School Reform Commission

After years of political tug-of-war, Mayor Jim Kenney is backing a plan to dissolve the School Reform Commission.

Philadelphia could move another step closer to gaining control of the city’s struggling public school system after 16 years of state oversight.

Summer started a little earlier this year and will end in August instead of after Labor Day. However, those aren’t the only changes happening. Philly’s School Reform Commission has officially ended.

Questions about sexual harassment training, who has the final say on the new city school board and how much money should be dedicated to police oversight are being considered by Philadelphia voters during Tuesday’s Primary Election.

Tuesday is the first time new congressional districts are in effect for the Pennsylvania primary elections. Voters will be choosing Republican candidates for governor and senator as well.

Six women and three men have been selected to Philadelphia’s new local school board, appointed by Mayor Kenney to replace the outgoing School Reform Commission.

Mayor Jim Kenney presented his 2017-2018 budget proposal before City Council, Thursday, Marc h 1, 2018. He asked for $900 million in new funding over the next five years for Philadelphia public schools, as well as an additional $100 million for the city police, $54 million for the fire department and $3.75 million to fight the opioid addition epidemic.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney asked City Council on Thursday to pass a 6-percent increase in property taxes to help erase a nearly $1 billion budget deficit projected for the city’s public schools over the next five years.

Philadelphia has released the names of applicants and nominees to the new school board.

Here are the 18 additional candidates for the soon-to-form Philadelphia School Board. They were named after Mayor Kenney asked for a more diverse group.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney asked City Council on Thursday to pass a 6-percent increase in property taxes to help erase a nearly $1 billion budget deficit projected for the city’s public schools over the next five years.

On Thursday, he asked the recently created nominating panel to provide an additional list that “increases the diversity of the nominee pool.”

The School Reform Commission voted Thursday to dissolve itself, opening the door for Mayor Jim Kenney to appoint a local school board that would then be approved by City Council.

The Philadelphia School Reform Commission dissolved after a vote on Thursday night, and the decision has been met with mixed reactions. NBC10’s Brandon Hudson explains.

NBC10’s Pamela Osborne explains what Thursday’s School Reform Commission vote means for parents and children in Philadelphia.

The SRC will vote on whether to disband at its next meeting on Nov. 16. From there, the floodgates will open for local control of schools to be returned to the mayor’s office.

Kenney is asking the current SRC to vote to dissolve itself when the governing body meets on Nov. 16.

The state-run panel that oversees the Philadelphia School District has signed off on a new contract agreement with the city’s public school teachers, but not without some members expressing concern about its financial impact.

“I really don’t want to shame the city, but the longer that the contract goes unsettled, the worse it is for students,” said George Bezanis