Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker<\/a> on Wednesday morning made her best case for public schools, urging a skeptical City Council to rally behind her proposed rideshare tax<\/a> and to understand why some schools must close. <\/p>\n The extraordinary, 75-minute speech came after several City Council members threatened to hold up Philadelphia School District funding<\/a> if the board continues with plans to close certain schools, including Lankenau High School.<\/a><\/p>\n In surrounding suburban counties, and elsewhere in Pennsylvania, Parker noted, if school systems need money to fix buildings, buy books or hire teachers, their boards raise the money themselves. In Philadelphia, the school board lacks that option.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s this legislative body, not that school board, that has the power to generate the revenue that the School District of Philadelphia<\/a> needs,\u201d Parker said. \u201cWe\u2019re not like the other school districts in our region. We have to work together in order to get it done, and I want us to figure out a way to get to yes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Why City Council is threatening to block Mayor Cherelle Parker\u2019s \u2018Uber tax\u2019 if it doesn\u2019t get its way on school closures<\/a><\/p>\n The state contributes about half of the district\u2019s funding. But a landmark 2023 Commonwealth Court decision<\/a> certified that Pennsylvania fails to meet its obligation to fund low-wealth districts like Philadelphia, which is underfunded by more than $1 billion annually, according to a state analysis.<\/p>\n Council members have made clear that though the district is insisting the rideshare tax and Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr.\u2019s $3 billion facilities plan \u2014 which would close 17 schools and modernize 169 \u2014 are unrelated, separating them is impossible<\/a>.<\/p>\n Though closings are painful, Parker said, they are a must. And if Philadelphia wants to get more funding from the state, she said, the city must show that it\u2019s made tough decisions and has put up extra funding, too.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. President, I know we\u2019re not trying to build the education system for the past \u2014 we\u2019re working on our children\u2019s future,\u201d the mayor said, speaking to City Council President Kenyatta Johnson<\/a> at the district\u2019s annual budget hearing. \u201cRight now, we are maintaining square footage as it crumbles, instead of investing in opportunities our students actually need. Yes, this means making difficult but responsible decisions and that\u2019s what the district has worked through.\u201d<\/p>\n In the past, Parker said, when the district faced financial crises, the city has stepped up with new, recurring revenue.<\/p>\n As the district faces a $300 million structural deficit and classroom cuts that would mean the loss of 340 teachers, counselors, and climate staff,<\/a> it\u2019s time to step up again, Parker said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis legislative body and the executive branch, we have always risen to the occasion,\u201d Parker said.<\/p>\n The mayor ended her speech by calling each Council member by name.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t do it without you,\u201d Parker said. \u201cHumbly, humbly, I say to each of you, I\u2019m asking you, whatever meetings need to take place, one-on-one conversations…everybody acknowledges that we can\u2019t keep doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome and expecting them to respond when they ask us, \u2018Are we willing to do the hard work?\u2019 I want to work with each of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, City Council asked Watlington and school board president Reginald Streater pointed questions.<\/p>\n Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. said he willingly took public hits for voting to raise taxes in the past when the district needed them. And he acknowledged the district\u2019s academics are improving, and that the facilities plan does some good, like moving the Workshop School into Overbrook<\/a> High, Jones\u2019 alma mater, to boost utilization at Overbrook.<\/p>\n But, he said, the lack of willingness to work with Council on things like keeping open Lankenau, which sits in his district, makes him wonder.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to continue my track record of being supportive of you and in public education,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBut it\u2019s difficult for me to knock on the door and say, \u2018Oh, by the way, I\u2019m raising your taxes and I\u2019m closing your kids\u2019 school.\u2019 Make that make sense for me.\u201d<\/p>\n This is a developing story and will be updated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min Mayor Cherelle L. 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