It takes some nerve to blame Philadelphia's teachers for a crisis they didn't create, as you do in "Failure in Philadelphia" (Review & Outlook, Sept. 25).

Just days before the start of school in Philadelphia, a middle-school student drowned. But when students returned to their school, there was no school counselor to help them process this tragedy. At another school, a student slit his wrist in the back of a classroom. Again, there was no one to call.

One school has a chemistry class with more than 50 students. There aren't enough desks, so students are sitting on radiators. School principals are administering injections because there are no school nurses to do it. Special-needs classrooms are overfilled and understaffed.

Philadelphia's teachers are trying to give their students a high-quality education, despite impossible conditions. They are spending money out of their own pockets to buy supplies. They are spending time before and after school to help kids in need. And although they are some of the poorest-paid teachers in Pennsylvania, they are even willing to take a pay freeze and give up some of their health-care benefits.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett continues to rob Philadelphia's students of much-needed funding to further his anti-teacher ideology. The $45 million Mr. Corbett is sitting on isn't a "grant" to be offered. The $45 million is federal funding, earmarked by the Obama administration to help fund Philadelphia's schools. It is unconscionable that Mr. Corbett, knowing what students in Philadelphia are facing, continues to hold this money hostage, but perhaps it's predictable.

Since taking office in 2011, Mr. Corbett has expanded tax breaks for corporations while cutting $1 billion from education statewide. His austerity measures ultimately left Philadelphia's schools with a $304 million budget shortfall.

Mr. Corbett is failing Philadelphia's children. But teachers, parents, students and community members remain determined to right his wrong. We remain committed to finding solutions that work because we believe that Philadelphia's children deserve better.

Randi Weingarten


American Federation

of Teachers