A day before the School Reform Commission is expected to declare October “Parent and Family Engagement Month,” parents gathered on the steps of the Philadelphia School District’s headquarters to give a warning — “don’t mess with our babies’ education.”

On Oct. 6, the SRC held a quietly-announced, last-minute meeting in which they canceled contracts for thousands of Philadelphia Federation of Teachers union members. Without public comment, the commission decided that starting Dec. 15, teachers would pay into their health benefits, some losing hundreds of dollars from their paychecks every month. But between now and then is an election that could decide the future of Philadelphia schools, parents said.  

Tonayia Coffer has two children attending Fox Chase Elementary School. She said that the district and SRC’s move to make teachers “pay their fair share” was unjustified as teachers have been sacrificing for a long time. Coffer said she would know — she’s married to a high school teacher. Cuts to staff like nurses, counselors and librarians mean that not only must educators teach, they must also fill in the gaps for physical, emotional and academic support, Coffer said. 

“Nowhere in the city of Philadelphia are people doing three or four jobs and getting paid for one,” Coffer said.

Leslie Tyler also has two children in Philadelphia schools attending Julia R. Masterman Middle and High School and William Meredith Elementary. She argued that attacking teachers in the end hurts students.

“I want what’s best for my children. When I drop them off in the morning, I want them in the best schools, with the best teachers in the best learning environment to prepare them for academic excellence,” Tyler said. “How can the School District of Philadelphia attract the best when they are forced to make deep, devastating cuts to education? Overcrowded classrooms, split grades, half a teacher, no counselor, not enough nurses — that is not the best.”

Tyler said that the drama and cuts to resources would only discourage the best educators and administrators from working in Philadelphia schools, continuing the cycle of workers and families moving in search of a better education for their children — and taking the tax base that partially funds schools with them.

“If we are truly in the business of doing what’s best for our children, we should stop balancing the budget on the backs of teachers,” Tyler said.

Activist Cheri Honkala, who just got out from behind bars after she was arrested on Oct. 9 for sitting outside Governor Tom Corbett’s Philadelphia office, said that parents wouldn’t stop fighting for their kids’ education no matter what.

“We are willing to put our bodies on the line, go to jail a million times, do whatever we have to do because they made one big mistake,” Honkala said. “You don’t mess with our babies and you don’t mess with our teachers.”