The crowd was already riled. And then parents were asked if they would like stand with School Reform Commissioners and smile a for a picture.

Oct. 16 was the first time that the School Reform Commission had to face the public after quietly ending the Philadelphia School District’s contract with more than 11,000 Philadelphia Federation of Teachers union members, increasing healthcare costs. But unlike the decision’s announcement ten days earlier, there was nothing quiet about Thursday’s meeting.

Around 3,000 Philadelphia union members, parents and students shut down Broad Street just an hour before the SRC's monthly meeting, cheering to speakers like American Federation of Teachers President Randy Weingarten and various union leaders who called on the city to vote for Tom Wolf in the upcoming election and keep up the fight for teachers, students and public education. While just a fraction of those protesters abandoned their signs and passed through the barriers into the commission's meeting, they still managed to make plenty of noise.

More than 50 speakers and an angry audience criticized the SRC for three hours, from the proclamation of Parent and Family Engagement Month (“hypocrites”) to a video celebrating students' achievements (“why are the shelves behind her so empty?”). The speaker list started with bow-tie donned Masterman student Alfredo Practico, who spoke about teachers’ dedication and said the SRC’s move to take negotiations off the table was wrong (“It’s not about winning, but how you play the game”). From there, the speakers and crowd became less civil.

State Sen. Christine Tartaglione said that as soon as the legislature is back in session, she’ll introduce a bill to abolish the SRC. PFT President Jerry Jordan called the bunch “liars” before former PFT leader Ted Kirsch said Commissioner Bill Green’s actions must be genetic (both Green and his father came head-to-head with the PFT). Plenty approached the mic and demanded an apology from Commissioner Sylvia Simms, who reportedly told Philadelphia Student Union protesters that they probably go to failing schools and belong in jail. Simms ignored the requests and Green defended her, echoing what she told the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier that day — that the students misinterpreted her words.

The few who came out to support the SRC — former Board of Education member Helen Cunningham and Philadelphia School Partnership’s Mark Gleason — were silenced by roars of outrage and heckling from the crowd.

Teachers told Superintendent Hite and the Commission exactly how much they spend on their classrooms (some have so far spent $1,000) and how their families, some with children attending public schools, would be affected with the additional health care costs. One mother cited $8,000 annually while a sign at the protest calculated $15,000.

Plenty of questions went unanswered, like why corporations like Comcast aren’t asked to sacrifice like teachers, how the district can attract talent while ostracizing staff or why charter funding isn’t a target. Despite the hours of testimonies, the SRC still maintained its position that they did the right things for Philadelphia students.

One question was answered — will Hite and SRC members contribute benefits at the 10 percent rate that teachers must have to? “Yes,” Hite said. “We will gladly contribute to our benefits at the same level that the PFT contributes.”

At the very least, those three hours may have added another few thousand dollars for Philly schools.