On Monday, Nov. 26, City Council’s education committee is hosting a hearing on the Boston Consulting Group. Parents United for Public Education will be testifying at 1 p.m. The School District and others will begin testifying at 10 a.m. For more information, contact Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s office: benjamin.brock@phila.gov.
The Boston Consulting Group is the author of a controversial plan to restructure the Philadelphia schools. Their six months of work was underwritten by private donors. Though brought in to respond to a fiscal crisis, BCG promoted an expensive plan to reorganize schools into achievement networks and ended up “balancing” the District books primarily by borrowing $300 million via municipal bonds which will indebt the District for the next 20 years.
BCG has been the focus of a number of groups decrying privatization attempts and the “corporate agenda” of a current wave of education reformers. We hope for a lively Council hearing that sheds considerable light on the District and BCG relationship.
Parents United for Public Education 