With city's pledge of $50M, Philly schools begin rehiring; some parents say it's not enough

PHILADELPHIA – The question of whether Philadelphia's public schools would open on time next month has been answered. Officials say they will.

But parents say the buildings will simply be shells, without sufficient resources to offer students a safe and adequate learning environment.

City officials promised $50 million in emergency funding this week for the struggling system. The district has begun rehiring about 1,000 employees who were laid off this summer.

The pledge means Greenfield Elementary principal Dan Lazar is getting back a much-needed counselor for his 600 students. But he says he still needs much, much more.

Superintendent William Hite had said that if he didn't get a funding commitment by Friday, classes would not start as scheduled Sept. 9.