PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In response to a dozen elected officials, urging the school district to produce a plan for repairing its long-neglected buildings, the Board of Education says they are committed to making sure a facilities master plan is developed, aligned with a separate strategic plan.
In the wake of the closures of Gratz High School and Building 21 over concerns relating to damaged asbestos, state and city elected officials from Philadelphia are sensing an opportunity to move the repair process along, thanks to a large state budget surplus.
“I’m angry. I’m upset,” said City Councilmember Jim Harrity — and tired of waiting for building repairs that have been needed “for decades. They owe our children the money.”
According to a 2017 analysis of school district facilities, deferred maintenance costs come to a total of at least $4.5 billion dollars.
“This is disinvestment in education that happened over decades, but right now we have the opportunity to change it and fix it,” said Councilmember Kendra Brooks. She says the money is finally becoming available.
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Officials say a Commonwealth Court ruling that state spending on education is unconstitutional, combined with an unprecedented $8 billion state budget surplus — plus a sympathetic governor — has created an opportunity to finally address long-overdue repairs, and the school district must be ready to act.
“What happens when the governor says, ‘Okay, you know what, we will give you the billions of dollars you’re asking for to fix the schools. How do you plan on spending it?’ We don’t have a plan and that is our concern,” Councilmember Isaiah Thomas said.
“The money is there,” said Pa. Sen. Vincent Hughes. Having a plan in hand would greatly ease the effort to get the needed funding, he said.
In the event that city schools would be granted money from the state surplus, Philadelphia Board of Education President Reginald Streater says they have a capital plan of projects that addresses existing challenges at school facilities.
In a statement released Monday, Streater said the board committed last year to investing $325 million of federal stimulus funds on major projects, renovations and new construction projects. But he pointed to challenges the district is confronted with.
Streater said the average age of district school buildings is 70 years old; he said 85 district buildings should be considered for renovation and 21 should be considered for closure and replacement.
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The current system of state education funding shortchanges Philadelphia and similar Pennsylvania school districts, and a century of disinvestment has allowed facilities to deteriorate in our most disadvantaged communities, Streater said.
“The Board is reminded every day of the cascading legacy of the underfunding of education in Philadelphia and why it is imperative that there be a collaborative, methodical, thoughtful and strategic planning process to truly address our collective challenges as a city,” he said.
“I submit that the Board has not sat on its hands, but has been good stewards of public funding and has made capital and environmental improvements a priority — and will continue to do so.”