Public Citizens for Children and Youth Executive Director Donna Cooper issued the following statement responding to Philadelphia City Council’s action today to provide additional funding for the Philadelphia School District.

“City Council deserves credit for once again stepping up to the plate to increase the local funding needed to support the education of children attending public and charter schools in Philadelphia. This marks the fourth year in a row that they enabled significant local revenue increases for the District. But the nature of Council’s actions this year indicate that more work lies ahead to ensure the District can avoid deep budget cuts in the upcoming school year.

“While Council’s approval of the real estate, U&O and parking tax increases and the sale of commercial tax liens are clear signs of Council’s strong support for schools, the District can only count on $45 million in new revenues from these actions compared to the $105 million in new local revenues it requested from Council.

“Council did not complete the legislative process necessary to transfer $25 million in additional City revenues to the District and it will not resume its meetings until September 10th, a full week after the start of school.

“Further, Council adopted an ordinance that directs the City to undertake a tax lien sale but the full amount of revenue from such a sale is, by its very nature, unpredictable and may not exceed the level of tax delinquent collections the District already factored into its revenue projections for next year.

“Funding for our schools is the most critical issue for families in our city. Voters made it clear in state and local elections that the fate of our public schools is their number one concern. Council deserves support for its intent, but it must return to session before the opening of school and complete the work necessary to fulfill its $100 million commitment to our children.