Proposed charter plays role in parish-school appeals

As area Catholic schools await word of their fates, a charter school proposed by the head of the Philadelphia Parking Authority and two state legislators has emerged as a factor in the appeals process for at least two parish elementary schools in the city that are fighting to stay open.

According to the unsolicited application submitted to the School District in November, the proposed K-8 Philadelphia Polytechnic Charter School intends to have campuses in Kensington and South Philadelphia. Backers say in the charter application that they had been assured by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that they could rent the former St. Anne's School in Kensington, which closed last year, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in South Philadelphia, which is appealing a proposal to close it in June.

In fact, the charter application was submitted to the School District two months before an archdiocese commission recommended closing Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

In addition, representatives from St. Laurentius School in Fishtown said the archdiocese panel evaluating their appeal seemed to raise the specter of the proposed charter at St. Anne as an argument for closing their school. They were asked how the potential charter might impact enrollment at their school in Fishtown.

"A lot of us don't believe in the charter school model," said A.J. Thomson, a parent working to keep St. Laurentius open. "Some charters have been successful, but this should not be used as a reason for closing our successful Catholic school because one might open one day."

According to the application for the proposed Philadelphia Polytechnic Charter, members of the founding coalition include Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., executive director of the Parking Authority; State Rep. John Taylor (R., Phila.); State Rep. William Keller, (D., Phila); and Robert DeMento, a marketing executive.

St. Anne's is in Taylor's district; Our Lady of Mount Carmel is in Keller's. Fenerty is the president of the St. Anne Alumni Association.

Thomson said parents at St. Laurentius heard about the questions the panel posed to the school's representative about the charter proposal on Jan. 30 when officials showed 100 parents the appeals presentation they had made to the archdiocese. He said school officials were at a loss how to respond to "such a left-field question. It was not part of the 'facts' sent to the school to refute."