This happened today:

In a surprise move apparently orchestrated by mayor elect Michael Nutter and State Rep. Dwight Evans, the Philadelphia Parking Authority said it would transfer an additional $6.77 million to the city's general fund and school district over the next two fiscal years.

The funds - which come principally from the agency's reserves and non-parking enforcement divisions - will allow the Parking Authority to meet its budgeted payments to the city and, for the first time 2004, have a little cash left over for the School District of Philadelphia: $1.25 million this year, and $1.75 million next year.

Nutter announced the plan - which was detailed in a letter from Parking Authority Exectuive director addressed to Nutter - at an authority board meeting this morning. Parents of public school students were in attendance, and they had planned to sharply criticize the agency failure to fund the schools.

"You should be commended for your effort," Nutter told the parents, but he reminded them the authority was "not created solely to solve all the financial problems of the school district."

He said his administration and the state-run parking authority would work closely together.

Make zero mistake as to why the school district will be getting a little bit more money over the next couple years: Because of the leadership of Parents United for Public Education, and our own Helen Gym (Mansei).

Obviously, it is not going to cut a hole in the billion dollars or two we need to really get schools going, but, this is a small victory won totally on the backs of caring, dedicated parents. Is it enough? I don't think so, considering that the whole rationale for taking the authority over was to give far more money to the schools. But, it is a start, and I will defer to Helen as to what the next steps are with the PPA and their school funding.

In the end, the bloated PPA needs to be returned to the City, and needs the patronage wheel ended.

In the meantime, great job, Helen.

I love the way THE INQUIRER is pounding the quote-unquote "Philadelphia" Parking Authority. City GOP benefits from Parking Authority. It needs it. The story starts off promisingly:

Though the Philadelphia Parking Authority has fallen short in its promised funding for city schools, it certainly has been a boon for the Philadelphia Republican Party.

Authority employees and consultants have contributed at least $214,000 to the Republican City Committee since 2001, according to an Inquirer analysis of campaign finance data.

The contributions this year have reached at least $33,210, or more than 14 percent of the party's total.

I wonder if that's the single biggest cadre of funders? Of course, "cadre of funders" gets hard to define for a newspaper article, but still I wonder.

My humble suggestion to Philadelphia reporters pursuing these questions: the story I'd like to see is some attempt to sort out how much money could, potentially, be going to schools and how, exactly, the law designates that they are supposed to determine that figure.

This schools issue is a big part of why I want to lambast the PPA so badly. If it were just an issue of over-spending and patronage, I would care but I wouldn't care as much. The simple fact is that the PPA is making our city harder to live in by tightening up parking rules, but they aren't delivering on the promised benefit of that: getting some more money into education.

Pound them, Inqy! Pound them!!!