Hite comments as Philly school district woes continue

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The School District of Philadelphia remains mired in criticism and controversy as it tries to find funding and at the same time appease its disgruntled teacher's union.

"We've eliminated a good portion of what people were classifying as waste," Superintendent William Hite told Action News Tuesday.

Hite says he doesn't even have a nickel to waste in the nearly $2.5-billion spending plan they're using now.

Of that $2.5-billion, roughly 40% goes to actually operating the district's schools including teacher salaries.

Charter schools now consume nearly a third of the district's operating budget at $737-million.

Health and pension benefits total $271-million, just slightly more than debt service on the school district's outstanding loans.

The remainder goes to placing students in other districts and central office administrative costs.

What about all those well connected law firms that could count on big contracts from the School Reform Commission? Many are still around for so-called specialty areas.

"We wouldn't need all of the council if we weren't doing things like having to borrow money every year to make ends meet, and then you need bond council for that," Hite said.

The teacher's union is still smarting from the SRC move last week to force union members to pay into their medical plan.

The superintendent says that will mean at least 44-million more dollars for classroom resources, but the teacher's union denounces what they call more business as usual.

"I wish I knew where all the money's going. I know it's not going into our classrooms, that's for sure, judging by the phone calls we're getting and the emails we're getting from our members that directly service children," Arlene Kempin, General Vice President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said.

Critics of the school district say the massive commitment to charter schools represents an enormous example of waste.

"$700-million every single year go into the funding of charter schools and that doesn't even account for management, charter school boards, and employees who are part of the school district who have to provide some level, minimal level, of oversight over the charter schools," Helen Gym of Parents United said.

The governor's election next month will surely have an impact one way or another on future school funding.

In the meantime, the Philadelphia School District will keep limping along, getting by on what so many critics say is far too little aid from Harrisburg.