Full-day kindergarten, thousands of jobs and after-school programs are just a few of the items in serious jeopardy as The School District of Philadelphia looks for cuts to meet a massive budget shortfall.

The district released a preliminary budget yesterday (see the “budget in brief” below) that includes a $22 million cut to kindergarten funding, which if passed would eliminate full-day kindergarten at every school in the district. Remedial and summer reading programs, after-school programs will also be eliminated under the draft budget. Special education liaisons will be cut 77 percent. Students transportation and gifted programs will also be drastically reduced.

School class sizes will revert to the maximum allowed in union contracts, which is 30 for elementary school and 33 for higher grades. The district, which serves 155,000 students, estimates that this will lead to an increase of three or four students per class.

The budget shortfall is the result of a $292 million cut in state funds earmarked for the district.

Presented to the School Reform Commission yesterday, the preliminary budget has sparked outcry from politicians, parents and teacher organizations.

The Inquirer reports today that Third District Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who represents much of West Philadelphia, joined Councilmen Bill Green and Curtis Jones Jr. in adopting a resolution calling on Gov. Tom Corbett to continue to fund full-day kindergarten.

“You think we’re in trouble now…it would hurt families everywhere,” Blackwell said. “People won’t be able to work. It affects socialization and education of children.”

Full-day kindergarten began in Philadelphia in 1996 under then-Superintendent David Hornbeck. Hornbeck told the Inquirer that cuts to full-day kindergarten should not be under consideration.

“Based on evidence in Philadelphia and across the country, I can’t think of any decision that would be more ill-advised for Philadelphia’s children,” Hornbeck said. “I would probably approach the challenges they face by saying, ‘What’s the first thing I’m not going to cut,’ and it would be full-day kindergarten.”

The School Reform Commission has until May 31 to pass the budget.

Here is the “budget in brief,” which includes a summary of the cuts.

Preliminary Budget

A public discussion on race and racism at the University of Pennsylvania has emerged in recent days following an opinion piece in the Daily Pennsylvanian last week from a black student who was the victim of racial slurs by drunk white students.

The first line of student Christopher Abreu’s piece is perhaps the most damning for the university. He writes:

I’m no stranger to racism. Being a minority, it comes with the territory. However, because of a recent experience, I cannot in good faith recommend that minorities come to Penn.

City Paper expanded the story today and raised the issue of how Penn students deal with their surroundings in majority black West Philadelphia. The article doesn’t really dig too deeply into relations between students and the community. Any thoughts? Leave a comment below.

OK, so you’ve built a farm on a vacant lot near the 46th Street El station. How do you get water to it? If you’re the ingenious folks at the Walnut Hill Community Farm, you build a solar powered irrigation system.

You can get a close-up look at the system on Sunday, May 1 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and even help lay out the irrigation lines. No experience is necessary and all the tools you need will be provided.

The system collects stormwater from the roof of the El station and employs solar power to run a pump to get the water to the crops. A STAKE grant paid for the system.

Walnut Hill Community Farm started last spring. The land is leased from SEPTA and the organization Philly Rooted manages the farm in cooperation with the The Enterprise Center Community Development Center. A youth group, the Walnut Hill Growers’ Cooperative, runs the urban farm portion of the operation.

Update from Tag’s owner (May 31):

After countless prayers, hundreds of fliers, 34 days/nights of searching and trapping, dozens of false alarms and two OTHER little black kitties who now live here… TAG IS HOME!

If you’re around 44th and Baltimore keep an eye out for Tag, a lost black cat. Here’s a description from reader Linda Lee:

Taggart (“Tag”) escaped from his mom’s apartment yesterday (4/27) when movers left the doors open. Location 44th & Baltimore. He is a fixed and microchipped semi-feral (no ear tip), and is only friendly towards his mom. Call Sammi if you think you have seen him – 267-253-9973. Her email is paynekiller1969 — at — yahoo.com.

Local 44, the friendly neighborhood craft beer pub, confirmed reports today that it will be opening a retail operation next to its location at 44th and Spruce Streets that will sell hundreds of craft beers for carryout.

Local 44 is reportedly in negotiations to lease space connected to the bar. Co-owner Leigh Maida told the City Paper’s Meal Ticket blog that she hopes the bottle shop will have a “record store vibe” that will be “heavy on the education/enthusiasm part of craft beer … no snobbery. [Customers will be able to] chat with the resident beer geek about what’s new, etc.”

An opening date has not yet been announced. Stick around for more details.

Residents are invited to attend a meeting tonight to provide input on a proposal that would legalize outdoor cafe-style seating at restaurants along Baltimore Avenue.

Several businesses currently have outdoor seating, including the Gold Standard Cafe and Dock Street Brewing Co., but there has been no formal approval of the seating. The current city ordinance requires each business to apply for seating separately. The Baltimore Avenue Business Association, which represents a variety of establishments, is seeking an ordinance that would allow several businesses to apply together. These businesses include Elena’s Soul, Aksum, Gojjo, Gold Standard Cafe, Dock Street Brewing Co. and others.

Tonight’s meeting is a chance for residents who live near Baltimore Avenue to voice concerns about the approval of outdoor seating. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on the second floor of Elena’s Soul (4912 Baltimore Ave.)