Parents Seek State Help for Troubled Chester Schools

Parents in a troubled school system just outside Philadelphia are pressing the state to provide millions of dollars in aid so the district can make its payroll next week.

In December, the Chester Upland School District asked for an $18.7 million advance on expected state funding. State officials have said no, accusing the board of mismanaging its finances. Now, the district says it won't be able to meet payroll by Jan. 18. Meanwhile, teachers and staff have said they will stay on the job as long as they are able.

Danyel Jennings, a mother with two children in the district, started an online campaign in an attempt to get Gov. Tom Corbett's administration to give the district the money. She started the petition last weekend and, so far, has gotten hundreds of signatures. She said she understands that the state wants to hold the district accountable, but that it shouldn't be at the expense of the children.

“I don't think he should hold our students back,” said Jennings, a 1990 graduate of Chester Upland whose 16-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter attend the district now. “We are begging for the help. We need the help.”

Jennings and other parents are planning a candlelight vigil at the district's administration building on Thursday evening.

Joel Avery, a spokesman for the district, said the school and the Department of Education have been meeting regularly, trying to find a solution.

“All parties are at the table, trying to resolve the situation,” Avery said. “The clock is ticking and so the board is considering drastic measures at this point.”

He declined to elaborate on what those measures are.

The district, one of the state's poorest, gets about 70 percent of its budget from the state. It has approximately 7,000 students, with about 3,700 in district schools and the rest in charter schools.

Tim Eller, a spokesman for the Education Department, said the state is concerned about both the students' education and the way the district spends its money. The state has advanced money to the district before, Eller said, and the district has mismanaged it.

“The department is working with the district to get out of this mess,” he said. “Advancing all this money is not correcting the problem.”