Title: School District of Philadelphia - Wikipedia
Headings: School District of Philadelphia
School District of Philadelphia
Contents
Schools
Demographics
Historical demographics
Organization
Governance
History
Pre-1990s
Takeover by the state
2013 Hunger Strike
Policies
Classifying schools
Staff hiring and performance measure
Parent and community engagement
Art in the public schools
Budget
State basic education funding
Accountability Block Grants
Ready to Learn grant
PreK Counts grant
Classrooms for the Future grant
Science It's Elementary grant
Other grants
Federal Stimulus grant
Race to the Top grant
21st Century learning grant
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Content: The legislature's plan was a reaction to Hornbeck's threatening to shut down the schools because of a financial crisis. "Holding students and their parents and teachers hostage in an effort to gain additional funding is certainly bold but not very wise", commented Representative Dwight Evans, Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee and prime architect of the takeover bill. Two lawsuits were filed by the city and the Philadelphia School District in 1997 and 1998 to address what they considered inadequate funding levels. The first, filed by the school district, the city and community leaders, contended that Pennsylvania did not provide a "thorough and efficient" education; it was dismissed outright by the state court. The second case, a civil rights suit filed in Federal District Court, by the district, the city, and other interested parties, contended that the state's funding practices discriminated against school districts with large numbers of non-White students; the School District of Philadelphia was a key complainant in this case. The city agreed to put this case on hold when Mayor Street negotiated the "friendly" state takeover of the district, with the promise of additional funding from the state. In June 2000, under increasing pressure to find a solution to the fiscal and academic problems facing the district, school superintendent David W. Hornbeck ended his six-year tenure. Hornbeck said he did not have the financial support of state and city officials to continue his school reform program (and a year later launched a statewide advocacy organization, Good Schools Pennsylvania, to mobilize citizens in support of improved state funding for public education).