School Reform Commission Votes to Dissolve

PHILADELPHIA — Tonight the School Reform Commission voted to begin a process that will end with a new locally appointed Board of Education in place by July 1, 2018.  The School Reform Commission was created in 2001 as a temporary form of governance for the School District of Philadelphia.

“As I have said before, there is no more critical issue to the success of our city than the success of our schools.  The District is making progress for students in classrooms across the city.  This year has been the strongest start of the school year since Dr. Hite became superintendent and we continue to strengthen the current and future financial outlook of the School District of Philadelphia,” said School Reform Commission Chair Joyce Wilkerson.  “Returning the District to Philadelphia will allow us to build on this progress and stability. The District is ready for its next phase and Philadelphia is ready to take ownership of its schools.”

The Commission heard a presentation on what the criteria for dissolution is, an update on the academic and financial progress of the School District of Philadelphia and the steps in the process for returning the district to local control.  The complete presentation can be found here.

“Ensuring a smooth transition to a new board of education is now my top priority. I intend to devote the next seven months to this work in order to maintain the progress, momentum and hard fought stability the School District has achieved,” added Dr. Christopher McGinley, School Reform Commissioner.