Philly public schools reluctantly forced to release public information

In a win for the private citizen, taxpayer as well as public school detractor, the Philadelphia School District has a little less than 30 days to release information that they were withholding from the public.

From http://philly.com on Saturday:

Pennsylvania's Office of Open Records has ruled that the Philadelphia School District must make public the performance criteria upon which Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's $65,000 bonus was based.
Ackerman received the bonus last school year, and the district declined to release the information, saying it was confidential. The Inquirer appealed the decision to the state office, which ruled Thursday that the district must make that information public. The office denied The Inquirer's request for Ackerman's evaluation, completed by the School Reform Commission. If the district does not appeal the decision to the Common Pleas Court within 30 days, officials then have 30 days to release the record.

What began as independent investigations of not only the Philadelphia Inquirer but the local Fox station as well has come to light as a victory against big government.

The Philadelphia School District tried to use scare tactics and red tape to hide just what criteria school super "Queen" Arlene Ackerman "achieved" to get a $65,000 bonus. Since her bonus was paid for entirely with taxpayer money, inquiring minds wanted to know just want criteria she reached.

The School District attempted to say that this was on Arlene's "private record" and didn't realize that, since she's a public employee, she's an employee of the people and, therefore, hasn't any private record. Why the School District attempted to hide this information and block it from being released further implicates them in thievery and other dishonesty.

Ackerman should not only give the $65,000 back to the taxpayers but this should be proof positive that any of us taxpayers in Philadelphia should be able to privately audit the School District whenever we see fit. They are using our money to indoctrinate and poison the minds of youth, ruin our neighborhoods and reward themselves during a terrible economy. 

It's been said a million times over in many articles here, but public schools need to be privatized. The City needs to sell the School District to the highest bidder and that new entity needs to come in and severely clean house. Arlene Ackerman should be sent packing back to weirdo San Francisco with the other people who refuse to take action and, instead, "want to have conversations".

Fire Arlene Ackerman, dissolve the public schools and end this egregious waste of money now.

- AP

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