{"id":34484,"date":"2025-11-14T21:12:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/34484\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T21:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:12:10","slug":"philadelphia-councilmember-backs-sale-of-vacant-school-building-to-charter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/34484\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia councilmember backs sale of vacant school building to charter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter<\/a> to keep up with news on the city\u2019s public school system.<\/p>\n

A member of the Philadelphia City Council and leaders of West Oak Lane Charter School have quietly discussed a plan for the charter school to acquire the vacant Ada H. H. Lewis Middle School building.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have had conversations with leadership from West Oak Lane Charter School, who have expressed their interest in acquiring the property,\u201d Councilmember Cindy Bass \u2014 whose district includes Germantown, where the school is located \u2014 told Chalkbeat in a statement Thursday. \u201cMany community members have voiced support for returning the site to educational use. While the final decision rests with the School District, I am supportive of that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

But any sale of the Lewis building to a charter school would need the school district\u2019s approval \u2014 as Bass acknowledged \u2014 and a school board vote. There\u2019s no sign that board members would approve any such sale. <\/p>\n

The district is undergoing a long-term planning process<\/a> to take stock of its buildings and consider school closures, co-locations, and renovations. It intends to submit recommendations to the school board this winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Board of Education has not been involved in any discussions about the potential sale of the Ada Lewis building, nor have we received any recent proposals regarding a sale or transfer,\u201d said Imahni Moise, a spokesperson for the school board, in a statement. \u201cAll decisions about District-owned facilities will be made through our ongoing comprehensive facilities planning process, which is still underway.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The crumbling building that once housed the school has gained renewed attention in recent weeks<\/a> after police found 23-year-old Mount Airy woman Kada Scott\u2019s<\/a> body buried in the woods behind the building. Lewis closed in 2008<\/a> but the district still owns the building and is tasked with inspecting it. Neighbors and Germantown community members say the building and surrounding grounds have attracted graffiti, squatting, and other criminal activity.<\/p>\n

Bass has publicly called for the school district to demolish the building<\/a>, saying \u201cthe risks posed by this abandoned building are no longer hypothetical. They are real and they are unfolding in front of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2020, developer Ken Weinstein proposed clearing the Lewis campus to build homes and negotiated a letter of intent with the school district to do so. Despite his proposal receiving \u201cnear unanimous consent from the community,\u201d according to Weinstein, the proposal was quietly tabled at a May 2021 school board meeting and hasn\u2019t been taken up again.<\/p>\n

Some community members claim<\/a> Bass stood in the way of that sale, but the councilwoman has repeatedly denied doing so. She wrote an op-ed for the Chestnut Hill Local this month<\/a> appearing to connect Weinstein\u2019s plan with gentrification efforts in the Germantown community.<\/p>\n

Debbera Peoples-Lee, chief executive officer of West Oak Lane Charter School, told Chalkbeat in an email that the school has \u201cexpressed interest\u201d in acquiring the Ada Lewis building. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ada Lewis site represents an unparalleled opportunity for WOLCS to expand its mission and meet both student and community needs,\u201d Lee wrote in an email.<\/p>\n

As the school district considers closing more buildings \u2014 it already has 20 vacant properties in its portfolio \u2014 Weinstein said in an interview this week that he hopes the Lewis sale goes through. But he said he\u2019s skeptical that a charter school would be able to raise the more than $87 million he estimates it would take to renovate the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care who redevelops or reinvests in that blighted site, it just needs to be done,\u201d Weinstein said. <\/p>\n

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n