Plan calls for radical overhaul of Philadelphia school system

From The Philadelphia Inquirer: The chief recovery officer for Philadelphia schools has announced a plan that would essentially blow the district up and start with a new structure. The plan – which must be approved by the School Reform Commission – would close 40 schools next year and 64 by 2017, move thousands more students to charters and dismantle the central office in favor of "achievement networks" that would compete to run groups of 25 schools and sign performance-based contracts. Massive money problems are forcing the reform commission to act. Left unchecked, the district's budget deficit would grow to $1.1 billion by 2017, officials say.