Mayor Nutter says city will borrow $50 million to open schools

But I think it only postpones the long-term plan:

NOTE: Council President Clarke is holding a news conference momentarily. This post will be updated throughout the day.

Unable to reach an agreement with City Council on Philly’s school-funding crisis, Mayor Nutter today pledged that the city will borrow the $50 million needed for schools to open on time Sept. 9. “I will not risk a catastrophe,” Nutter told reporters in City Hall. “Schools are going to open on time and safely.”

The borrowing will be a general obligation bond. The mayor hopes to pay for it with revenue from the extension of a 1 percentage point city sales-tax increase that was supposed to expire after this year. But he and Council President Darrell Clarke have been sparring over how to handle the sales tax. If Council does not adopt the extension, Nutter said, the borrowing costs will be paid out of the city’s General Fund.