One additional Philly school is off the closing list, and the school board will vote on facilities plan Thursday
The school board is scheduled to vote on Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr.'s sweeping facilities plan Thursday. One of 18 schools, Ludlow Elementary, has come off the closure list.
Philadelphia’s school board will vote Thursday on the future of its 200 school buildings — including a proposal to close 17 schools.
Some changes have been made to the plan last presented by Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr., officials said at a news conference Monday, including removing one school from the closing list and making additional investments at other buildings.
Ludlow Elementary in North Philadelphia, has been removed from the list of schools slated to close.
The price tag of the plan has increased to $3 billion, up from $2.8 billion. And 169 schools, not 159, will be modernized.
Other changes proposed include transitioning Moffet Elementary to a K-4 — the school is now a K-5, and was set to become a middle school — and sending its students to Ludlow for middle school. And the district plans to retaining the Lankenau High building for use for environmental education for students across the district.
Lankenau High, whose community has mounted a fierce fight to remain open, is still slated for closure, as will Robeson High. But the Robeson building in University City will also stay in district control, with its future use determined after conversations with the community, Watlington said.
“The reason is we cannot drive faster improvement and at the same time support really small high schools,” Watlington said. “It is just, inevitable that we’ve got to reallocate some of our resources.”
Wholesale changes are coming to the Philadelphia School District, with Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. proposing a $2.8 billion facilities plan that includes closing schools.
Watlington presented the plan to the school board Feb. 26 and it has already faced strong opposition. It's not yet final. Here's what we do and don't know.
And to see the proposed list school closures and check how your school could be impacted, use our interactive charts.
Each of the schools proposed for closure has its own story. Find them all here.
Plans to give school buildings to the city are also on hold, the superintendent said, “in order to provide the board with more time to consider legal and policy considerations.”
School board president Reginald Streater told reporters Monday he would call for a vote on the facilities plan at this week’s long-scheduled action meeting, capping months of speculation over when decisions will be made about which city schools will close, which will co-locate, and which will be get updates.
Watlington presented the first iteration of his sweeping facilities blueprint in January, including 20 closures. Two schools — Conwell Middle School and Motivation High — were removed from the list in February.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
