WHEREAS, The Greater Philadelphia region has nearly 100 colleges and universities creating a diverse and rich talent pool; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia is one of the largest college and university cities in the United States, with over 120,000 college and university students enrolled within the City limits and nearly 300,000 in the metropolitan area; and
WHEREAS, With over 140 campuses throughout the region, total employment in the region's higher education sector was over 70,000 paying $6.36 billion in wages and salaries; and
WHEREAS, According to Select Greater Philadelphia, Greater Philadelphia's colleges and universities also spent $1.23 billion in research activities, employing researchers and lab assistants and fueling the commercialization of ideas to accelerate new company formation and job growth; and
WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia is the eighth largest school district in the nation with over 154,482 students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grades and alternative education programs; and
WHEREAS, With the newly proposed spending plan for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the School District of Philadelphia is facing a $629 million dollar deficit in funding; and
WHEREAS, Many higher education institutions provide financial support, program collaboration, volunteers and many hours of service to School District of Philadelphia schools; and
WHEREAS, Services, financial support, program collaborations and volunteer hours rendered to the School District of Philadelphia from institutions of higher learning in Philadelphia, in kind or otherwise, should be compiled and analyzed to determine opportunities for growth and expansion to assist with budget shortfalls; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
, That we hereby authorize the Committee on Education to hold hearings to gather and investigate an inventory of all services rendered by institutions of higher education in Philadelphia to the School District of Philadelphia.
End