Urban Education

Paul G. Vallas, the public-finance whiz who led the Chicago schools in an era of profound change for the district, has applied to run Philadelphia's schools as the Pennsylvania district struggles for academic and financial health.

Mr. Vallas, who in March lost the Democratic primary for governor of Illinois, confirmed in a phone interview last week that he submitted his credentials several weeks ago to the Philadelphia School Reform Commission.

That panel, which has been running the nation's eighth-largest district since the state assumed control in December, hopes to choose a chief executive officer by the...