{"id":58033,"date":"2025-12-11T04:01:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T04:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/58033\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T04:01:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T04:01:13","slug":"judges-ruling-questions-philadelphia-school-board-members-standing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/58033\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge\u2019s ruling questions Philadelphia school board member\u2019s standing"},"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 Philadelphia judge has stated that a longtime member of the city Board of Education is not actually a \u201cde facto\u201d member. <\/p>\n

On Monday, Judge Christopher Hall of the Court of Common Pleas granted an injunction to two charter schools that prohibits the school board from moving forward with a process that could lead those schools to close. <\/p>\n

The two charter schools, People for People Charter School and KIPP North Philadelphia, have gone to court to stop that nonrenewal process. In the initial September lawsuit, People for People alleged that Joyce Wilkerson is an \u201cillegally and unlawfully seated\u201d board member, because she was not confirmed by the City Council in January before taking her seat on the board. The school also claims Wilkerson \u201ccorrupted\u201d the board\u2019s vote to start the nonrenewal process. <\/p>\n

In the footnotes of his ruling granting the injunction, Hall wrote that Wilkerson \u201cwas not a de facto member of the Board of Education\u201d when the board voted to start the nonrenewal process for the two schools. He also wrote that Wilkerson\u2019s participation in several board meetings without being properly confirmed, along with her decision to be the first board member to make a motion to vote on commencing nonrenewal for the charters, likely \u201ctainted\u201d the board\u2019s August vote. Seven board members voted for nonrenewal.<\/p>\n

Hall\u2019s comments have the potential to destabilize the city school board and could raise questions about Wilkerson\u2019s votes since the board\u2019s term began in 2024. They also breathe new life into a fight<\/a> from Mayor Cherelle Parker\u2019s first months in office, when some City Council members opposed Parker\u2019s nomination of Wilkerson to serve on the board again, due to concerns that she was unfairly critical of charter schools<\/a>. <\/p>\n

We’re here to help.<\/p>\n

Every day, Chalkbeat Philadelphia reporters are answering your questions, following the money, and digging into what’s happening in the city’s public schools. Keep up with our free newsletter, delivered every Wednesday and Friday morning.<\/p>\n

In a show of political force, Parker asked Wilkerson to continue to serve on the board \u2014 without a vote by the City Council to approve Wilkerson\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n

A fixture in Philadelphia education for many years and a former president of the school board, Wilkerson was appointed to the board by former mayor Jim Kenney in 2018 and confirmed by the City Council in 2020<\/a>. She also served on the School Reform Commission that previously governed city public schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In footnotes accompanying Monday\u2019s preliminary injunction, Hall characterized Wilkerson as the \u201cringleader\u201d of the vote to start the nonrenewal process for the two charters \u2014 though multiple board members asserted she played no role in influencing their votes, according to court transcripts.<\/p>\n

During one court hearing on Nov. 12, Hall acknowledged that \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of political haze in the case.\u201d But ultimately, he said the key issue is whether Wilkerson was authorized to sit as a board member and, if she wasn\u2019t, whether her participation had any impact on other board members\u2019 votes to issue notices of nonrenewal.<\/p>\n

Hall\u2019s injunction does not state how or whether he will ultimately rule on Wilkerson\u2019s position on the board. The order does state the injunction \u201cdoes not bar the board from independently acting.\u201d <\/p>\n

People for People\u2019s lawyer, Mark Seiberling, said in a statement that the school was pleased with Hall\u2019s ruling. \u201cWe look forward to Ms. Wilkerson\u2019s replacement being nominated and confirmed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Parker\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment about Hall\u2019s Monday injunction. In the case before the Court of Common Pleas, the city submitted a brief saying that Wilkerson is a \u201clegally proper\u201d seated board member. It argues that Wilkerson\u2019s position is valid because of legal precedent that has allowed officials to remain as holdovers in their positions after their term has expired until a successor replaces them.<\/p>\n

Board of Education President Reginald Streater said in a statement Wednesday that the board\u2019s vote to begin the process of nonrenewal for the two charters was based \u201con the merits of each Board Member\u2019s independent assessment of the schools\u2019 outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He signaled in his statement that the judge\u2019s focus on Wilkerson\u2019s status on the board makes it appear that \u201cthe underlying issues\u201d with the schools\u2019 academic performance are \u201cbeing overshadowed\u201d by politics.<\/p>\n

Streater also said any delay in the process for deciding whether People for People and KIPP North Philadelphia will close would impede the board\u2019s ability to conduct public hearings and address ongoing concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur schools, families, and children deserve resolution,\u201d said Streater. \u201cWe remain committed to transparency and to continuing this work in the best interest of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The school district can appeal Hall\u2019s Monday decision. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Jan. 8. <\/p>\n

Dispute over board member\u2019s standing highlights charter controversies<\/p>\n

The district and board\u2019s process for overseeing and evaluating charters has been a point of contention for years and is currently under review<\/a>. For example, the board has dealt with allegations it has been systematically unfair to charters with Black leaders. An investigation by an outside firm found the board had not shown intentional bias against Black-led charters<\/a>, but did recommend that the district review its policies and pursue a more transparent process. <\/p>\n

People for People launched the case against Wilkerson and the Board of Education in September, shortly after the board\u2019s decision to move forward with non-renewing the school\u2019s charter. KIPP North Philadelphia joined the case in October. <\/p>\n

People for People\u2019s annual charter evaluation report<\/a> shows the school \u2014 which has operated for over 20 years \u2014 did not meet the district\u2019s academic standards for student proficiency across multiple subject areas for several years. <\/p>\n

The evaluation of KIPP North Philadelphia, which opened in 2018, shows it also had poor academic performance along with a high suspension rate<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Despite these concerns, the district\u2019s Charter School office recommended five-year renewals, with conditions, for both schools. But board members were not convinced.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter more than two decades in question and operation, there\u2019s still no evidence of sustained academic success,\u201d Streater said of People for People at its June board meeting<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, KIPP North Philadelphia\u2019s high student suspension rate worried Board Vice President Sarah-Ashley Andrews: \u201cWhen this many students are being removed from their classroom, something deeper is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a Nov. 12 court hearing on the case brought by the two charter schools, lawyers for the charters questioned board members about how the non-renewal process works and whether Wilkerson had influence over their decisions.<\/p>\n

But all of the three board members who testified \u2014 Streater, Wilkerson, and Whitney Jones \u2014 said they had not spoken to each other privately about the nonrenewal outside of public board meetings or executive sessions. \u201cThere\u2019s no trying to compel anybody to do anything,\u201d Streater said.<\/p>\n

KIPP Philadelphia CEO Natalie Wiltshire told Chalkbeat on Wednesday that as the former board president, Wilkerson\u2019s \u201cvoice carries outsize weight on that board.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wiltshire said board members did not reach out to her for clarifying information or to ask any questions about the school prior to their vote. <\/p>\n

\u201cNone of these board members have stepped foot in my school,\u201d Wiltshire said.<\/p>\n

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

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter to keep up with news on the city\u2019s public school system.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[31811,31810,539,28,69,71,70,7625],"class_list":{"0":"post-58033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-courtesy-of-council-of-the-great-city-schools","9":"tag-joyce-wilkerson","10":"tag-pa","11":"tag-pennsylvania","12":"tag-philadelphia","13":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","14":"tag-philadelphia-news","15":"tag-philly"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}