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School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Difference between revisions

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[[Pennsylvania school board elections, 2014|2014]] • [[Pennsylvania school board elections, 2015|2015]]
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Revision as of 22:05, 30 April 2019

School District of Philadelphia
School Board badge.png
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
District details
Superintendent: William R. Hite Jr.
# of school board members: 5
Website: Link

The School District of Philadelphia is a school district in Pennsylvania. In the 2012-2013 school year, the district was the largest school district in Pennsylvania and served 143,898 students.[1]

In December 2001, the district was put under the control of a School Reform Commission (SRC).[2] Learn more about the SRC and the debate over district governance here.

About the district

The School District of Philadelphia is located in the consolidated county-city of the same name in Pennsylvania.

The School District of Philadelphia is located in the consolidated city-county of Philadelphia in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2014, the city-county was home to an estimated 1,560,297 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[3]

Demographics

Philadelphia underperformed compared to Pennsylvania as a whole in terms of higher education attainment between 2009 and 2013. County-city residents had bachelor's degrees or higher at a rate of 23.9 percent compared to state residents at 34.5 percent. The median household income in the county-city was $37,192 compared to the state at $52,259. The poverty rate was 26.0 percent in the city, 26.5 percent in the county and 20.3 percent in the state.[3]

Racial Demographics, 2014[3]
Race Philadelphia (%) Pennsylvania (%)
White 41.0 44.0
Black or African American 43.4 25.5
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5 0.7
Asian 6.3 12.7
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.0 0.1
Two or More Races 2.8 4.0
Hispanic or Latino 12.3 28.6

Presidential Voting Pattern,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[4]
Years: 2012 2008 2004
Constitution votes - - 387
Democratic votes 588,806 595,980 542,205
Green votes 2,162 - 483
Independent votes - 3,071 41
Libertarian votes 2,892 1,057 895
Republican votes 96,467 117,221 130,099
Write-in votes 449 696 478

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Budget

From 1993 to 2013, the School District of Philadelphia had an average of $2,067,427,429 in revenue and $2,225,548,286 in expenditures, according to the United States Census Bureau's survey of school system finances. The district had a yearly average of $2,139,091,810 in outstanding debt. The district retired $272,307,048 of its debt and issued $430,354,238 in new debt each year on average.[5]

Revenue

The table below separates the district's revenue into the three sources identified by the agency: local, state, and federal.

Revenue by Source
Fiscal
Year
Local State Federal Revenue Total
Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue
2010$859,639,00030.36%$1,415,203,00049.98%$556,585,00019.66%$2,831,427,000
2011$848,447,00029.29%$1,411,582,00048.73%$636,770,00021.98%$2,896,799,000
2012$936,603,00034.92%$1,292,598,00048.20%$452,562,00016.88%$2,681,763,000
2013$980,119,00035.73%$1,333,752,00048.62%$429,562,00015.66%$2,743,433,000
Avg.$725,857,28635.72%$1,043,609,23850.38%$297,960,90513.91%$2,067,427,429

Expenditures

The table below separates the district's expenditures into five categories identified by the agency:

  • Instruction: operation expenditures, state payments on behalf of the district for instruction and benefits, and retirement system transfers
  • Support Services: support services, food services, and retirement system transfers for support service staff
  • Capital Spending: capital outlay expenditures (i.e., construction, land or facilities purchases, and equipment purchases)
  • Debt & Gov. Payments: payments to state and local governments and interest on school system debt
  • Other: all other non-K-12 programs, except food services
Expenditures by Category
Fiscal
Year
Instruction Support Services Capital Spending Debt & Gov. Payments Other Budget
Total
Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget
2010$1,082,196,00036.68%$809,468,00027.43%$180,847,0006.13%$135,772,0004.60%$742,259,00025.16%$2,950,542,000
2011$1,109,832,00035.31%$824,572,00026.24%$203,291,0006.47%$147,097,0004.68%$858,187,00027.30%$3,142,979,000
2012$993,871,00035.32%$689,868,00024.52%$89,663,0003.19%$132,414,0004.71%$908,096,00032.27%$2,813,912,000
2013$1,695,669,00046.74%$688,221,00018.97%$80,438,0002.22%$150,225,0004.14%$1,012,963,00027.92%$3,627,516,000
Avg.$882,402,52440.95%$629,053,81029.04%$140,691,0955.86%$91,568,0953.85%$481,832,76220.29%$2,225,548,286

Debt

The table below shows the amount of debt retired, issued, and outstanding in the district for each year.

Debt
Fiscal
Year
Retired Issued Outstanding
2010$429,497,000$676,295,000$3,738,134,000
2011$439,412,000$425,880,000$2,980,922,000
2012$91,117,000$254,423,000$3,144,227,000
2013$114,204,000$264,995,000$3,295,018,000
Avg.$272,307,048$430,354,238$2,139,091,810

Issues

Debates over School Reform Commission

The School District of Philadelphia has never been run by an elected school board, a unique situation among Pennsylvania school districts. The board was selected by the city's common pleas judge from 1905 to 1965, when the mayor was given the power to appoint members. In 2001, the mayor consented to the creation of the School Reform Commission (SRC), a five-member board with three members appointed by the governor and two members appointed by the mayor. The SRC was created in the midst of public concerns over district finances and academic performance.[6]

A push for local control gained momentum in 2015 with voter approval of a non-binding ballot question seeking the end of the SRC. Former Mayor Michael Nutter called for the end of the commission before leaving office, and successor James Kenney supports more local control once the district improves its finances.[7] The SRC was also analyzed by The Pew Charitable Trusts in a January 2016 report. The report titled "Governing Urban Schools in the Future: What's Facing Philadelphia and Pennsylvania" concluded with the following statement:

Education experts say that state takeovers of local districts have, at least in some cases, cured financial ills created through mismanagement. But there is no indication that any particular system for governing urban school districts is superior to another in improving long-term academic performance. Too many other factors, experts say, help determine what happens in the classroom, including the quality of principals and teachers, funding, and parental expectations.

There is broad agreement on at least one conclusion: Governance systems that produce uncertainty, distrust, and ambiguous accountability can impede districts’ progress on any front. [8]

—The Pew Charitable Trusts (2016), [6]

Contact information

School District of Philadelphia seal.jpg
School District of Philadelphia
440 N. Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Phone: (215) 400-4000
Email: ask@philasd.org

See also

Pennsylvania School Board Elections News and Analysis
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School Board badge.png
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External links

Footnotes