Thornton's challenges don't come much bigger than Philly's

Some of the toughest problems faced by Seattle Public Schools — think race, budgets, academics and governance — are magnified on a grand scale in Philadelphia.

The district endured a financial meltdown in 2001, when the board was disbanded and the governor and mayor appointed a five-member oversight commission. Some schools are almost entirely made up of a single race. Nearly two-thirds of the district's students are African-American while just 13 percent are white. Academic performance has been troublesome.

Dealing with issues of that scale in the eighth-largest school district in the nation is part of the reason why Gregory Thornton, the chief academic officer for the Philadelphia School District for the past three years, believes he has what it takes to become the next superintendent here.

Thornton, 52, takes credit for helping turn around academic achievement in Philadelphia in recent years, pointing to district figures that indicate a steady improvement in test scores. "Our progress has been heralded by a lot of people around the country," he said.

Thornton, one of two finalists for the job, said Tuesday he believes Seattle schools are already good and have an opportunity to become great.

Those who have worked alongside Thornton say he can handle the thorny issues of urban schools while developing relationships with a broad range of interest groups.

But should Thornton be chosen for the job, he also would be leaving behind a district that is on the verge of financial collapse for the second time — and ethical questions raised about a trip he took to Africa in 2004.

The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed that Thornton was one of two district officials who signed off on a $926,000 no-bid contract with Plato Learning five months after the education-software company subsidized their trip to South Africa. According to the paper, the district acknowledged the ethics violation last year and promised disciplinary action against Thornton and the other official.

In an interview today, Philidelphia School District Chief Executive Paul Vallas said the district formally investigated the matter and found Thornton had already planned the Africa trip before taking the job with the Philidelphia district. The investigation found no wrongdoing by Thornton and the district took no further action, he added.

Thornton said he disclosed the issue to the Seattle School Board.

Thornton was previously deputy superintendent of schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, for two years — a system he says is more comparable to Seattle's.

Thornton has degrees in elementary education and educational administration. He has spent 26 years as a public-school teacher and administrator.

"He has excellent people skills. He's very, very well-versed in the curriculum, and he seems to have a rather thorough understanding of what it takes to run a big-city school district," said Michael Lerner, a representative of the Philadelphia principal's union.

Jerry Weast, the superintendent of the Montgomery County schools, said Thornton "will do you good."

"If you've been in this business for 31 years, you see so few people who can really handle the big, tough, urban jobs, and he was one of them."

News researcher Gene Balk and reporter Linda Shaw contributed to this story.