“New $5M source for schools: longer bar hours” (We mean even longer…)

Councilwoman, Blondell Reynolds Brown has introduced legislation to help raise $5 million annually for the school district.

The truth is, the proposal simply does not go far enough.  If one extra hour of imbibing can raise $5 million, then just think how much more you could raise if the BARS WERE OPEN FOR 24 HOURS!!!

That’s right, pubs and bars open 24/7.  You can get your drink on ANY TIME!  We know at first glance this seems like it might cause problems, but the reality is that it completely solves the problem of later closures.

Everyone knows that trouble starts WHEN THE BARS CLOSE, so if they NEVER close, there should never be any trouble.  By eliminating “last call” you eliminate angry drunks from loitering on the street.  With our plan, all the drunks would simply stay on their barstools until they passed out or died of alcohol poisoning.

We have a few other suggestions for using beverages to aid our schools — and NO it’s not that stupid soda tax!  But we’ll save that for another post…

Arlene Ackerman Caught on Tape at Unemployment Office!!!

Whaddya mean she isn’t entitled to unemployment?!?!  She WAS fired ya know.

“Philadelphia nonprofit announces $20 million scholarship campaign”

The Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia is set to raise $20,000,000 to  provide tuition funds for 10,000 students, which is GREAT!  20 million bucks is a lot of money and each student will get…umm…10 into 20 is….ummm…Oh!!  Only $2000 per student???!  What private school are they going to go to for that kind of money?!?

Well, CSFP lists over 200 participating schools on their website – from “Germantown Friends” all the way to “Crooked Places Made Straight Christian Academy.”  According to philly.com the average tuition amongst those schools is only $2800.  But if Quaker schools charge roughly $20,000 and Catholic schools get $2800 at a MINIMUM, how do you come up with an AVERAGE of $2800 a year?  (A 2009  study showed the average tuition at the least expensive Christian schools was over $5,000.)

I’m a product of public schools, myself, and my math is not that great so maybe I’m just missing something here…Why don’t they just put that money into targeted public schools?

At least the program insures that students are fully qualified to attend the school of their choice because scholarships are awarded based on…A LOTTERY?!?!  Well, I guess if Mom has the wherewithal to fill out the application then Junior will be welcome anywhere his $2000 will take him – pay no attention to those class size restrictions, academic requirements, or waiting lists.

Why does this smell like a scam?

Keep on scratchin your head....

Get Your Revisionist History Straight in Philadelphia!

Arlene Ackerman, David Oh, and John Perzel.  If only the real world could be as perfect as the ones in their heads…

Oh, My Faux-Pas, to me they are so negligible...

 

 

“Three charter-school firms in Philadelphia to share $2.4 million grant”

Kenny Gamble’s Universal Companies is part of an educational partnership that’s set to go platinum – raising $100,000,000 in just 5 years.  That’s a lot of candy sales and glee club performances!

Usually public education is a drain on the local economy, but charter schools are like money magnets – even if they’re a far cry from magnet schools.  Oh, well, if Kenny can turn the beat around, maybe he can turn our schools around.

O'Pay Day!

School District of Philadelphia — Follow the Money!

It’s an old adage, but “follow the money” usually leads you somewhere when you’re in the world of politics.  In Philadelphia the path is usually a circular one that doubles back and loops around even if it appears to go nowhere…

In the School District of Philadelphia the twists and turns of cold hard cash can be like a labyrinth.  Our “Money Go Round” is a wild ride that tries to simplify that path.  The red arrows are for CEOs and founders; blue arrows are for board members; green arrows indicate political donations; and black arrows are other sorts of business and personal relationships.  We apologize for any omissions, but this stuff is COMPLICATED!

Enjoy this dizzying ride — and try not to get sick!

 

“August on track to be Philadelphia’s wettest month ever”

You don’t need a weatherman to let you know when you’re getting soaked.

The school district is even further "underwater"

 

Philadelphia School District’s Ladies Who Lunch Well!

Isn’t it nice that Arlene Ackerman doesn’t have to eat her lunch all by herself.  I’m happy that my tax dollars allow our super superintendent to bond with her BFF, Melonease Shaw, on a regular basis while eating high quality meals.  It’s interesting that Ms. Shaw’s Maven, Inc. website is suddenly offline…oh, I’m sorry, it’s “under construction.”  Probably just a coincidence that she’s decided to revamp the site at this point in time or maybe all those warm words from Arlene overheated the server.

It appears, though, that Ms. Shaw has been dining out on the city for years, as she has other good friends in high places.  Some of them are on the board of her OTHER company that provides essential services in Philly.  Her original board chair is her former employer who has chased large facilities management contracts with the city (and one of HIS board members is also a member of the Obermayer law firm.)  The current chairman is the upstanding, Hillel Levinson. who was the city’s MDO in the 70s and 80s.  He beat a corruption rap back in the 70s, and coincidentally has a company that has NO WEB SITE AT ALL – a little sketchy in this day and age and the only thing the company seems to do is make political donations.  Another Transitional board member, Walter Cohen, works for a law firm that is quite generous with it’s political donations.  Wow!  $20,000 to Vince Fumo…hey, isn’t he a criminal…?

This is just another chapter in the saga of the Philadelphia School District – a rat’s nest of corruption and insider dealing where money trumps our kids’ opportunity for an education every day.

Devon Horse's Ass Show?