PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New bathrooms, windows and roofs are among the upgrades slated for seven Philadelphia schools, courtesy of a new state grant program.
State Sen. Vincent Hughes announced on Tuesday — at Martha Washington Elementary School in West Philadelphia, where his mother worked for 33 years — that the seven schools would receive funding from the state’s new $175 million Public School Facility Improvement Program.
Washington is getting $1.5 million to renovate most of the school’s 17 lavatories.
“We do have some of our larger bathrooms which are inoperable,” principal Lakeisha Patrick told KYW Newsradio. “This building was built in 1929 and there are renovations that need to take place.”
The seven schools will receive a total of nearly $17 million for building upgrades. In addition to Washington, nearly $9 million will go to Overbrook High School for an auditorium renovation and roof replacement. Blaine Elementary School in Strawberry Mansion is receiving $3 million for window and door replacement. Childs Elementary School in Point Breeze is using $1.2 million for bathroom renovation.
Edison High School in North Philadelphia is receiving nearly $900,000 to replace the ventilation system in the school’s culinary program and the Francis Hopkinson School in Juniata Park and Cayuga Elementary School in Hunting Park are each getting more than $800,000 for new roofs.
In all, $175 million is being allocated statewide for more than 200 school improvement projects.
“We can’t have students, teachers and administrators going into school buildings with leaking roofs, unreliable bathrooms,” Mayor Cherelle Parker said at the announcement. “We want our children to love going to school and not dread walking into the buildings.”
Funding for the Public School Facility Improvement Program was included in the state’s 2024-2025 budget.
State Rep. Jordan Harris, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said he would work to include funding for school facility upgrades in future budgets. “Now it’s time to gear up to get ready for the next budget so that we can ensure that this is not a one-time investment,” he said.