On July 12th, Luis Ramirez, a 25-year-old undocumented Mexican immigrant, was beaten to death by a group of teenagers in Shenandoah, PA.

A few of the details that finally ran in Friday’s paper:

According to a police affidavit, the defendants and three 17-year-olds encountered Ramirez, 25, and a teenage girl in a park the night of July 12.

The youths goaded Ramirez and the girl, saying, "You should get out of this neighborhood" and "Get your Mexican boyfriend out of here," documents said. After Ramirez and the girl began walking away, someone yelled an ethnic slur at him, court documents said. He responded, "What's your problem?"

A fight ensued, during which police said Walsh punched Ramirez in the face. The victim fell and hit his head on the street, leaving him unconscious, after which Piekarsky kicked him in the head, police said.

All three suspects used ethnic slurs during the fight, which ended with Ramirez in convulsions and foaming at the mouth, authorities said. The attackers fled the scene; Ramirez underwent surgery but died July 14 of head injuries.

It’s important to note that this story didn’t hit the Inky until more than two weeks after the incident. In fact, only after Amy Goodman reported on Democracy Now two days ago that police had still failed to charge Luis Ramirez’s killers – despite having an eyewitness to the murder – did police bother to press charges a day later and the story began taking off (one more reason for independent media).

Goodman’s interview with the eyewitness, Arielle Garcia, was chilling not just in Garcia's telling of the night of the murder, but in expressing the general tenor of what it means to be a Mexican immigrant in certain parts of Pennsylvania these days.

AMY GOODMAN: So they were shouting racial epithets. They were—what is the atmosphere in Shenandoah? What is the attitude to Mexican immigrants?

ARIELLE GARCIA: I think it’s—most of the time, it’s OK. But there are times when there are racial slurs. I mean, with my husband, I’ve been with him four years, and like, I’m telling you, there are many times that I’ve heard people scream racial slurs to him. You know, like I was pregnant with my son, and they told me, “What’s that in your belly? Another person I’m going to have to pay for? Another Mexican on welfare?” Like stuff like that. It’s disgusting.

Parents United for Public Education has been working for months to stop a District proposal to cut thousands of students off from free transpasses as part of a deficit-reduction plan.

Last fall, Gov. Rendell, Sen. Vince Fumo and SEPTA officials held a big press conference announcing that, for the first time, students in Philadelphia would get what students across the state already receive – free transportation for grades 7-12. For all students living more than 1.5 miles from school, the state and SEPTA would fund free transpasses. This applied to all parochial and charter students as well as public.

Unfortunately, after the media headlines the cost issue was a lot different. Because of the expansion of passes, the District’s transportation costs tripled to over $30 million. But the state refused to reimburse about $7 million in the District’s transportation costs, partly because they are reneging on the 1.5 mile requirement. State minimums are supposed to be two miles or more. So now the District is weighing how to save about $4.2 million by either instituting an 85% attendance requirement on transpasses (an issue that would impact only Philadelphia public school students, not parochial or charter) or extending the mileage requirement from 1.5 miles to 2 miles. Either way thousands of students lose.

The good news is that parents have gotten the attention of city and some state officials, but apparently not SEPTA. From today’s Inky :

Not so fast, said SEPTA general manager Joseph Casey. The agency already gives the district a discount for TransPasses, and it has agreed to pay the district $3.5 million for administering the program, per a deal cut with the state last year.

"If they have an issue with the amount of money or the distance, it's really between them and the Department of Education," Casey said. "They can go anywhere they want to, to try to get the money, but it's not our issue."

City Advocate Lance Haver pointed out to me that 80% of SEPTA’s local match is funded by city taxpayer dollars, and that SEPTA is sitting on a $130 million rainy day fund.

Yesterday the School Reform Commission terminated contracts for six education management organizations (EMOs), and put another 20 on one-year probation with plans to closely scrutinize how money is spent. The District formerly had 38 schools in a “multiple” provider model with for-profit companies, non-profits and universities in the mix.

