to avoid yet another round of draconian layoffs and program cuts.
"You hear motivated teachers and motivated students who want to achieve and be successful, operating without the resources that they need," Councilman Curtis Jones said.
Dozens of students from the widely praised independent charter Imhotep High School came in response to rumors the Afrocentric school may be on the chopping block.
"If it was not for Imhotep, I believe I would not have been accepted to 14 colleges and won a $1,000 scholarship," student Hydia Trammel said.
"I have 37 football scholarship offers and 13 scholarships for academics," students Deondre Scott said.
The deadline for finalizing the district's new spending plan is the end of the month.
