Sen. Mike Stack's proposal to replace the School Reform Commission with an elected board of education is timely.
Given the SRC's poor performance of late, its future should be under the microscope. Even if the conclusion is that the panel remains the best vehicle to oversee city schools, this discussion needs to occur.
Stack's bill would let city voters choose a nine-member board in a nonpartisan election. A crucial flaw in the Philadelphia Democrat's plan, though, is that it would deny the board the right to hire superintendents. That power would instead be vested in the mayor.
It would be a mistake to undercut the authority of any school board by giving a superintendent the right to bypass it and go directly to a mayor to get what he or she wants. An elected board can hardly be held accountable by voters if it is not really calling the shots to run a school system.
