[Lancey Howard]

Philadelphia's school system, the nation's seventh-largest, has 265 schools and more than 200,000 students and a budget of $1.7 billion.

Okay. I like to do the math. The math says that Philadelphia's school system spends $8,100+ per student.
And these are the results:

The majority of its students score in the bottom quarter on state reading and math tests and the district has predicted a budget shortfall this year of $107 million.

And this pathetic pack of teachers union scum has the gall to insist on keeping the status quo?
These crybabies should get "transferred" right out of their jobs.

[aristeides]

Given the way these school systems operate, "more than 200,000 students" may well be an exaggeration. In which case, cost per student is at least $8,500, and may well be considerably higher than that.