Edison Schools, Inc., the largest provider with 20 schools, lost 25% (four) of its contracts, and saw another twelve put on probation. Temple University lost one contract at Dunbar Elementary; and Victory Schools lost its contract with the all-boys school Fitzsimons.

Interestingly (or predictably), local providers Foundations Inc. and Universal Companies lost no contracts, although Foundations saw three of four of its schools placed on probation. Universal has one of its two contracts also on probation.

Only 12 schools, less than a third of the EMOs, received a multiple year contract from the District.

Although at first glance, the effort is a modest one, it’s potentially a blow to the privatization movement nationally and marks a rethinking of the role of EMOs in Philadelphia under the administration of new CEO Arlene Ackerman. More important, it should highlight the work of grassroots parent and student groups, like the Philadelphia Student Union and Parents United for Public Education, who have kept this issue on the front burner as a question of quality school choice vs. multiple school choice.

Sunday’s Inquirer laid out one of the best reasons for why reform in property taxes has to go hand in hand with school funding.

In a study of more than 500,000 tax records, the Inquirer reports that “wildly disparate property tax rates are widening the economic divide between have and have not towns.”

Consider this:

For instance, in some economically distressed parts of eastern Delaware County, such as the six towns of the William Penn School District, the tax rates are nearly six times higher than those in West Conshohocken, a Montgomery County borough jam-packed with office towers. Just five years ago, the rates were 31/2 times higher.

Those poorer communities also tend to have lower-achieving students and far fewer resources than wealthy neighbors. The William Penn district - composed of Aldan, Colwyn, Darby Borough, East Lansdowne, Lansdowne and Yeadon - spends $12,701 per pupil. West Conshohocken is in the Upper Merion district, which spends $18,158.

Between 2002 and 2007 in poorer towns in the suburban counties, increases in millages - the taxes per $1,000 of assessed property value - were double those in affluent communities.

So the famous line touted by Philadelphia Student Union organizers in 2001 during the state takeover was that the quality of a child’s school system shouldn’t have to depend on their zip code. But that is indeed what happens here.

As daunting as the School District’s 552 page online budget is, it’s funny how much it can reveal about ingrained systems that cost our society -- things like say, patronage.

For example, consider the BRT:

Buried at the bottom of page 385 under the category “Undistributed Budgetary Adjustment/Interfund Transfers/Other,” it shows 85 BRT employees on the School District’ payroll for a cost of $4.7 million in FY08. That’s 18% more than it was last year. Next year at $4.9 million it will be almost a million dollars more than just a year ago.

Parents United for Public Education requested a list of the BRT employees (who are listed as real estate assessors). A review found that 74 employees are currently on the District’s payroll. Over 40% of them hold political positions, including two ward leaders and committee leaders.

What’s wrong with this picture? A lot.

• First, what specifically do these people do on behalf of the schools and why do we need so many of them?
• Second, the fact that such a large percentage of them appear to hold political positions and are outside the scope of both the city (even though they’re doing city work) and the School District (since they work offsite at the Curtis Center) raises concerns that all the jobs are as necessary and efficient as they ought to be.
• And finally, $4.9 million may not seem a lot to some people, but it would almost double the arts and music programs in the school that were allotted this year. It would buy back 50 teachers, a third of the number cut this year. It would more than buy back the 25% librarian losses we suffered this year.

Conventional wisdom has been that since the schools receive 60% of the real estate taxes, the District should therefore assume a similar portion of the BRT expenses. However, there’s a big difference between billing the schools for real and actual expenses, and putting 85 employees on the District’s payroll who are outside the supervision of the District.

This isn’t a new struggle. A few years back, former School District CEO Paul Vallas tried to remove the 31 employees from the City Controller’s office who also sit on the District’s payroll (page 362) as well as highlight the BRT employees. It was apparently a lonely and unsuccessful battle.

