Mayor Nutter Calls on Business Leaders to Join the Fight for Public Education

Mayor Michael A. Nutter on Feb. 18 called upon the city’s top business leaders to join with him in seeking full and fair funding for public education, and he called quality education "the Civil Rights issue of the 21st century."

"Whether you walk, drive or take the train, come to Harrisburg with me and urge the Commonwealth to make public education a top priority," Nutter said at the annual Mayoral Luncheon sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Mayor Nutter told the audience, filled with leading business and political leaders, that an investment in education is an investment in the future. "It’s an investment in making our region more competitive. It’s an investment in our city, the Commonwealth and our nation. I am asking you to join me in the fight for the future, the fight for our children, the fight for a smarter, ready-for-business Philadelphia."

In a speech in which the mayor touted many of the region’s and corporate community’s top accomplishments, Nutter devoted part of his address to the financial challenges facing the School District of Philadelphia, linking the education of local students to the region’s shared prosperity. Community College of Philadelphia is the top college destination for graduates of the School District of Philadelphia.

"In my view, access to a high-quality education is the Civil Rights issue of the 21st century. You are less likely to become a first-class scholar with second-class education funding. We’re less likely to become the world-class city we want to be with a workforce in which many struggle with low literacy skills and poor educational attainment,” Nutter told a packed auditorium at the Marriott Hotel.

Nutter, who is also a member of the Community College of Philadelphia Board of Trustees, said solving the city’s “education problem” must become a business and economic imperative. "If we don’t address this problem now, in 10 years, we won’t have a competitive workforce, meaning you won’t have a qualified pool of workers to fill available positions." Nutter recommended a number of ways to move public education forward, including:

• A bold new approach that would make schools innovative campuses of educational excellence.
• Fair and full funding for the School District of Philadelphia and every other school district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
• A predictable and sustainable funding system for public education in Pennsylvania.

In listing the top achievements of 2013, Mayor Nutter also mentioned the College's Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses-Greater Philadelphia program, which supports the region’s established entrepreneurs. The program offers 14 weeks of entrepreneurial instruction, one-on-one coaching and access to capital to eligible business owners from the region. Since its launch last year, 50 business owners from across the region have completed the program in Philadelphia. Applications for 10,000 Small Businesses are accepted on a rolling basis at Community College of Philadelphia. Visit www.ccp.edu/10KSB for more information.