Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker and Philadelphia Mayor John Street Agree to 21-Day Extension on State Takeover Monday, December 03, 2001 Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker and Philadelphia Mayor John Street agreed last Friday to a 21-day extension on the Commonwealths plan to takeover the Philadelphia schools. The takeover, originally slated for last Friday at midnight, will now occur midnight, December 21. The Governor and the Mayor will use the additional time to seek more collaboration on certain aspects of the plan, in particular on how the state and city will divide the additional required funding. It was also agreed that a transition would be better effected during the Christmas holiday break. "We will only do this once. We want to make sure we get it right," said Mayor John Street, speaking at a news conference immediately following the agreement. Two important aspects of the Governors plan related to national schooling companies remain unchanged. First, the Governors plan calls for 60 schools to be managed by private companies in partnership with local community groups. Edison (Nasdaq: EDSN) is seeking to be the "lead provider" which, under the plan, will manage 45 schools. Second, in a news conference just before Thanksgiving, both the Governor and the Mayor said that Edison will have a significant role in central office operations as a consultant and systems provider.
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