But it is, as they say, a new day, and it remains to be seen whether things could change under a new administration.

Last week Parents United for Public Education sent a letter to the Board of Revision of Taxes asking them to remove BRT employees from the School District payroll and to justify expenses that compete with the education of kids. It’s not that we want to second-guess the work of the BRT, but we do need some accountability from agencies that park their expenses on our kids’ dime.

For more information, the list of employees, and to read Parents United’s letter to Charlesretta Meade, chair of the BRT, check out Parents United’s website.

In yesterday's Daily News, the School Reform Commission reported that it would not approve new charter applications, but instead intended to ask charter applicants to take on the city's 70 failing schools listed as being in corrective action 2 status. These include most of the comprehensive high schools as well as dozens of schools throughout the city.

In addition, the School District has said it will open up all the 70 schools to Education Management Organizations (EMOs). Edison Schools Inc. has already said it intends to apply to all 70 schools.

What's wrong with this picture?

Tomorrow a small bill, that slipped out of Council’s Streets and Services committee with barely any notice, will get its first reading. Titled “Towing And Immobilizing Of Parked Or Abandoned Vehicles,” few knew what Bill 080406 was about until the people benefiting showed up to testify on its behalf:

From KYW1060:

The Parking Authority is promising smoother rush hours in Center City, if it gets final City Council approval to expand its towing operation.

The Authority currently can tow and impound a car only in an area that is bounded by Vine Street on the north and Spruce Street on the south. A council committee has now given a preliminary okay to expanding that border north to Spring Garden, south to Bainbridge, and also on Broad Street itself all the way up to Hunting Park Avenue.

Parking Authority Executive Director Vince Fennerty says to goal is to get illegally parked cars out of the way in rush hour . . . .

Fennerty says this will particularly help around the I-95 Vine Street ramps.

The Parking Authority?

This is the first time (that I’m aware of) that Council has had a crack at the Parking Authority since parents launched a campaign against them last fall. Now is not the time to expand the Parking Authority’s powers. If anything, City Council should restrict the PPA’s activities until it first proves it is a more responsible steward of its money and activities. It’s also an important opportunity to squeeze that agency about why it isn’t giving more to the schools.

A lot of school news in the past few weeks to share:

School Safety
The District’s Safe Schools Advocate has been in the news slamming the District regarding its failures on ensuring safety – or should I say, some strange interpretation of it, since apparently he defines it as the number of students expelled from schools and closing “loopholes” like an appeal process, according to a yet unpublished report.

What he gets right: the climate is declining in schools, and options for getting troubled students help in time is as impossible as ever. Teachers, who have seen the loss of aides, NTAs vice principals, school-home liaisons and a burgeoning class size, ARE dealing with far more abuse with far fewer resources.

What he misses the boat on: his recommendations – expelling kids automatically, closing appeals processes, increasing the number of disciplinary school replacements and hiring a “discipline czar”? Anyone who argues that the solution to complicated issues of violence and climate is throwing out thousands of students onto the streets and closing appeals processes is not only short-sighted but irresponsible.

Today, City Council is expected to hear testimony from the School District of Philadelphia, which controls $2.3 billion of public money for the public schools, almost 40% of which ($889 million) is financed by the City.

When legislative costing out study pegs the underfunding of Philadelphia schools at a billion dollars a year, it’s not surprising to see a grim outlook for school finances. A state-sponsored “multiple provider model” (including charters, alternative education schools, and privatized schools run by Education Management Organizations and non-profits) has dramatically increased the burden on schools, particularly around management fees, gaps in charter reimbursements, and a transportation policy that forces the School District to assume all bussing and transpass payments for private and parochial schools as well as public schools.

