Pennsylvania legislature eviscerates public schools.

• Author: Resseger, Jan
• Position: PUBLIC SCHOOL SHAKEDOWN - Brief article

In Pennsylvania, as in many other states, the legislature has chosen not to regulate charter schools, and a rash of scandals has ensued.

Republicans, many from rural parts of the huge and demographically diverse state, still dominate both houses of the legislature, and continue to punish Philadelphia's so-called "failing" public schools.

Why did the state's School Reform Commission vote to expand the number of charters in the school district of Philadelphia? Philadelphia City Paper reporter Daniel Denvir explains, "Last year, the state lawmakers finally approved a measure allowing Philly to raise its own cigarette tax. But they did so on the condition that the School Reform Commission entertain charter applications that it could not afford to approve--thanks in significant part to budget cuts implemented by the very same...