This browser does not support the Video element.
Philadelphia’s $2.8 billion school modernization plan faces criticism
Philadelphia's $2.8 billion plan to modernize its schools is facing criticism amongst parents and members of the Philadelphia City Council as the district considers closing over a dozen schools.
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia’s school modernization plan is facing criticism from parents and City Council members, as the district considers closing 20 schools and merging others over the next several years.
Pushback over school closures and modernization plan
What we know:
Superintendent Tony Watlington said the $2.8 billion plan aims to update and modernize 159 city schools, with closures and mergers proposed through 2032. "If this gets funded.. we have a once a lifetime and I want to underscore once in a lifetime opportunity," said Watlington.
City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said, "City Council members want to clearly understand the district vision, the criteria guiding it’s decisions the neighborhood implications of the plan and how community voices have been incorporated throughout this process." The district says the average age of a Philadelphia school building is 73 years old and that declining enrollment is a factor in the proposed changes.
Reginald L. Streater, president of the Board of Education, said, "These challenges are not the result of neglect but I would argue rather decades of inadequate unpredictable and chronic underfunding."
Although every Council District is set to receive money for upgrades, some council members say their areas are being unfairly targeted for closures. Jim Harrity, a City Council member at large, said, "I live there in Kensington, in the 7th district and I talk to those kids. They are good kids. And they deserve everything that kids in other neighborhoods are getting."
Parents and teachers from schools on the closure list voiced their concerns at the meeting, with signs supporting their schools.
Brian Nevins, a teacher at Parkway Northwest High School, said, "I like my school where it is. We fought hard to get there we don’t have to go through the struggles but it’s a school for peace and justice and what’s more important than that right now."
The district’s plan to close and merge schools has drawn strong reactions from the community, with many seeking more transparency about the decision-making process.
What's next:
The district will hold three upcoming town hall meetings to gather more input from parents, with the next meeting scheduled Tuesday at Ben Franklin High School from 4-6pm.
The district says it plans to finalize the modernization plan and school closures at its Feb. 26 meeting.
Many families and educators are watching closely as the district moves forward with its proposal, raising questions about how the changes will affect students and neighborhoods across Philadelphia.
It is not yet clear if the School Board will vote on the modernization plan and closures at the Feb. 26 meeting or if a vote will come at a later date.
The link to the School District of Philadelphia Facilities Master Plan can be found here. https://www.philasd.org/fpp/#fppfeedback
This is a list of schools identified for closure by the Facilities Master Plan:
PreK–8 / Elementary Schools
- Robert Morris Elementary
- Samuel Pennypacker School
- John Welsh Elementary School
- James R. Ludlow School
- Laura W. Waring School
- Overbrook Elementary School
- Rudolph Blankenburg School
- Fitler Academics Plus School
Middle Schools
- General Louis Wagner Middle School
- Stetson Middle School
- Warren G. Harding Middle School
- William T. Tilden Middle School
- Academy for the Middle Years (AMY) at Northwest
- Russell Conwell Middle School
High Schools
- Lankenau High School
- Motivation High School
- Paul Robeson High School
- Parkway Northwest High School
- Parkway West High School
- Penn Treaty High School