Vote on $3B Philadelphia school facilities proposal expected Thursday
Philadelphia Board of Education expected to vote on $3B master facilities plan
The Philadelphia Board of Education is expected to vote Thursday on a $3B master facilities plan that would aim to modernize over 150 schools while closing more than a dozen.
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia school board is expected to vote Thursday on a $3B facilities plan that aims to modernize over 150 school buildings, while closing more than a dozen others.
What we know:
The vote was postponed last week after school board members, pressured by Philadelphia City Council, requested more time to review the controversial plan.
Faced with unavoidable financial strife, the $3B proposal would modernize 170 Philadelphia public school buildings in need of renovations and repairs, while closing 17 others.
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Philadelphia School District unveils final facilities master plan ahead of this week's vote
The Philadelphia School District unveiled final changes to its facilities master plan, including fewer school closures and more modernization projects, ahead of a key vote this week.
Opponents of the facilities plan believe the closure will impact more than just the students and staff.
"When you close down a school, you're really closing down a whole community," said Tom Coyle, a history teacher at Penn Treaty School in Fishtown. "A lot of people don't realize that when this school gets phased out there will be no neighborhood school here in Fishtown after that."
The backstory:
The 10-year, $2.8 billion plan covers 307 district facilities. If approved, it would modernize 159 buildings, maintain 124, co-locate programs in 6, close and repurpose 10 for district use, and close and convey eight to the city for affordable housing or job creation.
The district says the plan will expand access to Algebra I for every middle school student, increase Career and Technical Education programming, and ensure that 90 percent of impacted students are reassigned to schools with comparable or better outcomes. The plan also aims to double the number of students with access to district-affiliated pre-kindergarten.
Philly’s $2.8B school facilities plan updated: What we know
The School District of Philadelphia has released an updated version of its $2.8 billion Facilities Master Plan, scaling back the number of school closures and outlining a path to modernize buildings.
No changes affecting students or staff will take place before the 2027–28 school year, except for a new year-round K–8 school in North Philadelphia. Each impacted school community will have a full planning year before implementation, and a transition team will support families and staff.
The district will commit $1 billion of its own resources and seek $1.8 billion in public and philanthropic funding to complete the plan.
The board will hold a town hall on March 12 at 4:00 p.m. focused on the facilities plan, with 90 registered speakers and public testimony as the only agenda item. An online feedback portal will also be available for community input.
The facilities planning process began in 2022, with 90 public listening sessions, two district-wide surveys and ongoing community engagement.
What's next:
The Philadelphia Board of Education is expected to vote Thursday on the proposal.
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