Delay in filling schools job spurs fight
By Susan Snyder
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Five months ago, Mayor Street appointed Northeast banker Martin Bednarek to fill one of his two seats on the five-member School Reform Commission that oversees the Philadelphia School District.
But Bednarek, who is also a Democratic ward leader, hasn't been able to take the seat because the state Senate's Republican majority has refused to act on the appointment.
Some Democrats ‹ both in and out of the Street administration ‹ say the
Republicans are purposely holding up the nomination to weaken the city's voice in the school district."It's another example of Republicans in Harrisburg putting partisan politics ahead of the interests of the schoolchildren of Philadelphia," said Gary Tuma, spokesman for State Sen. Vince Fumo (D., Phila.).
Some Democrats also say that the mayoral race is playing a role. If the
appointment is delayed and Sam Katz, the Republican candidate for mayor, is
elected, he ‹ not Street ‹would be able to make the appointment.But Eric Arneson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader David Brightbill (R., Lebanon), yesterday called the connection to the mayoral race "pure fantasy."
He noted that Bednarek is a Democratic ward leader and said that the law creating the commission prohibits its members from serving as "county political chairmen and political leaders."
"Our reading [of the law] is that the clear intention of the General Assembly was to not have ward leaders ‹ Democrat or Republican ‹ on the commission," he said.
But both Mayor Street and Gov. Rendell's administration disagreed. In a letter last week to Brightbill, Street wrote: "Our research ... concludes that there is nothing
... that prohibits a school reform commissioner from holding that post."Kate Philips, Rendell's press secretary, said the governor agreed.
Street wrote that "it would be extremely disappointing and ironic for partisanship to play a role in denying Philadelphians their full representation on this important body, especially when a mark of the [commission's] effectiveness to date has been a lack of apparent partisanship by its members."
Arneson, who called the mayor suggestion of partisanship "a little offensive" and "a bit disturbing," said that if Bednarek resigned the ward leader post, his appointment could be made as soon as the end of the month.
"From all reports, Mr. Bednarek is qualified, capable, personable. He's wonderful. Our hold-up is the ward leader issue," Arneson said.
Yesterday, Bednarek said he was not prepared to decide whether to resign the ward post: "I was told it wasn't a problem."
Bednarek is chief executive officer of Washington Savings Association, a small community bank, and a real estate appraiser and consultant for the family-owned Bednarek Real Estate. He is Democratic leader of the 64th Ward, which has about
10,000 constituents. He became interested in politics as a child and was a committeeman by age 21.Bednarek served on the district's former Board of Education, which was superseded by the state takeover.
Bednarek said he was frustrated with the delay: "Especially with the start of the school year, it seems like a lot's happened that I could be contributing to," he said.
When the state took control of the district in December 2001, the law said that four of the five appointments to the commission would belong to the governor. But in an agreement negotiated by former Republican Gov. Mark Schweiker and Street, it was decided that Street would, get two appointments.
Street appointed Sandra Dungee Glenn, who is still on the commission, and Michael Masch, who resigned earlier this year to become Rendell's budget director. Because of the earlier law, however, Masch was considered a gubernatorial appointee; Schweiker named him at the request of Street and in compliance with their agreement.
The post is still considered a gubernatorial appointment, which is why Bednarek must be approved by the Senate. Bednarek would serve out Masch's term, which runs through January 2005. After that, the post officially would belong to the mayor because the law has been changed to give the mayor power to select two members.Commission Chairman James Nevels, a gubernatorial appointee, said he had urged Brightbill to act on Bednarek's appointment. With the school year beginning and teacher contract negotiations about to start, the commission needs to be full, he said.
"We look forward to having Marty with us," Nevels said. "He's a talented person and a good choice."Sen. Allyson Schwartz (D., Phila.) said Bednarek's post as a ward leader should not hold up his appointment.
"We want to encourage civic involvement. This is unreasonable and unfair," she said.
Maureen Garrity, a spokes-woman for Katz, said Katz had not been involved in any discussions on "who will or should fill" the seat. "That's a question for Harrisburg," she said.
Contact staff writer Susan Snyder at 215-854-4693 or
[email protected].For more on the mayor's race, go to http://go.philly.com/philamayor.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, September 4, 2003.