PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia School Board turned down four applications for new charter schools Thursday night, including the proposed Global Leadership Academy International Charter High School.
One day after the African American Charter School Coalition accused the board of being biased against Black charters, state Sen. Anthony Williams appeared before the mostly Black school board to advocate for a Global Leadership High School.
“We all can have a bias,” Williams said. “So somebody from the same ethnic group can in fact be biased and racist. So when we approach this conversation, the delivery of education across Philadelphia is not equitable. It’s not even. It’s not provided the same way for everyone.”
Williams argued he was speaking for the Black and Caribbean community in Southwest Philadelphia.
“If you’re going to do what’s in the best interests of these children, then you have to get on the ground to understand what the community desires to have happen,” he added.
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Board President Reginald Streater responded that there’s a difference between the perception of racism and actual racist intentions — and that someone alleging racism should be sure of the difference.
“I think if you’re going to call someone to sound like a racist, you’d better be sure about that,” said Streater. “Whether you feel that there’s a disparate impact versus whether someone’s intentionality is racist, I think those are two completely different things.”
The school board has not approved any new charter schools since the return to local control nearly five years ago.