Private managers in district face cuts / Some say privatization never took off.
Source: By Susan Snyder, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 15, 2006
In 2002, the Philadelphia School District embarked on the nation's largest experiment in private management of public schools, with educators across the country watching. As the five-year anniversary approaches, the district's leadership is proposing to halve funding next fiscal year to the six private managers running 41 of the district's 270-plus schools. The managers include the for-profit Edison Schools Inc., which runs 20 of the schools. Such a move could further erode the privatization movement in public school systems, which never took off as envisioned, experts say.