School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington said he is moving forward with the district’s plan to close 17 schools at the end of this academic year, calling it a directive he intends to deliver “on time and on budget.”
The closures are part of a $3 billion, 10-year facilities plan called “Accelerating Opportunity,” which the Board of Education approved in April during a highly contentious meeting. For families across Northeast Philadelphia and the rest of the city, the plan will reshape where thousands of students attend school while promising modernization projects at 169 buildings districtwide.
$2 billion funding gap remains
In a wide-ranging interview with PhillyVoice published Wednesday, Watlington said the district is confident it can cover $1 billion of the plan’s cost through its bond borrowing process. The remaining $2 billion would need to come from state funding and philanthropic sources.
“At the end of the day, Philadelphia will have to decide: Do we want to modernize 169 schools or do we want to modernize significantly less than 169 schools?” Watlington said. “Hopefully, elected officials will continue to push and make the case for that.”…