🏫 An endangered school on high alert | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to a warm, sunny Sunday.

In a few months, the Philadelphia School District will approve a plan that officials say will include school closings. Community members of one elementary school are worried it will be targeted for closure — again — due to its poor conditions.

And ahead of its October election, the Fraternal Order of Police is under intense scrutiny as members press leadership for answers over questionable charges and a lack of transparency on profits and expenses. The Inquirer obtained and analyzed hundreds of pages of tax records and audits to shed light on the union’s financial practices.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Some call Sheppard Elementary in West Kensington a miracle. First built in 1897, it has withstood multiple attempts to close its doors.

Now, as Philadelphia’s cash-strapped district weighs its facilities master plan, the community is coping with the growing possibility that Sheppard could land on a school closing list.

🏫 The building is in “unsatisfactory” shape. It lacks air-conditioning, cameras, and a playground. Sheppard was also rated “poor” by the district in its ability to support programs like prekindergarten and spaces for physical education, art, and music.

🏫 Meanwhile, the K-4 school is improving academically. It embraces students and families, and staff stay there for decades. Parents and staff alike consider Sheppard a safe anchor of the community where kids don’t fall through the cracks.

🏫 It’s not the only institution fearing a dead-end fate. Many city public schools in the district are in poor condition. Nearly 70,000 seats are empty. Last year, Sheppard educated 123 students, just 28% of its potential capacity. Still, staff say Sheppard’s small student population is a big part of what makes it shine.

🏫 Notable quote: “Don’t forget us,” said Keely Gray, a Sheppard first-grade teacher, “because we’re not going away.”

Philly schools reporter Kristen Graham has the story.

🎤 I’m passing the mic to investigative reporters Barbara Laker and David Gambacorta.

John McNesby had his audience — dozens of white-haired retired cops and younger officers in light blue uniforms — in the palm of his hand.

As the FOP’s president since 2007, McNesby secured for police officers wage and benefit increases that other city union workers could only envy. He publicly supported many disgraced officers who had been fired; vowed to get them rehired; and, more often than not, succeeded.

He fought police reform efforts, the identification policy, and made the union a political force by endorsing candidates that bolstered his Back the Blue agenda.

It’s a track record that earned him unquestioned loyalty — best illustrated by the fact that he faced no official challenge to his leadership for nearly 15 years.

But McNesby’s once-sacrosanct legacy is now under intense scrutiny from a surprising source: FOP members themselves.

McNesby unexpectedly resigned in 2023 after one of his top officials was accused of swindling a police widow out of more than $20,000. Union members who argue that the FOP has much deeper problems have launched a wave of accusations this year of financial mismanagement as they work to unseat McNesby’s handpicked successor in an October election, which will determine who runs the union’s executive board. — Barbara Laker and David Gambacorta

Dive into this in-depth report exploring the FOP’s documents and how the internal clashes have turned the election ugly.

In HBO’s hit series The Gilded Age, the actor LisaGay Hamilton plays Philadelphia poet, abolitionist, and suffragist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

On what street or avenue is Harper’s historic rowhouse located?

A) Baltimore Avenue

B) Bainbridge Street

C) Broad Street

D) Bustleton Avenue

Think you know? Check your answer.

Hint: The Office Spinoff

HEAT PREP

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Rick Brasch who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: Tommy Miles. “Nephew Tommy” filmed season 10 of OWN’s hit reality dating show Ready to Love in Philly because he always has a good time in the City of Brotherly Love. Here’s how he spends a perfect day here.

A few dozen Shih Tzus and their owners got together Saturday for the first group meetup of Philly-area lovers of the tiny pups. “They’re like joy personified,” said Cheryl Mattis, who drove up from the Baltimore area with her pooch Olivia Benson and her daughter for the occasion. Future gatherings are expected across Philadelphia.

And in other furry news, there’s a new dog on campus at the University of Delaware. Her name is Patti, and comfort is her primary purpose.

🎶 Today’s track goes like this: “You always breathe another air / The rivers in the distance must be leading somewhere.”

One more musical thing: Rocco Notte, Philly musician and songwriter with the New Wave-era rock band the A’s, has died at 72. Notte remained a key player in the local music scene for decades.

👋🏽 Thanks for stopping by this morning. May the rest of your Sunday be splendid.