Corbett Pens Schools Op-Ed, Declares Victory

Gov. Tom Corbett penned an op-ed in the Inquirer today delineating all the wonderful progress the School District has made since it began rotting from the inside out last year, and he reiterated the rationale of why he released the $45 million—a rationale as ambiguous as his prerequisites for its release.

In fact, the whole thing was ambiguous, and you’d be excused for wondering why Corbett wrote it if you haven’t been following the death spiral of his governorship. Essentially, by listing all the adjustments made by the District and the School Reform Commission, the op-ed reframes the city’s education fight into one that Corbett has essentially won, which he needs to do, because he’s failing at everything and everyone knows it.

Additionally, it shows Corbett as a man who has reached the limit of his generosity, unlike the stubborn, rabble-rousing y0u-know-who:

All that now stands between students getting the resources they deserve this academic year is the teachers’ union agreeing to meaningful concessions.

Isn’t that what Corbett said was necessary to release the $45 million, and didn’t the state-empowered SRC steamroll over union seniority anyway?

Additionally, Corbett calls on City Council to extend the sales tax, which it’s refused to do over and over again, for reasons both legitimate (Philly can actually claim the “taxed enough already” rallying cry) and dubious (the favored plan essentially puts millions worth of property under the auspices of councilpersons). [Inquirer]