CLASS ACTION

City school board candidates focus on funding, discipline

Suspensions, education funding, charter school accountability and class size were the main topics of discussion during the second forum for candidates for the board of the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Those vying for a seat on the nine-member panel broadly agreed Wednesday that the district should discontinue out-of school suspensions for fifthgraders and younger students accused of nonviolent offenses, and that charter schools should be held to the same standards as their traditional counterparts.

But it was over some of the finer points that they disagreed.

For instance, Ghadah Makoshi, who is running in District 5, called specifically for a district policy to cap class sizes at 20 students in kindergarten to third grade.

Her opponent, incumbent Terry Kennedy, agreed that class sizes need to be smaller, but said a policy is “not a great idea” and that the district should instead work with the teachers union to determine

appropriate numbers. If mandated by policy, she explained later, the district could be “pushed into a violation.”

The forum at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy in Oakland was hosted by Great Public Schools, a coalition of progressive groups that includes the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network.

The coalition had demands of its own for the candidates, released after the forum. They include free pre-K, a commitment to reject “efforts to privatize” public school money, widespread use of the “restorative practices” disciplinary approach over suspensions and 10 fullservice community schools by 2020. Those schools are district buildings that serve as hubs for social service programs for students and the neighborhood.

“It is up to us to determine the future of our schools. ... We are at the GPS table to support our public schools, and to demand a fully funded, just educational system that provides each child with an equal opportunity to succeed,” said Sam Williamson, district director of coalition member Service Employees International Union 32BJ.

The forum was the second of three in advance of the May 16 primary.

Three of the five seats on this year's ballot are contested. In addition to District 5, Veronica Edwards, who didn't attend Wednesday, is challenging incumbent Carolyn Klug in District 9. Sala Udin and James Myers Jr. are vying for the seat Tom Sumpter will leave in District 3.

Conrad Burns, who entered the race in District 7, missed the deadline to withdraw, but said he won't campaign or participate in any candidate forums. Incumbents Cindy Falls in District 7 and Sylvia Wilson in District 1 are running unopposed.

Candidates generally agreed on the benefits of the community schools model the district administration is hoping will help some of its most struggling schools. Ms. Kennedy reiterated that she was a “reluctant no” last year because she said she didn't see any sustainable funding for the effort.

Mr. Udin took issue with what he described as the current approach to fund community schools “on soft money.”

“When the foundations decide that it's going to dry up it's gone. ... Let's fund it with hard dollars so it's sustainable,” he said.

The district budgeted for a community schools coordinator position, but hasn't publicly named other funding sources or said how much money is needed. Ms. Wilson said foundations may pitch in but none has been directly asked yet.

The district is expected to designate its first community schools later this month.

One audience member, Sherilyn Saporito, asked Ms. Kennedy to explain her vote in favor of setting up a recent tax increment financing district, resurrecting a conversation about what role the school board should play in development.

“How can you justify this when you say you can't fund community schools?” she said.

Ms. Kennedy defended her vote for the Strip District terminal project TIF, in which a portion of future tax money is diverted to pay off the cost of infrastructure or other upgrades. She said it’s not the same as a tax break, pointing out that the property is owned by the city Urban Redevelopment Authority so “there's no money to be redirected” from the district.

The third and final forum, hosted by A+ Schools, is set for 6 p.m. Monday at the Kaufman Center in the Hill District.