My View: Replace Arlene Ackerman

Fox 29 General manager Patrick Paolini voices his opinion on Philadelphia schools head Arlene Ackerman.

Here is the text of Paolini's editorial:

Many people, including I believe the time has come for Arlene Ackerman to be replaced as head of the Philadelphia School District.

Under her watch, the school district fell into a more than a 600 million deficit. This resulted in severe cuts impacting already scarce resources for students.

Her predecessor Paul Vallas, was forced to leave with a deficit a fraction of what the district is facing now.

While test scores have been rising for the past few years, the state is now questioning the validity of some of those “improved scores”, thinking they could be a result of a cheating scandal.

So not only is Ackerman facing criticism over her handling of the schools budget, but now a potential cheating scandal could be on the horizon.

Have we forgotten the mishandling of school violence at South Philly High that left Asian students vulnerable?

And the no-bid contract controversy over what looked liked a sweetheart deal for a company that installed surveillance cameras?

The cumulative impact of these missteps makes it clear that Ackerman’s tenure should be up.

Ackerman has the responsibility of doing what is in the best interest of our children and students. If she is not getting the job done, the responsibility lies in the hands of the School Reform Commission (the body that overseas the district), the governor who ultimately is the boss of Ackerman and Mayor Nutter to replace her.

The debate on whether to keep Dr. Ackerman has been more about politics and money than learning and improving student performance.

Education of our students should always be put first and it is of the utmost importance. However, once again it appears that the adults in the room care more about everything else than the students.

So call your legislator, the governor's office, and the SRC and tell them that you want change. Our kids deserve better than what they have been receiving from all the “adults” in the room.