WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia has a 300-building system spread over 140 square miles with an average building age of 73 years; and
WHEREAS, Due to unconstitutionally inadequate funding as determined recently in a landmark ruling the School District has had to make impossible choices between staffing classrooms and ensuring that the classrooms themselves were in working order; and
WHEREAS, As local control of the School District has been returned, and City Council and the Mayor are leading the various agencies and legal bodies responsible for the school district; and
WHEREAS, The City must work to find ways to overhaul the school district’s facilities to avoid losing the progress that has been made in recent years in graduation rates and academics; and
WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia has been diligently developing the first comprehensive facilities plan in more than a decade; and
WHEREAS, The pandemic, changes in neighborhood demographics and numbers of children in different neighborhoods have been changing rapidly; and
WHEREAS, City Council must ensure that City dollars are spent prudently and that neighbors and community groups have a full chance to understand where we’re at and ensure that their voices are heard and their concerns are considered, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Philadelphia City Council Committee of the Whole be authorized to hold hearings to discuss the current state of Philadelphia school facilities, how the School District evaluates those facilities and what the educational facilities need are for the school district today and in the future.
End