Fears on school closings
Closing William Penn High and shifting some of its students to nearby Benjamin Franklin High could result in bloody turf warfare, city residents warned the School Reform Commission yesterday during a meeting to discuss the closure plan.
Closing William Penn High and shifting some of its students to nearby Benjamin Franklin High could result in bloody turf warfare, city residents warned the School Reform Commission yesterday during a meeting to discuss the closure plan.
Opponents of closing William Penn, at Broad and Master streets, and Gillespie Middle, at 18th and Pike streets, also complained that the buildings could become havens for drugs and other vice if shuttered.
"If y'all close this school, some of these kids will drop out because they can't go to school. . . . Sometimes they can't go two blocks," Sylvia Simms said in support of William Penn.
Her nephew, Simms told the commission, was killed in neighborhood violence two weeks ago.
Said state Rep. W. Curtis Thomas: "The district must present the public with a plan to tell the uses of the William Penn High School building to ensure that future use of the building will help the community thrive, rather than create a neighborhood eyesore."
Thomas, who represents the school's North Philadelphia community, also complained that the nearest schools that William Penn and Gillespie students would transfer to are no better academically, and that the district has done a poor job communicating about the schools' fates.
He asked the commission to table plans to close William Penn until it has "thoroughly considered all options." Those options, he said, include converting the school to grades kindergarten through 12th, turning it into a charter or magnet school and teaming the school with Temple University.
Maria Pitre, district chief academic officer, said that there is no evidence that turf trouble could erupt.
"Of course we're going to take it under advisement and really investigate and look student by student," she said. "Because the numbers [of students affected] are so small we can do that and really look at neighborhoods."
Michael Masch, district chief business officer, said that the district would ensure that the buildings would be secure if they close.
School district officials have recommended that the commission shut Gillespie on June 30 and William Penn on June 30, 2010, because of shrinking enrollment and poor academic performance, the district said. William Penn's building also needs costly repairs, including a heating and cooling system that would cost $5 million, according to district officials.
Gillespie, which opened in 1927, has fewer than 200 students in a building that can hold 1,232 students. William Penn's current building opened in 1974 with a capacity of 2,423. Today, the school has fewer than 600 students, district officials said.
The school originally opened in a different location 99 years ago, according to supporters at yesterday's meeting.
Commission Chairwoman Sandra Dungee Glenn said that votes on whether to close the schools would take place June 17. In the interim, members of the public can call 215-400-4040 to find out how to send their comments to the district's Office of Communications. *
