🦖 Academy museum’s real deficit | Morning Newsletter
And Philly educator sues the district.
The Morning Newsletter
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Happy Halloween eve, Philly. Weather today and tomorrow should be a treat. We’re once again being graced by clear blue skies and highs in the 60s and 70s.
Today, we begin with some accounting. Namely, if money problems were at the root of the Academy of Natural Sciences museum closure, just how bad were they?
And, we’ll cover why Philly public schools are trying to fire the director of social studies curriculum amid concerns about antisemitism in the district.
Plus, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration plans to lease a large piece of city property to her political backers, and more news of the day.
— Laura Benshoff (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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A budget deficit was a driving factor in the abrupt closure of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.
But at a hearing in Philly City Council earlier this week, the Academy board chair and a Drexel University official presented two very different numbers for that shortfall.
The Inquirer has now reviewed financial documents showing that the museum’s deficit in 2025 was just $960,000. One nonprofit expert told The Inquirer that given the institution’s donors and stature in the city, that sum is an amount the Academy could raise “on a Friday afternoon.”
For Drexel’s part, Melissa Richman, the university’s executive director of operations, told Council that the Academy lost far more money last year: $4.4 million. That larger figure encompassed a number of Academy educational and civic programs rather than the operation of the museum’s galleries alone.
It was the loss of those galleries, which generations of Philadelphians visited, that caused tremendous public outcry. The museum’s relatively small operating deficit left Council members openly astonished about the decision to shut its doors.
The Inquirer’s Peter Dobrin and Susan Snyder report.
For most of his 17 years with the Philadelphia School District, Ismael Jimenez rose steadily through the ranks, from social studies teacher to curriculum specialist to social studies curriculum director.
Now, he could become the first district educator to lose their job amid furor directed at Philly public schools over the handling of antisemitism.
The backstory: In 2024, a group calling itself School District of Philadelphia Jewish Family Association began lodging complaints about Jimenez, citing things like his personal social media posts and other concerns. Other groups followed suit, and the district commissioned an outside firm to investigate the possible improprieties.
Fast forward to this month: Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. revealed to a GOP-led U.S. House panel that the district now seeks to fire Jimenez. That panel called Watlington to testify after it accused Philly public schools of teaching students to “hate Israel” and “embrace radical” ideas, allegations that district officials deny.
On Wednesday, Jimenez sued his employer in federal court, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights and accusing the district of “unlawful retaliation.”
Inquirer education reporter Kristen Graham has the full story.
What you should know today
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration plans to lease about 21 acres of city-owned land to a building trades union that donated to her 2023 mayoral campaign for the cool sum of $1 a year.
Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, the man who police say may have killed several women in his Olney home, provided federal prosecutors with information about a child prostitution ring, drug trafficking operations, and an existing fraud case in exchange for a shorter prison sentence, according to newly unsealed documents.
The Philly Sheriff’s Office will fight any attempt to independently audit its finances, a lawyer for the office told a judge during a contempt hearing Thursday.
Staff who provide medical care in Philly jails say they are still short pay months after the contractor they worked for went bankrupt.
Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick filed a lawsuit to try to disqualify Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia from serving on the county election board ahead of a tight race between Fitzpatrick and his Democratic challenger, Bob Harvie.
After rejecting a $1-per-ride rideshare tax last year, Philly City Council is now contemplating a similar fee on driverless rideshare cars and sidewalk delivery robots.
An incident at Silk City Diner went viral after a server there allegedly used a customer’s belongings to clean the table while she was in the restroom with her child, before throwing the items away. The diner said the server was fired.
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday, our forum in which readers ask about the city’s quirks and we report the answers.
This week, we’re bringing back an article from 2023 on the origin of Monument Road in Fairmount Park. A reader asked: So, what was the monument?
While nothing remains of the stone structure today, Monument Road was so named in 1886 after a rough-hewn obelisk that stood on the farm of Judge Richard Peters.
Curiously, why he erected the monument was a mystery even at that time. Read on for why it was also believed to be haunted.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.
🧠 Trivia time
Philadelphia’s own Boyz II Men is putting out a new album, with a pivot to this genre:
A) Electronica
B) Country
C) Gospel
D) Punk
Test your local news expertise and check your answer in our weekly quiz.
What we’re ...
🤙 Dapping. LeBron James has a custom handshake or high-five with almost all of his teammates, sports reporter Alex Coffey writes.
🍕 Following. After a failed sale, Pizza Plus West is back under its original ownership with new pies and wings, per food writer Beatrice Forman.
🪞 Peering through (again). Just like the Portal itself, the fate of the interactive video installation has come full circle this week, writes Inquirer columnist Stephanie Farr. It is NOT leaving the City Hall courtyard after all.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Restaurant chain specializing in fondue.
GLINT TEMPO
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Joanne Walsh, who correctly solved Thursday’s anagram: Martino Cartier. The pink-blazer sporting hairstylist was on the reality show Tabatha’s Salon Takeover. Now, he’s running as a GOP candidate for Gloucester County commissioner.
Photo of the day
It’s looking more and more autumnal out there.
👻 Have a wonderful, safe, and spooky weekend! Thanks for reading.
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