Black-led charter leaders demand that Philly schools release the results of their investigation into bias

Black charter school leaders and lawmakers demanded Thursday that the Philadelphia School District release findings of an investigation into bias against their schools — pointing to a lack of consequences for alleged lottery tampering at a charter school with white leadership as proof of an unjust system.

The claims that Franklin Towne Charter High School manipulated its lottery this year to exclude certain students and zip codes — as revealed in an Inquirer report last month — angered charter leaders and supporters who have previously accused the district of treating minority-led schools more harshly.

The School District has said it’s investigating the Franklin Towne incident, but has not announced any action.

“That charter should be revoked today,” said State Sen. Anthony Williams, a Philadelphia Democrat and longtime charter backer, who didn’t name Franklin Towne but referred to the allegations during a news conference organized by the African American Charter School Coalition outside school district headquarters.

Franklin Towne, whose former CEO resigned in February, has said it is investigating and recently moved to join a citywide lottery system next year.

Williams — who spoke along with members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus — suggested withholding funding from the district until it released results of the investigation, which was commissioned by the school board in 2021, into allegations from Black charter leaders that they had been treated unfairly by the district, with their schools disproportionately targeted for closure.

School board president Reginald Streater said Thursday that the investigation — being conducted by the Ballard Spahr law firm — is still ongoing. He said he did not know when it would be complete, but that its report would be made public when it is.

“The board didn’t have to investigate; the board raised its hand,” Streater said. It did so because “there is no secret society of people trying to close only Black charter schools.”

Of Franklin Towne, Streater said that state law limits when districts can take action against charter schools: essentially, only when they’re up for charter renewals.

Charter schools have “a contract,” Streater said. “We can’t just go willy-nilly snatching people’s contracts.”

Members of the charter coalition have objected to the board’s moves to close charters with Black leaders or that primarily serve students of color, including Southwest Leadership Academy and Memphis Street Academy, before any findings from the investigation are issued.

They also said it was wrong for the board to deny applications for Global Leadership Academy International Charter High School — a proposed charter with Black leadership — and two charters proposed by ASPIRA, a Hispanic nonprofit, which recently lost control of two schools due to concerns about their academic, financial, and operational health.

Dawn Chavous, spokesperson for the charter coalition, said the group was “grateful” that board member Lisa Salley had publicly called the district’s charter evaluation process biased — a comment she made last week while disagreeing with other members who voted against the Global Leadership Academy high school application.

Chavous said the district had not approved a new charter school with minority leadership since 2010. “Why is that the case?” she said Thursday.

Charter schools serve about 65,000, or one-third of, Philadelphia public school students. The school board has not authorized any new charters since the district, previously controlled by the state-appointed School Reform Commission, returned to local control in 2018.

Naomi Johnson-Booker, CEO of Global Leadership Academy Charter School, who was part of the group applying for the Global Leadership high school, said Thursday the board had disrespected her and fellow Black charter leaders.

“We have these rallies. ... They totally ignore us,” said Johnson-Booker, a former district administrator. Noting that the school board commissioned the investigation, she said, “Do you think we’re going to get a fair investigation?”

Some who spoke noted that Franklin Towne, a charter in Northeast Philadelphia that primarily enrolls white students, was accused in 2018 of denying admission to a girl after learning she required special education services, but was renewed by the School District the next year.

Streater said the board is “aghast and very upset” at the Franklin Towne lottery allegations and the suggestion some students have been shut out of educational opportunities because of their race, disciplinary status or other factors.

“All children deserve access to every seat in Philadelphia,” Streater said. Anything else “breaks my heart.”