Philadelphia voters have approved a ballot measure to abolish the School Reform Commission, the unelected board made up of gubernatorial and mayoral appointees that runs the school system, and put a locally elected board in charge.
The outcome of last month’s primary follows that of voters in Chicago, where residents voted overwhelmingly in February to end their mayorally appointed school board. In both cities, the measures are nonbinding, and each would require the support of their respective state legislatures and governors to go into effect.
In recent years, Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission and education activists have been at odds over the expansion of charter schools, the closures of neighborhood schools, and budget cuts that have eliminated many school support-staff jobs.
