Yesterday, in a sneak move, the PA Senate re-authorized the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s red light cameras . The bill stripped away an earlier effort by the House Appropriations Committee to designate all new revenue to the public schools and provide minimal fiscal oversight to the Parking Authority. This new bill which passed unanimously in the Senate and the House (with the opposition of about 50+ representatives in the House), now turns over all money to PennDOT and has no reference to the need for public oversight on the PPA.

Symbolically, though, it provides yet more light on the struggles and hurdles we face to bring any new revenue to the public schools, make any reforms in the patronage heavy PPA, and bring to light the backdoor deals cut by Dwight Evans (whom it was recently reported has a brother at the Parking Authority) and Republican legislators who are deeply vested in the agency.

It’s also a demonstration of the failure of state takeovers: the state took over the public schools and the Parking Authority in 2001, the results of which have both lost public trust and remain largely out of the realm of public oversight, responsibility and accountability.

To recap the offenses, the Philadelphia Parking Authority collects almost $200 million/ year from mostly Philadelphia residents, has expanded its powers dramatically to include taxi and limo services, red light cameras, booting and towing as well as airport parking operations; and since 2004 has failed to fulfill a $25 million revenue commitment to the city and an annual commitment to the schools (once projected by Rep. Perzel at $45 million per year).

In the meantime it has been found to have:

• doubled the number of jobs to over 1,000;
• pays its Executive Director more than the Governor;
• pays its board chairman $75,000/year and its board members $200/meeting (for 90 minutes) for meeting once a month;
• pays six-figure salaries to an additional 20+ top executives;
• supports seven layers of management;
• keeps two-thirds of its employees below $40K; and
• provides perks like free SUV’s, free gas/parking, and six-figure pensions for top executives.

By the way, as a media critique, the contrast between the Daily News and the Inquirer stories on the issue is a great example of how the media can either inform by providing context, struggle, and voice to an issue (the Daily News), or reinforce confusion and the typical shrug of shoulders by omitting the above (the Inquirer).

Below is a statement from Parents United for Public Education on the defeat of the red light camera funding for schools:

Parents United for Public Education is dismayed by Harrisburg legislators who orchestrated an ambush of what would have been a basic gesture towards funding of public schools. While we thank and acknowledge the 50+ legislators who opposed the red light camera bill, we are upset that an overwhelming majority of legislators did not. In agreeing to divert funds away from the public schools and removing basic oversight provisions on the Parking Authority, these legislators showed that politics trumps need and back door cronyism trumps the most basic sense of moral and civic duty. The past year has highlighted a public outcry for classroom investments and public accountability. Today's action is a perfect example of what many Commonwealth residents find repugnant in Harrisburg politics -- particularly the arrogance, disregard of public will, and lack of investment from a state that takes over our schools but won't invest in an "adequate" education and takes over a Parking Authority whose image has become synonymous with patronage, greed, and the kind of lack of civic mindedness that happens when an agency believes it is not publicly accountable.

Harrisburg will need to consider that when the School District of Philadelphia files its quarterly financial reports this month, how it intends to make up for the gap that it is directly responsible for -- the gap created by the lack of responsible funding from the Parking Authority and the lack of possible funds from the red light camera. We feel that this was a lost opportunity for the state to begin addressing long terms needs in the School District.