PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia Board of Education is scheduled to vote Thursday on the district’s master facilities plan, which includes the closure of 17 schools. City Council members and other lawmakers who put pressure on the board to delay the vote are continuing their push to keep schools open.
A large group of elected officials — including 10 of 17 City Council members — gathered Thursday morning outside Paul Robeson High School in University City, one of the schools on the district’s chopping block.
Councilmember Isaiah Thomas called on students to email and DM board members directly and tell them to vote “no” on the plan. Thomas had his own message for the board: “If you vote for this plan, you will not be a school board member to see this plan go into place. That’s where we’re at with it!
“There will be consequences. It will cost you your seat on the school board.”
Thomas said they would sue if they had to.
“All you’re doing is voting against children,” he said, “so just like we’re saying — we dare you, we dare you.”
In a letter to the school board, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier and several colleagues said, “Closing Paul Robeson would mean there is no longer a public high school in the heart of University City, where students have unparalleled access to some of the world’s best STEM institutions. To the local community, Paul Robeson is more than a school – it’s one of the few remaining institutional footholds for the Black community in University City.”
“It’s about saving one of the most successful and important high schools in, not just West Philadelphia, but our entire city,” Gauthier said at a rally at Roxborough’s Lankenau High last week.
The district is looking to redirect the resources it has and address schools that are underutilized or overcrowded. In the proposal, six schools, including Robeson and Lankenau, would merge with other schools. Many buildings would also be modernized. The 10-year plan has a $3 billion price tag.
Those fighting to keep Robeson open say it’s been a success — it has a 96% graduation rate.
The possibility of a closure has been rough for Catina Hopson and her ninth-grade daughter. If the plan goes forward, Robeson would close in the 2027-2028 school year, when Hopson’s daughter will be a junior. She would have to start over in an unfamiliar place.
“Our children are stressed out over this closure. Just hearing about it, I’m stressed out. My voice is crackling. This is our community,” she said. “It’s really hurtful that they could close the school in the middle of the children’s academic year. They need the school.”
Superintendent Tony Watlington released what he called the “final, final” version of the plan on April 20. The school board was slated to vote on the proposal three days later, but it was delayed a week as City Council members and other lawmakers criticized the process as being rushed.
In a statement, School Board President Reginald Streater said, “For years, this Board has sounded the alarm about long-standing underfunding and structural budget challenges. We remain firmly grounded in our core principles and our shared mission to educate all students. We will continue to make decisions centered on protecting, strengthening, and expanding educational opportunities and meaningful outcomes.”
Thursday’s meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m.
