The West Philly Tool Library is moving and expanding this weekend and they need some help. This valuable neighborhood resource is currently located in a cramped space at 4620 Woodland Avenue. They have secured a new space around the corner in a warehouse at 1314 S. 47th Street. The new spot is nearly triple the size of the current one and will allow for more tools and more community workshops.

The plan is to move everything down to the last hammer on Saturday and Sunday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you can spare an hour or two, the Tool Library folks would love some help. Write Jake at (jake — at — westphillytools.org) to sign up for a time.

If you are tied up during the weekend, there are other ways to help. The added space needs to get filled up. You can donate your spare tools to the Tool Library by clicking here.

The Tool Library also needs teachers. If you have a skill to share write Stacey at stacey — at — westphillytools.org to sign up to teach a class.

Lastly, more space means more costs. Memberships and late fees account for only about 40 percent of the library’s budget. Tax-deductible contributions are always welcome. Click here to make one.

The group Parents United for Public Education will host a forum tonight to discuss the impact of possible state cuts in education funding that could jeopardize full-day kindergarten, free student public transportation and many other programs in Philadelphia public schools.

The forum will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the West Philadelphia Seventh Day Adventist Church at 46th and Haverford.

The School District of Philadelphia released a preliminary budget in late April that includes massive cuts in response to proposed cuts in state aid. The School Reform Commission has until May 31 to approve the budget.

Primary elections are tomorrow and if you find yourself without a playbook or you just want to remind yourself what’s at stake in 15 minutes or less, we suggest two sources.

First, West Philly writer and journalist Patrick Kerkstra speculates on questions surrounding the primary in The Philly Post, a Philadelphia Magazine blog.

Up for grabs is each party’s nod for mayor, all 17 City Council ballot spots and the party favorites for the controversial sheriff’s post. For a complete rundown, we suggest you consult the City Paper’s informative and entertaining election primer.

Lastly, Committee of 70 has a nifty little thing to help you find your polling place.

Here is a late reminder about the food justice movie night tonight at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.). Food Stamped, a film about a couple trying to make healthy meals on $4 a day, the typical food stamp allotment, screens at 6:30 p.m.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served. The entire event is free and a discussion will follow the movie.

The Netter Center for Community Partnerships and the Urban Nutrition Initiative are co-hosting the event, which is one in a monthly screening of films related to food justice issues.

The first Drexel University professor to take advantage of the school’s new Home Purchase Assistance Program, which entices faculty and staff to live near the school with a $15,000 forgivable loan to cover mortgage costs, cut the ribbon (literally) with his family on their front porch last week.

History professor George Ciccariello-Maher and his wife bought the house on the 300 block of N. 41st St. and Drexel celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the front porch on May 12. They also have a young child.

“Being first was a big deal since it meant taking a risk,” Drexel’s student newspaper The Triangle quoted Ciccariello-Maher as saying.

The boundaries for Drexel’s homebuying program are Mantua Avenue to the north and Chestnut Street to the south and from 31st Street to 42nd. Other schools in West Philly, including St. Joseph’s and the University of Pennsylvania operate similar programs.

Drexel President John Fry announced the program during a speech last October in which he laid out in broad strokes the University’s plan to help fix the “continued deterioration” of the bordering neighborhoods of Powelton Village and Mantua.

Fry oversaw similar measures at Penn, including the formation of the University City District, while serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in the late 90s.

Author Jacqueline Edelberg, the parent who helped turn her kids’ failing Chicago elementary school around, spoke to parents, teachers and community members earlier this month at the Henry C. Lea School (4700 Locust). Video of her 30-minute talk, which includes the story of how she and other parents changed their school and advice on improving schools in general, is below.

Edelberg co-wrote How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance, which has become sort of a how-to guide to improve urban neighborhood schools. The West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools invited Edelberg to Lea, where the group of about 200 parents and community members is focusing much of its efforts. Lea has gained much attention in recent days as a possible alternative to Penn Alexander School, which plans to cap enrollment in some grades this fall.

Edelberg’s strategy, which she talks about in detail in the video, included opening the school up to the community and parents. Experts from the neighborhood taught workshops in her school and parents were always present in the classrooms.

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