Philly’s school board begins process to revoke Franklin Towne High School’s charter

Responding to allegations of lottery manipulation dating back at least four years, the school board on Thursday night began proceedings to revoke a top Northeast Philadelphia school’s charter.

Officials at Franklin Towne Charter High School allegedly rigged its lottery to keep out students from certain zip codes and siblings of some students with academic and behavioral challenges.

And though the school has since made some changes, the Philadelphia School District’s charter office has said Franklin Towne should still be held accountable.

The board agreed, moving to take an action that acting charter chief Peng Chao said was “very rare, not just in Philadelphia, but across the commonwealth.”

After examining a city map that showed 17 zip codes where students were shut out of admission to Franklin Towne, which sits on the Frankford Arsenal campus in Bridesburg, board vice president Mallory Fix-Lopez said a few words came to mind.

“Offensive. Redlining,” Fix-Lopez said, calling out “blatant racist practices that they have been on alert for for quite some time, and just choose to ignore.”

Board member Joyce Wilkerson characterized Franklin Towne’s actions as “egregious, noncompliant practices,” and board member Chau Wing Lam said the alleged manipulation was “analagous to cheating, and it’s illegal.”

Franklin Towne’s longtime chief academic officer told The Inquirer that he witnessed tampering in the school’s January lottery, and an Inquirer analysis found that there was an astronomically small chance — 1 in 1,296 trillion — the school’s lottery results happened naturally.

The school’s demographics do not represent the city’s: 54% of Franklin Towne’s students are white, 23% are Hispanic, 12% Black, 8% multiracial, and 2% Asian. It had been called out by the charter office and former School Reform Commission for admissions issues in the past.

Pennsylvania’s charter law requires that all students receive equal access to the schools, which are run with public funds. Franklin Towne’s alleged manipulation disadvantaged Black students.

» READ MORE: A Philly charter school manipulated its lottery to keep kids out, a top administrator says

Lam asked whether the charter office had investigated the admissions practices of Franklin Towne elementary school, which operates under a separate charter. Chao said it looked at the elementary school and found nothing that would “warrant the level of concern that we have with the high school.”

Several Franklin Towne faculty members asked the board to consider sparing the school.

“We provide a high-quality education to all students regardless of their race,” said Jennifer Clement, assistant principal, who underscored Franklin Towne’s status as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence winner and its high test scores. “Hundreds of Philadelphia families wish for their students to be educated at Franklin Towne.”

Clement and Jonathan Dougherty, Franklin Towne’s principal, said the school’s 1,300 students should not be punished for the actions of those who have since left. (Former chief executive Joseph Venditti, whom whistle-blower Patrick Field said engineered the manipulation, abruptly resigned in February, citing health issues.)

» READ MORE: Franklin Towne students would be ‘collateral damage’ if Philly school board tries to close the charter, some advocates say

Dougherty said the school “is dedicated to the students of Philadelphia. We will work with the School District of Philadelphia to correct any actions deemed necessary.”

Though Dougherty, Clement, and other speakers who defended Franklin Towne said any wrongs were committed by people who no longer work at the school, the board indicated it wanted to probe more.

Given Franklin Towne’s demographics and its prior issues, “if I were walking around that school, I would say, ‘Something is wrong here,’ ” board member Julia Danzy said.

The board ultimately voted 8-1 to begin revocation proceedings. Board member Cecelia Thompson was the lone no vote.

Board member Leticia Egea-Hinton voted yes, but was careful to say she didn’t want to disregard the school’s strong academics.

“It’s not something that I want to throw out the baby with the bath water,” Egea-Hinton said.

The board’s Thursday vote triggers a formal hearing, with evidence and witnesses presented by both Franklin Towne and the district’s charter schools office. A hearing officer will then prepare a report for the school board, which will have to vote a second time on revocation.

The school is in no immediate jeopardy of closing, Chao emphasized that the board’s vote was “the start of a process.”

Even if a hearing officer recommends closure and the board agrees, Franklin Towne could remain open if the school appealed to a state panel and then through the courts, a process that could take years.