Mayor Kenney is scheduled to release his budget on Thursday morning. While our schools continue to be drastically underfunded and understaffed, the educators of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers have gone without a contract since 2013-- including 5 years without raises for cost-of-living, years of experience, or advanced degrees. Students' opportunities to explore arts, music, and many extracurriculars continue to wither, and parents are forced to find new ways to give time and money to support their children's education.
Through all of this, Philly's educators and parents continue to scrape together what little we have to buy supplies and support our chronically underfunded schools so our city’s most vulnerable children do not continue to suffer because of the inaction of our political leaders.
Mayor Kenney promised significant increases in funding for public education during his campaign, but has yet to deliver.
As he prepares to issue his second annual budget proposal to City Council this Thursday morning, those of us who have sacrificed for far too long are asking the mayor to live up to his campaign promises. It’s time to put words into action.
Call Mayor Kenney today and demand that he fully fund our schools in Thursday's budget proposal. Use the following phone script and make your voice heard:
CALL THE OFFICE OF MAYOR: (215) 686-2181
Hello, my name is ______________________. I am a (all that apply)...
● Philadelphia resident
● Public school parent
● Member of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers
● Public school advocate
I am calling to urge Mayor Kenney to increase funding to our public schools in his upcoming budget proposal. I worked very hard to get Jim Kenney elected and he promised over $100 million for our public schools during his campaign, but we still haven’t seen any of it.
(Insert your own personal struggles with the lack of a contract, what you’ve sacrificed, what your school doesn’t have, what is wrong with your economic situation, etc.) NOTE: Keep these comments to 1-2 sentences if leaving a voicemail message.
I am asking Mayor Kenney directly: Please keep your campaign promise to our city, our schools, and our teachers this Thursday when you release your budget to City Council and allocate more funding to the School District.
Thank you!
Please call as often as possible, and make sure to share this phone script with everyone you know. Download a shareable PDF version here. If you don't reach anyone, leave a voicemail and call back until you speak to someone in his office. Thank you!