This morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the likely appointment (which has been talked about for weeks) of former City Solicitor Ken Trujillo to the School Reform Commission. The appointment seals Rendell’s power on the SRC, having appointed Dungee Glenn as chair, Denise Armbrister, and now Trujillo. I believe that Jim Gallagher’s term will also expire during the Governor’s tenure.

The good news is that this eventual appointment will mark the first time in decades that we’ve seen a potential for solid collaboration between the State, SRC and the city. But the question remains whether Ken Trujillo will have an impact on a body that’s struggling to maintain relevance.

A number of observers feel the SRC was a political maneuver formed largely to establish privatization and charters and gain access to $4 billion of school funds for pet projects/contractors by legislators. Although the departure of Nevels/Vallas and ascension of Dungee Glenn might have pleased some outsiders, an overwhelming majority of parents, students, teachers, administrators, and staff have lost confidence in the efficacy of this body as a fiscal oversight agency or even one connected to the dire needs of schools and classrooms.

The delay of the Kensington H.S. construction, a five-year plan for class size reduction (note to SRC: when media reports show 46 middle schoolers in one classroom, your five year plan is 4 yrs-179 dys too long), lack of oversight on outrageous contracting, the loss of teachers (2,000 in the past three years), librarians and support personnel, and not getting a handle on drop-out prevention, etc. all indicate that the SRC is all too often over its head when it comes to education matters. Distrust and disgust have too often characterized this body from the community end.

Whether Mr. Trujillo, a private school parent and one relatively disengaged from the local ed advocacy community, will change that around remains to be seen.

In addition, while it is a plus to have a Latino face on the SRC, it will only make a difference if Mr. Trujillo actually represents and actively fights for the needs of the Latinos in this district. As important will be his need to relate the particular issues of the Latino community into an overall framework for education reform.

As a parent, I pledge not to make this an easy job for Mr. Trujillo, not because I have anything personally against him, but because it won’t make a huge difference between the Rendell administration and the one before if the people the Governor appoints aren’t intimately conscious of the void between the SRC and public, and actively engaged in efforts to create a transparent and accountable SRC, responsive to community concerns and reworking a $2 billion school budget to put kids and classrooms first. It won't be enough that Trujillo avoids the $700 pp dinners on the school dime like the outgoing chair. What we need at the top is an advocate and a mover for kids not contractors.