Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett on Oct. 16 agreed to release $45 million that he had been withholding from struggling Philadelphia schools pending concessions from the city’s teachers union.

The union and state-controlled school district have yet to reach a new contract agreement, but Corbett, a Republican, said that “enough progress” toward his educational and financial goals had been made to warrant releasing the money.

Corbett is seeking pay cuts and work-rule changes that would reduce the cost of the teachers contract by $103 million.

The Philadelphia school system is facing a severe financial crisis that has forced it to shutter schools and lay off roughly 4,000 employees last June. Some of those employees were subsequently rehired.

The $45 million will allow the district to rehire another 400 teachers and other staff, to reduce the number of children in split-grade classrooms and to restore sports and music programming for the rest of the school year.

Critics argue that this does not do enough to restore the $311 million that the district has lost since Corbett took office.

USA Today, Oct. 16
Philladelphia Inquirer, Oct. 17