Photo: USDAgov / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington said he is moving forward with the district’s plan to close 17 schools at the end of this academic year, calling it a directive he intends to deliver “on time and on budget.”
The closures are part of a $3 billion, 10-year facilities plan called “Accelerating Opportunity,” which the Board of Education approved in April during a highly contentious meeting. For families across Northeast Philadelphia and the rest of the city, the plan will reshape where thousands of students attend school while promising modernization projects at 169 buildings districtwide.
$2 billion funding gap remains
In a wide-ranging interview with PhillyVoice published Wednesday, Watlington said the district is confident it can cover $1 billion of the plan’s cost through its bond borrowing process. The remaining $2 billion would need to come from state funding and philanthropic sources.
“At the end of the day, Philadelphia will have to decide: Do we want to modernize 169 schools or do we want to modernize significantly less than 169 schools?” Watlington said. “Hopefully, elected officials will continue to push and make the case for that.”
District officials plan to use this school year to evaluate some of the plan’s funding shortfalls and fill in finer details. Beyond the closures, the plan also calls for co-locating six schools.
Council opposition and talk of legal action
City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who chairs the Education Committee, has been one of the plan’s most vocal opponents. During the April board meeting, Thomas vowed to “fight until the bitter end” and threatened to cut off sources of district funding to prevent closures.
Last month, Thomas repeated claims that he is considering legal action against the school board and asked members to return to the negotiating table, Chalkbeat reported. Watlington said he remains open to working with council members but that his duty is to carry out the board’s direction.
“I am absolutely committed to staying at the table to keep dialogue open about the way forward,” Watlington said. “As superintendent, I am marching down the road to implement it, but I’m not walking down the road with earplugs in.”
Transition committees open to applicants Sept. 18
The district is setting up School Transition Committees of 20 members each for any school closing or being phased out at the end of the 2026-2027 year, as well as schools receiving displaced students. Applications will be open to parents, students and “community partners” from Monday through Friday, Sept. 18, the district said.
Watlington described the committees as largely self-governing. Members can dedicate as much or as little time as needed to make recommendations about how the plan will affect their communities. The groups will report to the district’s newly formed School Transition Office, which will handle community engagement, project management and information sharing.
“It won’t just be a token, ‘We just brought you here to have one meeting and get the photo op,’” Watlington said. “We’re talking about true, authentic engagement.”
Details about the selection process, what information applicants must provide and how much influence the committees will have over implementation remain unclear. A district representative did not reply to a request for comment.