CU road to recovery is going to be rocky

Call it Rocky Road. The Chester Upland School District did not get into its current dismal state -- annually among the worst- performing school districts in Pennsylvania -- overnight. It will not dig out of this morass anytime soon.

But the road to recovery now has a starting point. It was provided Tuesday by Chief Recovery Officer Joseph Watkins. Make no mistake, the plan laid out by Watkins will be painful, and likely unpopular with some district residents, school officials and school board members.

For some time there has been an underlying conspiracy theory pushed by some in Chester Upland that the state’s game plan - embodied by the policies of Republican Gov. Tom Corbett -- was to starve the district financially until its weak pulse was finally extinguished. Then the state would be free to turn the education of Chester Upland students over entirely to the charter schools, some of which also happen to be operated by prominent Republican campaign contributors.

Those theories could be emboldened by the recommendations of Watkins, who has been a GOP operative, charter school proponent and who was appointed by the governor. Some have gone so far as to characterize Watkins’ mission as the fox guarding the hen house.

But a closer look at the Watkins recovery plan reveals its goal; he’s hoping to save the school district, not destroy it. It might be Chester Upland’s last chance. That is not to mean it will not be controversial. Or painful. Little connected to the school district in the past several decades has been.

The truth is while the nation is warily peering out at the “fiscal cliff,” it’s a precipice all too familiar to Chester Upland.

Last year the district almost was forced to close its doors. It had to go to court to get the state to fork over the money it needed to keep the district upright. It started the new school year swimming in red ink, a deficit that has ballooned over $ 3 million.

Enter Watkins, the pastor, Republican political analyst for MSNBC and registered lobbyist for a school choice group picked by Education Secretary Ron Tomalis to craft a path for the district to climb out of the abyss.

He’s not carrying a big stick; he’s wielding a hatchet.

Watkins’ plan calls for closing three schools - Columbus Elementary, Stetser Elementary and the STEM high school. Those moves will not be popular in the community. Neither will the loss of jobs - Watkins is looking to furlough 70 staff and faculty members.

But it’s not all subtraction. Watkins is proposing the return of music and art programs slashed in previous cost- cutting moves in the district. He also wants afterschool, summer school and day care programs.

There is one thing above all others he is hoping to return to the district. That would be a big chunk of the students who have fled Chester Upland classrooms for the district’s burgeoning charters schools. More than half of Chester Upland students now attend charter and cyber schools. Watkins is hoping to lure as many as 4.5 percent of those back next year, and 3 percent every year after through 2017- 18 school year.

“The most important thing is that we’re trying to save the public school district,” Watkins said in rolling out his plan. “We think that we can have a great public district here. All of our efforts have been focused on that.”

At same time, Watkins is blunt concerning the district and its future.

“The choice is stark: Reform or become irrelevant and go out of business as a direct education provider,” the report states.

He gets an A for effort, as well as his positive outlook. He’s going to need it. To that end Watkins took his plan to the public Tuesday night in the first of a series of public meetings.

The challenges facing Chester Upland are immense. That $ 3.2 million deficit is projected to grow to $ 181 million if the district fails to take action. The building closures and staff cuts will only stave off the inevitable without a serious infusion of cash. To that end Watkins will seek private donations and push to set up an endowment. District residents will not get off the hook either. It’s likely property taxes will go up.

None of that represents the district’s biggest challenge.

Chester Upland needs a change of mind. It must convince residents that they are offering a quality education, a viable alternative that can stanch the hemorrhaging of students to charter schools.

To that end the recovery plan also features a two- year deadline for improving academic achievement. If not met the plan would be to bring in outside managers to take over the impoverished district.

Acting Superintendent Thomas Persing doubts that kind of academic turnaround is possible in such a short window. The district may not have much choice. First the plan will go before the elected Chester Upland School Board. It has 10 days to consider the plan and determine if it will accept or reject it. Voting it down will open the door to having the district placed in receivership by the state.

So far, the reaction has been less than promising.

“That plan was just a smack in the face to the whole board and to the Chester Upland community,” said board member Cephus Richardson, a Democrat.

“We know our community and we know our children,” said Wanda Mann, a Republican.

Unfortunately, so does everyone else. Chester Upland schools have been a disgrace for decades.

More than 50 percent of students score below proficiency on state standardized tests. Chester Upland has failed its children for too long.

Forget the school board. Forget the administrators. Forget Joe Watkins, for that matter. Remember the children. This might be their last chance.