Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Chester Upland School District — a small, mostly minority district outside Philadelphia — is on the verge of going broke. State budget cuts and mismanagement by both local and state leadership have put the district in such financial straits that teachers and some other employees agreed last month to work without pay for the rest of the school year. A judge ordered the state to advance Chester Upland $3 million, but that will only keep the schools open for a few weeks.