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Philadelphia Education Committee Chair Isaiah Thomas says members of City Council are “prepared to sue” if the Board of Education approves the district’s school closure plan — and that they’ve got several state representatives on their side.
“We’re prepared as a legislative body, working with our members in Harrisburg, to do everything in our power to make sure that this plan is not implemented,” Thomas said at a press conference outside of Paul Robeson High School Thursday morning. “We’re not going to let this go.”
The escalation comes just hours before the school board is set to vote on the district’s proposal to close 17 schools beginning in 2027, including Robeson. Superintendent Tony Watlington has said that the plan is necessary to better distribute resources, improve the quality of school buildings, and provide more educational opportunities.
The City Council does not get a vote on the plan. But the 10 members of the City Council and two state representatives outside of Robeson on Thursday said they will fight the closure plan in every way possible.
“We’re prepared to shut that meeting down,” Thomas said. “This is civil disobedience today.”
Thomas said he would work to ensure any board member who votes for the closures is not confirmed to serve another term on the Board of Education. Board members are nominated by the mayor and are supposed to be confirmed by City Council, although one current member, Joyce Wilkerson, was never confirmed by members.
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who initially appeared to support the district’s recent changes to the closure proposal that would funnel more resources to her district, said she strongly opposed the plan to close Robeson and repurpose it for community use.
“We’ve made some progress since this fight began,” said Gauthier, who represents parts of West and Southwest Philly. “But the fact that the district secured the land, the funding, and is even exploring building a new school here, but won’t call it Robeson, is a slap in the face to this community.”
Several City Councilmembers said they also were strongly against the proposal to close Lankenau Environmental Science High School. The district has said it would keep the school’s building for student use, but it would not remain a school. Instead, Lankenau would become an honors program at Saul High School.
Councilmember Curtis Jones said he planned to introduce legislation Thursday related to investigating the school district’s spending.
“You want to talk about savings? We have the savings,” Jones said. “It’s in the house, but they won’t let us come in and audit.”
Rep. Rick Krajewski, a Democrat who represents part of Philadelphia, said he understood some of the district’s money challenges come from years of under-funding from the state. But he said that does not mean closures are the answer. “The call from our students, our neighbors and our teachers is to stand tall and fight back,” Krajewski said.
Board members have not indicated how they will vote on the proposal, but President Reginald Streater has previously said that the district must address its facilities problems. They were initially scheduled to vote last week, but postponed it after intense criticism from the City Council.
Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org.