The hardest thing to understand about the public schools and why $2.3 billion isn’t enough, is the size of the District:
• 281 different schools
• 167,000+ students – the next largest district, Pittsburgh, has less than 30,000 students
• 62 high schools
• 61 charter schools, the second largest “district” in the state
• 25,000 employees – 10,000 of whom are teachers
• 35,000 kids in K-6 on buses, and 55,000 kids in grades 7-12 using transpasses
• 86,000 free lunches served daily
• 70+ languages spoken in the District
• Average age of buildings – 70 years old

And the District continues to grow in expenses. The District’s Five Year Plan projects growth in expenses at $700 million, almost 30%. The problem is that enrollment is expected to “decline” by 10,000 some students over the next five years as well. In this situation, the District is contemplating difficult decisions around closing and consolidations of schools (four are underway in West Philadelphia alone), reduced services, across the board pay freezes, and other options.

Because, according to today’s story story, it seems as though Seamus McCaffery forgot:

Last week, he made a point of his police background during an oral argument in a death-penalty case - and his remarks have become a hot topic among judges and lawyers who handle criminal cases, with some expecting defense attorneys to challenge McCaffery's ability to be fair to death-row inmates.

The case focused on the novel question of whether defendant Thavirak Sam, who was sentenced to death in 1991, can be forcibly medicated so his appeal can proceed.

The question is important because Sam, who suffers from mental illness, can't be executed because he has been ruled mentally incompetent. If he is forcibly medicated with antipsychotic drugs, Sam might become competent, and that could set the stage for his execution.

As defense lawyer Jules Epstein made his case that it would be unconstitutional to forcibly medicate Sam, McCaffery leaned forward and told the packed courtroom that he could restrain himself no longer.

The justice said he felt compelled to point out that Sam's relatives had been waiting years for justice.

Referring to his years on the police force, McCaffery said, "I was the one who picked up the bodies" and notified family members about such deaths. "How about finality for these family members?" he asked.

In addition to interjecting overly personal statements about “picking up bodies” McCaffery said he couldn’t help himself.

Well, he needs to. He’s not on the court to be a knee-jerk reactionary to any murder situation he sees. This is a question of forced medication of a mentally ill man. His job is to listen to the arguments and consider them in light of constitutional rights of all parties.

If he can't help himself, then he needs to recuse himself from this and all other death penalty cases.

From today's Inky:

New School CEO Arlene Ackerman kicks off her first day with her 20-member blue ribbon panel, whose main job will be "to listen to parents, teachers and other district participants."

The transition-team effort will cost $75,000 to $100,000, which was negotiated when she was hired, Ackerman said. Each panel member will be offered a $1,000-a-day honorarium for the work, which is likely to span four days, she said.

As a parent I am flattered to be valued at so much, $20,000 a day? Usually I'm happy to give my thoughts for free.

To put $20,000 in perspective, a parent who testified at the District's budget hearing noted that her school was trying to choose whether to buy a librarian or a special ed teacher for $18,000 -- that would be less than one day of this panel to serve 250 kids for a year.

Amid all the post-election analysis, here’s a pitch about tonight’s budget hearing at the School District of Philadelphia.

Last week the Inquirer posted a powerful story about the struggles of the region’s working poor. Their particularly compelling case of Sandra Walerski and her family, who shops on $25-45/ week, drew a follow up in yesterday’s paper as dozens of people nationwide offered contributions to the family, including a surgeon who offered to consult Ms. Walerski about a brain tumor, Delaware County Community College officials who were considering an academic scholarship for the Walerski’s 20 year old son, and even a mention by John McCain.

It goes to show that people are extremely generous and compassionate about poverty; they want the situation addressed. They’re even willing to give up their own money to do it. The only problem is there are 300,000 some Sandra Walerskis in Philadelphia alone. This is not a problem for individuals to tackle but a deep-rooted problem for our city and region.

On Wednesday, members of One Philadelphia went to City Council to talk about a real program to provide relief to struggling families – revive the Cohen tax credit currently targeted for elimination by the City. They took a beating for it, but their argument stands: poverty is growing in Philadelphia and families need and deserve help.

