PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia School Board adopted a budget Thursday night that will make major classroom cuts, drying up some long-term red ink. Meanwhile, City Council members are continuing to fight the district’s facilities plan.
The school board signed off on a $4.6 billion budget for next year that includes $225 million in classroom cuts. Schools will lose teachers, counselors and climate staff as the district reduces expenses to address its $300 million structural deficit.
Teachers and counselors would be reassigned to other schools to fill vacancies, and class sizes would likely rise.
Superintendent Tony Watlington said the cuts are due to underfunding.
“While I’m agnostic to how we get the dollars, I do want to note that we desperately need additional revenue,” he said.
Board member Joyce Wilkerson blamed the chronic underfunding on Harrisburg.
“A lot of these decisions are not decisions we would want to make ordinarily. For me, it highlights a statewide failure and a federal failure,” she said.
Watlington has said the teacher reassignments wouldn’t happen if City Council passes the mayor’s proposed rideshare tax as a source of revenue, but many members are still seething over the school board’s vote last month to close 17 schools.
At a rally before the board meeting, City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier said the district ignored community input.
“When a school didn’t fit their stated criteria, they just invented a new reason to close it. The fix was always in,” she said.
She called on the six school board members who voted for the facilities plan to resign.
“Council is going to take a thorough look on how we get a school board that is responsible and accountable.”
City Council members continue fighting district’s plan to close 17 schools
City Council members continue fighting district’s plan to close 17 schools
