PHILADELPHIA – A panel of education reformers held a town hall meeting in Philadelphia Monday to discuss the current state of public education and suggest what should be considered common-sense changes.

The event, billed as the StudentsFirst Teachers Town Hall, brought together former Washington Teacher’s Union President George Parker, magnet school founder Dr. Steve Perry and former Washington D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee with nearly 100 attendees at Temple University’s student center, NBC reports.

The discussion comes as Philadelphia schools face a $304 million deficit, which forced the layoff of thousands of school staff. District officials secured emergency funding from the city to hire back some employees, but officials are seeking $100 million in teachers union contract concessions, and negotiations over a new labor pact have been unproductive, according to media reports.

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“When you look at the situation in Philly, there are sort of a number of things that are sort of coming to fruition all at the same time that are causing things to come to a head in the school district,” Rhee said, according to NBC.

Rhee believes there are several ways officials can address problems in the district, and the advice is applicable to schools across the country.

Rhee recommended, “First, ensuring tax money is being spent wisely by reducing bureaucracy and promoting transparency. Second, keeping parents informed on the issues happening in schools and the district. Finally, and most controversial, Rhee says teachers must be evaluated to ensure all are highly effective,” NBC reports.

“One of the things that should be counted very heavily should be – is that teacher moving gains in student achievement … but so should things like observation of classroom practice, things like contribution to school community, you know those teachers that coach the school soccer team or debate team,” Rhee said, according to NBC.

Rhee walked the walk as the head of D.C. schools, where she implemented tighter accountability measures for teachers and administrators. She fired poorly performing teachers and closed chronically underperforming schools. Her straightforward approach riled the teachers union, but made her a hero among education reformers.

Dr. Steve Perry also laid out his take on the problems with large public schools, which he referred to as “the largest jobs program this side of the New Deal,” NBC reports.

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The Philadelphia school district is just too big, he said, and should be broken down into numerous smaller districts focused on different types of education – such as arts schools or vocational schools, according to the news site.

“What happens when the school systems are smaller is the people in the central office have a better handle as to what’s going on in the schools,” he said. “They get it more.”

Perry also got straight to the point about what many reformers believe is the biggest problem in Philadelphia schools, and countless others across the country.

“The reason why we have a budget deficit right now is because no one has the balls to stand up to the teachers union … and say ‘Folks, we just can’t afford these pensions that you have us paying for and the benefits and the raises and we can’t just pay for all that,”’ he said. “So there needs to be some common sense fiscal reform tonight.”

Unfortunately, those who needed to hear Perry’s message the most were absent from the town hall.

“With the exception of two loud educators who attempted to counterpoint each panelist’s answer before being told to shut up by the crowd, the city’s most vocal education advocates, including Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan, took part in a separate town hall discussion at the same time Monday evening,” NBC reports.

A union spokesman said the PFT wanted to show a “contrast in approaches.” It’s unclear why union officials couldn’t discuss that contrast at a common town hall meeting.

Instead, the union used the opportunity to trumpet its typical call for more money, and to take a pot shot at Rhee for offering advice that the union didn’t want to hear.

“When we can truly say that our schools are getting the resources they need, we can certainly discuss and debate Rhee’s ideas on education,” PFT spokesman George Jackson told NBC. “But right now, we have a real crisis on our hands … and unlike Michelle Rhee, we don’t get to drop in to town, push our agenda and move on.”