17 school closures: Philadelphia Board of Education to vote on new facilities plan Thursday

“Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system. The Philadelphia Board of Education will vote Thursday whether to move forward with the school district’s school closure proposal, according to a resolution the board published Monday. The latest version of the plan district officials released Monday would close 17 schools beginning in 2027. That’s down from the initial 18 school closures Superintendent Tony Watlington presented to the board in February. The district’s updated proposal takes James R. Ludlow School off the closure list and nixes the plan to turn John Moffet Elementary into a middle school. Moffet would now become a K-4 school, with students attending Ludlow for middle school. It also increases investments in some parts of the city where members of City Council have vehemently fought the plan. And although the district still plans to close Lankenau Environmental Science High School and Paul Robeson High School, it now plans to hold onto those two school properties and eventually repurpose them for community or student use, rather than sell the buildings or convey them to the city. The plan, which includes colocating some schools and modernizing nearly 170 others, has a $3 billion price tag — up from an initial $2.8 billion. But there’s no guarantee the district will be able to foot the bill. Watlington said during a press briefing Monday that the district will put $1 billion towards the upgrades and hopes to raise additional funding from government and philanthropic grants. The plans’ ultimate goal, Watlington said, is to increase educational opportunities for all students. Too many students are in half-empty, crumbling buildings that are not offering them the academic opportunities they sorely deserve, Watlington has said. And district enrollment is projected to continue to decline . Board President Reginald Streater appeared supportive of the plan at the press briefing Monday, but it’s still unclear how other members will vote. “We can’t expect a different result doing the same thing, understanding our budget realities,” Streater said. “We have to reorganize and go through this reform of how we do things in Philadelphia if we expect to provide our babies the resources they need to be who they want to be and who they can be when they grow up.” If the board approves the resolution, it will kick start another process for the district and board to complete required legal steps to close schools. One of those steps will likely be additional public engagement. Streater said the district could alter the plan again, based on enrollment or budgetary changes. But for now, this is the version the board will consider. “This is the final, final set of recommendations that I’m presenting to President Streater and his Board of Education for consideration,” Watlington said. Councilmember who fought closure plan now supports it The district’s decision not to sell Paul Robeson High School seems to have swayed at least one city councilmember: Jamie Gauthier. Gauthier had previously fiercely opposed the district’s plan. She had organized rallies against it and proposed rezoning the land for Robeson and other schools in her district to prevent them from being redeveloped into commercial or residential buildings. But on Monday, she said she supported the changes. “This proves that you’re listening. It proves that you care about equity in this plan, and I and my community are grateful,” Gauthier said at the briefing Monday. The $200 million increase to the plan’s price tag largely stems from bigger investments in Gauthier’s district, which includes parts of West and Southwest Philadelphia. These include modernization projects at Anderson Elementary, Bryant Elementary, and Mitchell Elementary, and a pool renovation at Motivation High School. The plan increases spending in Councilmember Jeffery Young’s district in North Philadelphia as well. Young had also fought the facilities plan and said he was considering his own rezoning proposal. Young did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday about the district’s latest plan. Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org . Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org .

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