Schoolmageddon ’13: Nutter Wages YouTube Counterattack


First came the new ad from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, claiming Michael Nutter and Tom Corbett were in kahoots, conspiring together to cut school funding.

The Nutter administration quickly called them out for it.

Nutter then followed up with five YouTube videos in an attempt to debunk the PFT’s claims. “Lets talk about leadership. The PFT is running false ads distorting my record on education funding,” he said in the first one. Rather than cut funding, as the ad claimed, he says he’s increased funding by $155 million annually, while the Governor has slashed spending by $145 million. The figures come from Rob Dubow, the city’s finance director. He also called on the City Council, the legislature, and the PFT to acquiesce to various taxes and cost-saving measures he’s proposed that would help fund the school district.

Eventually, PFT seemed to concede the ad was misleading, telling Newsworks that it planned on pulling it from the air. “We think we got [Nutter’s] attention,” said a PFT spokesman. “In the interest of fostering a productive dialogue, for right now, we’re going to suspend the ads.”