As SRC gets new members, hard look at budget shortfall

After weeks of waiting, the two gubernatorial nominees for the School Reform Commission were sworn in yesterday, completing the district's five-person governing body.

Meanwhile, Michael Masch, the district's chief business officer, revealed yesterday actions the district may have to take to deal with a budget shortfall that has grown to $197 million.

Mayor Nutter administered the oath of office to Joseph Dworetzky and David Girard-diCarlo, who were both confirmed by the state Senate a few weeks ago, as they were joined by family members, colleagues, fellow board members and Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.

Actor David Morse, who has played in movies such as "The Green Mile," was also in attendance, lending support to longtime friend Dworetzky.

"I think he's brilliant at everything he does, and he's so humble about it," he said.

Nutter praised the newest commissioners for their "extensive careers in public service [and] service in civic engagement. They're both strong believers in Philadelphia and the future."

Dworetzky, a city solicitor under then-Mayor Ed Rendell, vowed to serve thoughtfully.

"I pledge to you that I undertake this job very seriously . . ." Dworetzky said. "That I will use my heart and my experience working in the many years that I have to try to make good decisions and decisions that are centered . . . on the interest of the children."

His new colleague echoed similar sentiments. "I undertake this assignment with humility and with an awesome sense of responsibility," Girard-diCarlo said, adding that as the board's only Republican, he'll work in concert with the other commissioners and district officials but will "ask very tough questions."

Afterward, Masch painted a sobering picture of the district's budget dilemma.

District officials said last month that state funding would be about $160 million less than what Gov. Rendell had proposed in his original budget. That figure has decreased by another $37 million with the passage of the state budget on Friday.

Under Rendell's original proposal, the district would have received $223 million of the $737 million allocated to the state in federal stimulus education funding. But in a plan by Democratic leaders of the House and of both parties in the Senate, the district would get just $79 million, according to a report released last month.

Masch said last month that any shortfall would not affect Ackerman's Imagine 2014 reform plan, but yesterday he said that the first phase of Ackerman's $126 million reform plan will be cut by $36 million, without specifying the affected programs.

Other cost-saving measures include:

Roughly $2 million in cuts on partnerships with privately managed companies that operate district schools; cutting down requests for additional resources by central office staff by $7 million; and eliminating funds for the state-sponsored Classroom for the Future, which would have put laptop computers, high-speed Internet and software in high schools across the state.