Mayor Kenney unveils Philadelphia's new school board

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Mayor Kenney announced 9 members who will sit on the new school board.

A show of hands is what Mayor Kenney asked of his new school board if their children attend city schools. Three of the nine is the answer with one board member having an infant who will attend. A small, but important point as Kenney unveils his new school board and pushes for a tax hike to fund education.

"If you want to quibble about the cost of it quibble, but there's no reason to move forward unless we do this," Mayor Kenney said.

Kenney framed Wednesday's introduction of the board, which will bring control of schools back to the city as empowerment Martin Luther King, Jr. worked for on this the 50th anniversary of his killing.

Kenney culled the 9 from lists of 45 names and 500 applications

Lee Huang is a Penn grad with children in public schools.

"I think it is a parent's responsibility to make sure they're engaged in the public education process and to have good conversations with children about topics covered in the classroom," Huang said.

200,000 students attend city public and charter schools--serving the nation's poorest big city, the school district projects a 1-billion dollar deficit over the next five years.

In taking back control from the state, the mayor pledges to close that gap with a 6 percent hike in property taxes and a jump in other levies.

New board member Wayne Walker was the first in his family to go to college.

"I do support having a well-funded school to enable it to fulfill its mission. There are many ways to do that we'll find out what they are," he said.

The new board takes control in July.

Meet the new board members here or meet them in person at the following locations:

Wednesday, April 25| 6-8 p.m.

Dobbins CTE High School

2150 W. Lehigh Avenue

Saturday, May 5|2-4 p.m.

South Philadelphia Library

1700 South Broad Street

Thursday, May 10| 6-8 p.m.