Less than a month after former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman left the Philadelphia School District with a controversial buyout, Robert Archie has stepped down as chairman of the School Reform Commission.
Archie announced his decision today in a statement. He has served as head of the five-member panel for about two and a half ye.
Archie, a partner at Duane Morris LLP, has been at the center of controversy surrounding the district’s handling of the Ackerman departure. He was also being investigated for conspiring with state Rep. Dwight Evans to have Foundations Inc. named as the operator for Martin Luther King Jr. High, which Evans has dealt with for years.
Archie’s departure now leaves further questions about the future of the Commission, which has been targeted for elimination by some state lawmakers. Last month, the SRC reached a separation agreement with Ackerman following weeks of speculation that she would be fired. Ackerman received a $905,000 buyout, all of which came from district coffers.
The remaining commissioners are Johnny Irizarry, Denise McGregor Armbrister, and Joseph Dworetzky.
