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Council members threaten 'civil disobedience' to stop school closure vote

The Philadelphia school board plans to vote Thursday afternoon on a facilities plan that includes closing 17 public schools. Lawmakers and advocates are encouraging community members to protest.

City Councilmember Nina Ahmad (center, in pink) speaks at a rally Thursday urging the school board to halt closing some of 17 schools on its closure list.
City Councilmember Nina Ahmad (center, in pink) speaks at a rally Thursday urging the school board to halt closing some of 17 schools on its closure list. Read more
Kristen A. Graham / Staff
What you need to know

  1. The Philadelphia school board is poised to vote Thursday on a sweeping facilities plan that would include closing 17 schools.

  2. City Council members successfully pressured the board to delay the vote last week. Now, they are threatening further action and urging community members to use civil disobedience to stop the vote.

  3. Here's what to know about the facilities plan, which also includes $3 billion in upgrades for 169 school buildings over the next several years.

  4. The school board meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

Council increases pressure with resolution that would explore adding financial oversight for school district

City Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. on Thursday introduced legislation that would allow lawmakers to hold hearings about the creation of an “independent fiscal oversight agency” that would annually audit the Philadelphia School District budget.

The proposal marks yet another escalation in the fight over the Philadelphia school board’s facilities plan, which would close 17 school buildings and renovate 169 more. Council members in recent weeks have urged the board to delay a vote on the plan, currently scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m., and to modify it to save certain schools favored by lawmakers.

If approved, Jones’ proposed resolution would not directly lead to the creation of a new oversight agency. Instead, it would merely allow the Committee of the Whole, which includes all 17 Council members, to hold hearings exploring that possibility. Council members often hold informational hearings to kick the tires on new ideas or to build support for proposals that don’t have yet have majority support.

School district tightens security ahead of contentious vote

Philadelphia school officials tightened security measures at the Constance E. Clayton Education Center, its North Broad Street headquarters, ahead of a vote on a $3 billion school facilities plan.

New security screening stations will be set up outside the second-floor auditorium where the meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., Craig Johnson, the district’s school-safety chief, said in an email sent to employees who work at headquarters. Anyone who enters the auditorium — including district employees — will be required to go through security screening.

Access to the area around the auditorium will also be restricted for part of the day.

City Council tells community members to use 'civil disobedience' to shut down school board vote

A majority of Philadelphia City Council threatened to shut down Thursday’s scheduled school board vote to close 17 schools, encouraging civil disobedience if changes aren’t made to Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr.’s facilities plan.

In an extraordinary muscle flex, 10 City Council members threatened a broad range of actions at a morning news conference outside Paul Robeson High School — from lawsuits and injunctions to vowing to block the reappointment of any school board member who votes for the plan.

“If you take the vote today, you’re not voting for a facilities plan, because we’re telling you it ain’t gonna happen,” said City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, chair of Council’s education committee. “All you’re doing is voting against children. We dare you to vote against children in the city of Philadelphia, and watch what we do. This is a legacy moment.”

Council members said they were negotiating ‘around-the-clock’ to save some schools from closure

The school board on Thursday is scheduled to cast the most consequential vote it’s taken since the Philadelphia School District returned to local control in 2018.

It will consider Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr.’s $3 billion facilities plan to close 17 schools, co-locate six, and modernize 169.

The stakes are incredibly high: Some city and state lawmakers are still negotiating to save some schools from closure, saying the plan disproportionately hurts Black communities. And they’re threatening to hold up funding if certain schools — including Lankenau and Robeson — don’t come off the closure list.