A Philly judge’s ruling in a charter case has called into question Joyce Wilkerson’s seat on the school board
People for People Charter and KIPP North Philadelphia sued the Philadelphia school board over its votes to non-renew the schools.
A judge this week said arguments questioning the legality of Joyce Wilkerson’s seat on the Philadelphia school board had merit, and directed the board to halt non-renewal proceedings for two charter schools.
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher R. Hall granted a preliminary injunction to People for People Charter and KIPP North Philadelphia charter schools Monday, saying that a lawsuit against the school board can continue because lawyers had presented sufficient evidence.
The charters claim that school board member Joyce Wilkerson — who is perceived to be anti-charter schools — tainted the votes against them this year and should not be on the board.
City Council declined to approve Wilkerson last year as a school board member, but Mayor Cherelle L. Parker asked her to serve until she named a replacement.
More than a year later, no replacement for Wilkerson has been named, and she continues to serve. She was, in fact, recently named the country’s top urban educator by the Council for Great City Schools.
People for People’s initial lawsuit complaint filed in September said Wilkerson is an “illegally and unlawfully seated member of the BOE” and that her participation in the non-renewal deliberations tainted and ultimately invalidates them.
The city and the board have said that the city’s Home Rule Charter allows Wilkerson to continue to serve — without Council approval — until a replacement is named.
Reginald Streater, the school board president, said the ruling overshadows the underlying issues.
“The board’s decision to begin the process of nonrenewal was on the merits of each board member’s independent assessment of the schools’ outcomes,” Streater said in a statement. Board members’ concerns were aired publicly over months.
Any delay slows the board’s ability to give the schools full hearings, with testimony and the ability to present evidence, he said.
“Our schools, families, and children deserve resolution,” said Streater. “We remain committed to transparency and to continuing this work in the best interest of the community.”
What’s the court case?
People for People filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court asking the court to oust Wilkerson. KIPP North Philadelphia later joined the case; both were non-renewed in August over sustained poor academics.
(Non-renewal does not equal closure, though it’s the first step on that path. It triggers an extensive non-renewal hearing, after which an officer makes a recommendation, then the board votes again on whether to non-renew the school.)
Lawyers for the charters argued that Wilkerson essentially poisoned the votes, and the judge wrote in his order that there was enough evidence to move forward with the injunction.
“This leaves the question whether Ms. Wilkerson’s participation in the pertinent BOE meetings without color of right tainted its vote [on the charter non-renewals]. Plaintiffs have shown it likely did,” Hall wrote.
Hall’s order means that non-renewal hearings cannot proceed, but the board had not yet scheduled them.
What was Wilkerson’s role on the People for People and KIPP votes?
Wilkerson, Hall noted in his order, “was the first to press” to issue a non-renewal notice to the schools at a June board meeting, and in August called for a vote on the non-renewal notice.
The KIPP North Philadelphia non-renewal vote passed unanimously; board member Whitney Jones was the only vote against the People for People non-renewal.
But Wilkerson, a former school board president and School Reform Commission chair, was not alone in her concerns about the two charter schools.
Board member Cheryl Harper said People for People is “failing our children. How long do we allow them to keep failing our children? I have an issue with these schools not being able to succeed for our children.”
Board vice president Sarah-Ashley Andrews cited issues with KIPP North Philadelphia’s “failure to deliver for our students,” specifically calling out its academics and suspension rates.
Reginald Streater, the board president, called KIPP’s performance “unacceptable.”
What’s next?
The court case will now proceed, and is likely to drag on for months.
But Hall’s legal ruling on Wilkerson’s school board seat could mean open season for other parties that are unhappy with decisions the board has made and willing to challenge those rulings legally.
As to whether Wilkerson will remain on the board, Parker has staunchly stood by her in the past.
When the People for People suit was first filed, a member of her administration said she stood by Wilkerson as “an official member of the Philadelphia Board of Education” who “has the full support of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker.”
What was the reaction?
Mark Seiberling, a lawyer for People for People, said the ruling was an important one.
“We are pleased with Judge Hall’s thoughtful and well-reasoned decision following a lengthy hearing at which multiple witnesses from the School District of Philadelphia were called to testify,” Seiberling said in a statement. “We look forward to Ms. Wilkerson’s replacement being nominated and confirmed in accordance with Philadelphia’s Home Rule Charter.”
City officials had no immediate comment.