WHEREAS, On November 17, 2020, the University of Pennsylvania announced that it will donate one hundred million dollars to the School District of Philadelphia over the next ten years; and
WHEREAS, This contribution is the single largest private donation to the School District ever; and
WHEREAS, The funds will be used for a variety of urgent needs in Philadelphia’s school system including the remediation of environmental hazards such as asbestos and updating buildings and facilities for a safer and more modern learning space for our students; and
WHEREAS, Distributed as ten million dollars annually, the funds will greatly accelerate the ongoing efforts of the City of Philadelphia and the School District of Philadelphia to remedy environmental hazards in schools; and
WHEREAS,
Mayor Kenney, Superintendent Hite, and the Board of Education have embarked on aggressive environmental remediation efforts in School District buildings. The School District currently has an estimated $4.5 billion in unmet capital needs; and
WHEREAS, While since 2018, the School District has fully stabilized lead paint in 54 elementary schools, completed work to certify an additional 25 schools as Lead Safe, and invested more than $23 million to complete asbestos-related projects, more work remains; and
WHEREAS, The District announced in November 2019 an Environmental Safety Improvement Plan that outlined new safety and inspection measures. The District approved $41 million in January 2020 for asbestos testing, abatement, project management, and other remediation resources. The gift from the University of Pennsylvania will allow these remediations to move at a much faster pace than was previously possible; and
WHEREAS, The spirit of the University of Pennsylvania’s generosity in this donation is captured by the words of its President Amy Gutmann, who stated, “Philadelphia is our home. Education is at the very heart of all that we do at Penn, and we will continue to ensure that we are doing all that we can to support the success of public education in Philadelphia. Our schoolchildren and teachers deserve no less”; and
WHEREAS, The City Council commends the University of Pennsylvania in helping the School District of Philadelphia tackle this pressing issue and hopes that more partnerships to better our school system can be developed with the private sector and large non-profits in Philadelphia; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City Council of Philadelphia, Hereby
honors and expresses gratitude to the University of Pennsylvania for pledging one hundred million dollars to the School District of Philadelphia over the next decade.
End