Pedro Ramos, SRC Chair, Resigns

The Inquirer’s Kristen Graham reports that School Reform Commission chair Pedro Ramos has resigned. He’d been chair since 2011.

Ramos, an attorney, cited family concerns in his resignation, which was announced by the governor’s office. He was absent at last week’s SRC meeting, also for family concerns. The governor’s office said Ramos was attending to “recent, unexpected news within his family.”

The Ramos-led SRC has steered the district through enormous turmoil, which continues.  The district was nearly out of cash when he arrived; it it continues to struggle financially, but city and state officials now generally say they have faith in the panel’s financial stewardship.

Ramos’ resignation creates a big question mark in a district already fraught with unknowns: will Republican Gov. Corbett, who nominated Ramos, now turn to someone within his own party to lead the SRC? How will Ramos’ departure affect the ongoing Philadelphia Federation of Teachers contract negotiations? For how long will there be a vacancy on the SRC?

No word on Ramos’ replacement.