The Cohen tax credit is a cornerstone in tackling poverty in our neighborhoods. Consider the argument made by Jonathan Stein in yesterday’s Daily News:

The rebate would make the 80-year-old regressive wage tax more equitable by helping struggling and working families just like the successful programs it's modeled on: the federal Earned Income Tax Credit and state Tax Back program. It was one of the greatest progressive reforms in City Council history. Cohen was proud of Council, including one of the co-sponsors of the rebate, then-Councilman Nutter. From on high, Cohen likely applauded the new mayor's inaugural promise of a "new Philadelphia" committed to "moving hundreds of thousands out of poverty and on to a better life."

The rebate would do that by putting money directly to families making less than twice of the poverty line - about $35,000 a year for a family of three.
The Pathways PA "self-sufficiency standard" says such a family needs $44,000 a year to make ends meet - no vacations, no car, no eating out, just basics.

A three-person family earning $25,500 a year, qualifying for a full state Tax Back refund, still pays $950 in city wage taxes.

Of the 300,000 working poor in Philadelphia, an overwhelming number are families in our public schools. If the figure that over 35% of Philadelphia’s children live in poverty doesn't humble you enough, consider that the majority of schools in Philadelphia have poverty rates in the 90th percentiles.

We know firsthand the consequences of poverty in our schools. We know the ways that our children suffer from poverty at home: when the utilities are shut off, is homework really a possibility? When a single mother is working two jobs and affordable daycare is out of reach, who’s coming to the parent teacher conference? When immigrant children are packed two or three families to a household, do we really expect someone to complete a science project on time? Last Christmas, my daughter’s own classmate was suddenly rendered homeless, and it made me realize how little a priority school can be.

We still need to keep the pressure on about the many reasons why the Cohen tax credit remains important. It has its ledger costs, yes, of course, but let's make no mistake that its elimination is something we’ll be paying for many times over.

Today’s Inquirer features a story on one of the 300,000 estimated working poor who live in Philadelphia.

There are perhaps 300,000 such people (including children) in Philadelphia and about 686,000 in the 10-county region, according to Bill Clark, executive director of Philabundance, which he described as the largest hunger-relief agency in the area.

Nationally, there are roughly 52 million working poor people, says David Elesh, a sociology professor at Temple University. "And," he adds, "it's getting worse each day because of this recession."

Federal guidelines set the poverty level for a family of four at $21,200. To be considered working poor, such a family could make as much as $42,400 annually.

When Asian Americans United joined the numerous supporters of David Cohen’s Working Tax Credit, we had to overcome the stereotype of people asking why the “model minority” would care. But in many Asian and immigrant communities, a huge population would easily be considered working poor. In a Chinatown Needs Assessment Survey conducted by AAU, 70 percent of respondents said they worked 10 to 12 hours per day, six to seven day a week and earned less than $2,000 a month.

While homelessness is often made visible by people living on the street, numerous immigrant families may also qualify as “homeless” if you consider the overcrowded households because people can’t afford their own homes and double or triple up with relatives.

One Philadelphia, Community Legal Services, Philadelphia Unemployment Project, and many others have made a push on the issue. But it could use a lot more help. You can help revive the importance of the Cohen Working Tax Credit by also writing a letter to the editor to the Inquirer on the issue: letters.inquirer@phillynews.com.

The Philadelphia School District is pulling all beef items off the menu after the District learned today it had received shipments from Westland/Hallmark Meat Company. Last month, the Humane Society released a video showing Westland/Hallmark employees using forklifts and electric shocks to forcibly bring diseased and sick cows to slaughter. Westland/Hallmark provides meat to the national school lunch program. As a result of the video, the USDA issued a recall – the nation’s largest – of over 140 million pounds of the company’s beef products.

Interestingly enough, I had called the PA Dept. of Agriculture Monday to inquire about Philadelphia’s status. The told me know more than 170 school districts across the state had received Westland/Hallmark meat shipments and he would get back to me about Philadelphia.