As Philadelphia City Council budget negotiations begin to heat up, so are public school activists.

For more information on the proposed budget and what might have to be tweaked to get adequate funding for schools (including an extension of the 1 percent increase in the city sales tax beyond July), go here, here or here. Also, info on education and the state budget is here. Needless to say, school funding in both budgets will be a sticking point and public school advocates are getting ready.

Here are a couple of ways to get involved:

• The groups Public Citizens for Children and Youth, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and  Education Voters of Pennsylvania have planned a “Day of Action” on Thursday, March 13 to pressure City Council members to extend the city sales tax increase. They are meeting on the 4th floor of City Hall at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Community members are encouraged to stop by.

• Parents from the Penn Alexander School and other West Philadelphia community members are holding an “education advocacy planning session” on Thursday, March 20. The meeting will include an overview of information on the district’s budget deficit, city and state funding sources and instructions on how to call and visit elected officials. The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. in the Penn Alexander cafeteria. Enter through the doors near the blacktop on 43rd Street between Locust and Spruce.

• If you’re on Twitter, another good way to keep up with school news is by search #PHLed.

This Wednesday, May 29, Spiral Q Puppet Theatre, Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), and a group of students from Powel Elementary are teaming up to stage an “artful action” in front of City Hall and in the City Hall Caucus Room to protest the proposed school budget cuts. Specifically, this event addresses the need for art instruction in the schools that would be eliminated if the proposed budget comes into effect. The students will be there from 9 to 11 a.m. and are inviting other kids to join them.

Spiral Q and PCCY, which helped arrange the event, will transport several of the “Terracotta Warriors” that children made this semester as part of this year’s school-wide thematic unit on China (students choose a different country/culture each year). Each warrior is the size of a child and was decorated by a small group of children.

Along with the visuals, the students and parents will deliver petitions to Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who is the chair of the Education Committee.

Powel invites other schools and kids to join in tomorrow’s action as it will be “a pretty cool sight to see” and also to bring “drums, signs, gongs, [and] enthusiasm!”

For more information and the tentative schedule please visit the event’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/139407546249353/

The School District of Philadelphia is once again in fiscal straits and next year’s budget could see the worst cuts yet. More nurses, security guards, librarians, assistant principals, guidance counselors, aides, music and arts teachers, secretaries and even books and school supplies from every school in the city could go if the city doesn’t make up a $300 million shortfall. It’s already being called the “doomsday budget.”

A principal at a West Philly elementary school told parents recently that the proposed cuts are by far the worst she has seen in her 21 years. Students from city high schools are planning a rally today at the District headquarters. Members of the teachers’ union, which has been asked for concessions to help avoid the cuts, are scheduled to do “informational picketing” at every public school in the city tomorrow.

District officials are requesting $60 million from the city, which City Council members are so far reluctant to provide, and $120 million from the state, which also doesn’t seem too interested.

Home and school association parents from around the city are asking residents to get involved.

If interested, here are some things you can do to help:

• Contact your City Council member and members at large. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, head of the education committee, is available at 215-686-3418/3419 and jannie.blackwell@phila.gov.

• Contact your state legislators. The local legislators are likely to be very sympathetic, so another person to talk to is state Rep. Paul Clymer, the Bucks County Republican who heads the House Education Committee. His district office can be reached at 215-257-0279. His e-mail is: pclymer@pahousegop.com. Here is his Facebook page.

• Stop by the table at Saturday’s May Fair in Clark Park (43rd & Chester) and sign a local petition.

• Join an existing state campaign for funding by signing the petition here.

– Mike Lyons

The School Reform Commission is scheduled to vote tonight on a provisional budget that would eliminate full-day kindergarten, many school programs and thousands of School District of Philadelphia jobs.

The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at the auditorium of the School District Education Center, 2nd floor, 440 N. Broad Street. Although the deadline for signing up to speak at the meeting has passed, it is open to the public.

A summary of the proposed budget is available here.

The budget is provisional and could be revised if funding is made available either at the city or state level.

Full-day kindergarten, thousands of jobs and after-school programs are just a few of the items in serious jeopardy as The School District of Philadelphia looks for cuts to meet a massive budget shortfall.

The district released a preliminary budget yesterday (see the “budget in brief” below) that includes a $22 million cut to kindergarten funding, which if passed would eliminate full-day kindergarten at every school in the district. Remedial and summer reading programs, after-school programs will also be eliminated under the draft budget. Special education liaisons will be cut 77 percent. Students transportation and gifted programs will also be drastically reduced.

School class sizes will revert to the maximum allowed in union contracts, which is 30 for elementary school and 33 for higher grades. The district, which serves 155,000 students, estimates that this will lead to an increase of three or four students per class.

The budget shortfall is the result of a $292 million cut in state funds earmarked for the district.

Presented to the School Reform Commission yesterday, the preliminary budget has sparked outcry from politicians, parents and teacher organizations.

The Inquirer reports today that Third District Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who represents much of West Philadelphia, joined Councilmen Bill Green and Curtis Jones Jr. in adopting a resolution calling on Gov. Tom Corbett to continue to fund full-day kindergarten.

“You think we’re in trouble now…it would hurt families everywhere,” Blackwell said. “People won’t be able to work. It affects socialization and education of children.”

Full-day kindergarten began in Philadelphia in 1996 under then-Superintendent David Hornbeck. Hornbeck told the Inquirer that cuts to full-day kindergarten should not be under consideration.

“Based on evidence in Philadelphia and across the country, I can’t think of any decision that would be more ill-advised for Philadelphia’s children,” Hornbeck said. “I would probably approach the challenges they face by saying, ‘What’s the first thing I’m not going to cut,’ and it would be full-day kindergarten.”

The School Reform Commission has until May 31 to pass the budget.

Here is the “budget in brief,” which includes a summary of the cuts.

Preliminary Budget