PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As students at Philadelphia's Building 21 returned to their school today, City Council got an update on the district's asbestos troubles. Six schools have been closed during this academic year because of the discovery of damaged asbestos in buildings, and students at three of them are still displaced.
During its annual budget hearing before City Council, the School District of Philadelphia's deputy chief of operations, Oz Hill, said students with special needs may return to Frankford High School by May 10. However, he said, the district is still trying to find an alternate site or sites for the remainder of Frankford’s 900-member student body.
A work plan may be developed by the end of this week for abatement at Mitchell Elementary in Kingsessing, Hill said. And, he said, lab testing at C.W. Henry Elementary in Mt. Airy may help the district determine a return date there.
School Board President Reginald Streater told Council that stepped-up asbestos inspections in city school buildings would continue.
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"Because we have buildings with asbestos, we're going to be on a hamster wheel of inspecting in perpetuity," Streater said.
Superintendent Tony Watlington said the district is also assembling a facilities project team of people from inside and outside the school system to help prioritize its remediation work.
Mayor Kenney is already recommending a city grant for schools above tax revenues.
"Our proposed budget for FY '24 includes a $282 million contribution to the district," Kenney said.
But the school district said it needs more.
"We are calling on you to balance the needs of our students with the needs of residents, and to commit to fully funding our schools by increasing the annual appropriations by $318 million,” said Mallory Fix-Lopez, the School Board’s vice president, addressing Council.
Streater said that $318 million figure wasn't a "pie in the sky" request — that it was estimated by the Public Interest Law Center as necessary to adequately address the district's educational needs.
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