Michael Masch

If Ed Rendell is the heart and soul of the administration, chief of staff David Cohen is a good chunk of its brains, and certainly its adrenaline gland. Cohen seems to have the energy to pounce on any crisis and stay with it around the clock, while still guiding the administration's more important management initiatives. He is Rendell's most trusted adviser, and the linchpin of key political relationships - he often speaks with City Council President John Street several times a day. What would Rendell do if Cohen left?

School district officials aren't jumping for joy over their share of the increased state-education budget Gov. Rendell signed yesterday, but they're not crying broke, either. "We're not saying that a reduction of $30 to $40 million doesn't hurt, but we do have a budget of $3.2 billion here," said the district's chief business officer Michael Masch. "We're not wasting money. We run pretty lean in many ways. " Still, the district's budget must be readjusted to reflect the multimillion-dollar shortage, he said.

I AM AT a loss to understand why the Daily News printed the story "Masch has jobs but no degree" (Jan. 30). It deepens my cynicism about the motives of the press. The facts of the story appear to be that the mayor's office made an error in its press release when it reported that Michael Masch has two college degrees. The article reported that Masch has none. Two potential stories are suggested by these facts. First, that Masch lied about his credentials, a practice we have seen repeatedly with tragic consequences for the individuals involved (most recently the Notre Dame football coach who was forced to resign when the misrepresentation was made public)

The $98 million the Philadelphia School District expects to receive under the federal Education Jobs Bill could not have come at a better time, according to the district's chief financial officer. The district expects to get $49 million this school year which will make up for lost revenue in its $3.2 billion budget, Michael Masch told the School Reform Commission Wednesday. For starters, the money helps replace $55 million in state aid the district did not receive, he said.

The school district's budget problems are far from over after the state Legislature restored a paltry $22 million from the nearly $300 million that Gov. Corbett slashed. Although district and city officials hoped that City Council's vote to raise property taxes by nearly 4 percent might have led to more cash from the state, lawmakers last night approved a budget that leaves the district with at least a $35 million shortfall. "We've got a $35 million hole, and we need to make some other changes to our financial plan in order to close that gap," Michael Masch, the district's chief financial officer, said yesterday.

IN HIS FIRST BUDGET UPDATE to the School Reform Commission since the spring, the school district's chief business officer, Michael Masch, yesterday revealed more cuts to the district, including drastic cuts to two signature district initiatives. District officials seek to close a $35 million budget gap, and in doing so have undercut Promise Academies, one of Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's key initiatives. Three will open this year instead of the 11 as originally planned, Masch reported.

I READ Josh Cornfield's article about Philadelphia School District financial officer Michael Masch and found it both off-target and unnecessarily personal. Masch has served the public in budget-related finance roles for many years. He served on the staff of the Philadelphia City Council, as Philadelphia's budget director, and as Gov. Rendell's budget chief in Harrisburg. In these positions he had to gather information, made decisions and set priorities for billions of dollars. He has shown great integrity in these positions and sometimes made tough calls.

By Ryan Schumm The lead singer is new this year, but the back-up band is familiar. The stage is identical, and the songs are mostly covers. At the recent budget concert, Superintendent William Hite performed the greatest hits of Thomas Knudson, Arlene Ackerman, and countless other Philadelphia School District (PSD) headliners. The title track of the latest PSD album, "Catastrophic," borrows the tune of Knudson's classic 2012 hit, "Dire. " And no doubt fans immediately recognized the refrain from "Unprecedented," the 2011 ballad from budget guy Michael Masch.

THE MAN in charge of the school district's budget was a tax deadbeat until Monday afternoon. Michael Masch, the district's chief financial officer, owed back taxes from the last two years on his home in West Mount Airy, according to city records. The $8,347.93 debt included overdue property taxes, a city lien, penalties, interest and fees. Masch paid the overdue bill after "It's Our Money" contacted him. Masch said that his wife handles the payment of the household's bills but that neither of them was aware of the back taxes until Monday.

DEAR CITIZENS OF PHILADELPHIA: I owe you an apology. As a recent newspaper story reported, my family failed to pay our real-estate tax bills on time. Because my husband, Michael Masch, is the chief financial officer of the Philadelphia School District, this failure received special attention. I know that our family's failure to pay our taxes on time is inexcusable. I know that every citizen needs to pay his or her fair share to support the public services that promote the common good.