City officials say they’ll deny Philly’s school funding without a concrete plan on asbestos

Philadelphia’s public schools are crumbling, elected officials said Monday.

And while they want to fight for millions to remove asbestos, lead paint and other hazards, they won’t budge if the Philadelphia School District doesn’t come up with a roadmap for exactly how it would fix its environmental hazards and massive capital needs.

“We’re not going to just give you funding if you’re not going to give us a plan,” City Councilmember Anthony Phillips said at a City Hall news conference Monday.

Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, chair of Council’s education committee, gathered city and state lawmakers and Philadelphia School District union officials to call out the district as two schools remain closed because of damaged asbestos: Building 21, a district high school in West Oak Lane, is shut indefinitely, with students learning virtually; Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter, in Nicetown, could re-open Tuesday. Other district schools have been closed for asbestos over the years, including 12 in the 2019-20 school year.

Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. told parents last week that district officials knew about the damaged asbestos at Building 21 for at least two years, but did nothing about it. The superintendent, who has been on the job less than a year, said he’s demanding answers.

Watlington has also said he does not want to formulate a capital plan until his team finishes its academic plan, expected to be presented in May.

But Thomas and others disagree with that strategy.

“My counter-argument is, well, if you finish the academic plan after the budget is over, and we go to Harrisburg without a facilities plan, we will miss a window that we may never get again,” said Thomas.

School board president Reginald Streater pointed to decades of disinvestment in Philadelphia’s public schools and said “it is imperative that there be a collaborative, methodical, thoughtful and strategic planning process to truly address our collective challenges as a city. I have faith that we can do this by holding ongoing conversations with our city, state and federal partners, universities, employers and all stakeholders who want to solve the city’s intractable problems.”

Streater said the board “has not sat on its hands, but has been good stewards of public funding and has made capital and environmental improvements a priority,” and said the school system needs more resources to get students better buildings.

“The district remains committed to ensuring a Facilities Master Plan is developed in alignment with and in support of the district-wide strategic plan to ensure that schools and buildings best support and reflect the academic needs of our learners,” the school board president said in a statement. “Additionally, we remain committed to continued partnership and engagement to develop a plan that supports the needs of various communities.”

Between a general fund surplus and a healthy rainy-day fund, Pennsylvania is sitting on more than $12 billion, state officials said. Gov. Josh Shapiro recently proposed his first state budget, allocating an additional $567 million in basic education funding — essentially enough for districts to keep up with inflation — with $100 million set aside for fixing school buildings.

When he goes knocking on doors with funding requests, said state Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.), he wants “a plan that backs up the ask.”

State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D., Phila.), parent of two children who attend district schools, said the conditions in which Philadelphia children are now expected to succeed are not realistic.

“They’re surrounded by lead, they’re surrounded by asbestos, they’re surrounded by a ceiling that might collapse on them, and much more,” said Fiedler. “The future of our city will be determined by how much we invest in our schools.”

Fiedler has introduced legislation in Harrisburg that would re-start PlanCon, Pennsylvania’s school-facilities funding program that has not been operational in recent years.

Monday’s news conference underscored Philadelphia’s unique position among Pennsylvania districts: It’s the only school system in the commonwealth that does not control its tax rates; Philadelphia must rely on City Hall and Harrisburg to raise the funds it needs to operate.

Because politicians hold the district’s purse strings, disagreements between school and the city can be consequential.

Thomas said he and other Council members have tried to approach the district privately, asking for answers on the timeline and process around Building 21 and Gratz, to no avail.

When Council got word that the district was contemplating relocating Building 21 students to Strawberry Mansion High School, nearly six miles away, Thomas said, he and others told school officials it was a bad idea. They proceeded anyway, spending money to ready Mansion for Building 21 students. After parents fought back against the move, the district retreated from the plan; the students are now learning virtually.

“We cannot think it’s responsible to randomly spend thousands of dollars every time a report comes back that says, ‘We found asbestos,’” Thomas said.

Calling the district out publicly “is the last resort,” Thomas said. “This is the last resort. This is what we do when we have no other choice.”

Phillips, who represents the district where Building 21 is located, said the school district’s process for closing schools due to asbestos, has been “horrendous.”

The news conference comes against the backdrop of a pending lawsuit: The district is suing the city over a law establishing a panel that would have oversight over environmental conditions inside its schools. School board president Reginald Streater has said the district alone has the authority to determine whether schools can open.

Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, who also said he would not vote to authorize the district’s funding unless a plan were presented, suggested the optics were poor for the city to ask for more oversight and “we get sued, we get taken to court. And all we’re trying to do is fight on behalf of young people that require a quality education.”

Mayor Jim Kenney, who did not attend the news conference, said that “a transparent plan of action is urgently needed to restore trust with school communities and stakeholders.”

“In order to overcome the monumental challenges created by decades of deferred maintenance, the city and school district must collaborate to chart a path forward,” Kenney said in a statement. “By working together, we can build on the city’s historic investments in schools and leverage even more critical support from the state.”