Corbett questions 'credibility' of Central High protest letter
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Maria Pouchnikova
Gov. Tom Corbett questioned the "credibility" of a letter from Central High School staff protesting education budget cuts during a Tuesday appearance on Dom Giordano's conservative radio talk show.
"Well number one reaction, do you notice it's not signed?" Corbett said. "The credibility of a letter like that is certainly going to be suspect."
But that letter, posted below, appears to have more than 100 signatures. Pennsylvania Department of Education spokesperson Tim Eller says that was not the version they received.
"The copy sent to us was unsigned," he said.
The letter from Central staff states that they have "discomfort" with Corbett's visit.
"We are proud of and celebrate our students' achievements, yet we recognize that they have accomplished this in spite of, rather than because of, your budget cuts and educational policies," the letter states.
The letter calls for a fair-funding formula and support for fully staffing librarians, nurses, aides and counselors. It states that despite the additional resources available to a prestigious magnet like Central, "we — and all the under-funded Pennsylvania public schools — are being actively handicapped by the negligence and belligerence of your administration's educational policies."
The governor was scheduled to visit Central last Friday in what would have been his first-ever visit to a Philadelphia public school. He cancelled at the last moment amid protests.
