10 schools spared in revised closing list
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
10 schools spared in revised closing list
Kristen Graham
Ten schools would be spared closures or program mergers if new recommendations issued this morning by Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. are adopted.
The 10 — Meade, Cooke, Duckrey, Morris, McCloskey, Lankenau, Gompers, Overbrook Elementary, McMichael, Strawberry Mansion High — came off the closing, merger or program list. AMY at James Martin, which was to move into the Penn Treaty School, will now remain in its current building and expand.
Two closures were added: M.H. Stanton and Beeber Middle.
Overall, there will be 29 building closures, down from the 37 originally proposed.
Other changes include: Vaux High, which would have closed but re-opened as new K-8 schools, will close outright. The district's military academies, at Leeds and Elverson, were slated to merge but move to the closing Roosevelt Middle School. Now they will merge at Elverson.
The changes came after Hite and his staff listened to over 4,000 people give impassioned pleas to spare various Philadelphia School District buildings that were on the initial closing list, which was released in December.
Community members also submitted 38 formal alternative proposals, some of which factored into the revised recommendations.
All of the changes will be voted on by the School Reform Commission on March 7 except the two new closures, Beeber and M.H. Stanton. Those will be voted on at a later date.
In an interview last week, Hite said changes were coming, and that they were not just "for change's sake. There are better recommendations that have come."
In a statement released Tuesday, Hite said that he was grateful for the community's input. “Although I wish we could have avoided closing any school, I do believe that the amended recommendations address the concerns from many parents, students and residents," Hite said. "I hope that we can move forward in minimizing disruption for our students and providing better options for families.”
Hite, in an interview, said the closings would save about $24 million eventually, though not in the first year. Initially the district had projected about $28 million in savings.
"We would have to look for those savings in other areas," Hite said. "We are in the process of doing that now."
The neighborhood most impacted by the changes in North Philadelphia. Strawberry Mansion High, which was to close, will now stay open - with plans for expansion and new programs, including a "middle college" program like the one in place in the Prince George's County, Md. system where Hite was previously schools chief.
Several North Philadelphia schools on the list have also been spared: Meade, Duckrey, and Morris, though M.H. Stanton will now close.
We are exchanging strong PUBLIC buildings for the Chartered back room of the corner store.— Cuddles- This comment has been deleted. — CrashTestDems42
- Wake up CrashTest. You live in a diverse country.
You idea of a WHITES ONLY America is as dead as Jim Crow.— daxtremesolja - This comment has been deleted. — Damassa43
- When a Black doctor moved to your neighborhood you immediatelly sold your house relatively cheap to a Black trashman (as no Whites wanted to move anywhere near a BLACK doctor). Upon seeing this your neighbors sold their houses to any Black who could pay enough money for a down payment in the Suburbs (Suburbs that would not sell to Blacks). Along with a concept called "Redlining" this is what gave us the North Phillies, the Harlems and the Watts that you so fear.
Meanwhile everyone forgot to put Benjamin Banaker, The Real McCoy and Vivian Thomas in the history books.
Now you think you are superior as more and more of our doctors, nurses, engineers and spelling bee champions are born overseas and your only solution is to move further and further away from civilization, cursing the very government that created it.
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"They will never admit it"...Alistair Cooke, 1972.— Cuddles - We are destroying our
PUBLIC Health
PUBLIC Education
PUBLIC Transportation
Even Big Bird's PUBLIC Television
Because we don't know how to deal with the 10% (as much as 50% before Ellis Island) of our population that built the very fondation for our....
PUBLIC Health
PUBLIC Education
PUBLIC Transportation
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Interesting that the Red State/Blue State divide, east of the Mississippi, is basically the same as the North/South divide of the Civil War. We literally are willing to throw away the greatest nation in world history (and then further divide into smaller ethnic groups ala Europe) because after 200 years we still haven't figured out how to deal with Benjamin Banaker.
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Thanks "Damassa" (The Master???) for that insight.— Cuddles - I pay taxes on investments each year to the City of Philadelphia for "school taxes." How can I make sure that MY TAX DOLLARS go to SDP public schools and not charter schools? Yes we should focus on tax deadbeats but I don't want my taxes to go to Kenny Gamble, Walter Palmer, a relgious based charter or anyone else I don't know of. — Filly5
- This comment has been deleted. — Damassa43
- "They will never admit it"....Alistair Cooke, 1972
"They will never admit it"...The Mafia, 1922
"They will never admit it"...Jack The Ripper, 1888— Cuddles - Wake up people. This is not an issue about race. This is an issue about the flagrant abuse of the public trust by the laundry list of School District Officials. It's been going on for years and has been going downhill fast. By the time Arleen Ackerman blew into town the snowball was a rolling fast down the hill and gaining momentum. Ackerman's spendthrift policies and Masch's mismanagement of funds just contributed to the defecit and dug a hole too deep to get out of. Look people, The School District is NOT about kids; or education. The School District of Philadelphia has an annual yearly budget of between Two and Three Billion Dollars. Much of that is discretionary spending that gets laundered by outside vendor contracts. This makes the climate very very ripe for all kinds of KICKBACKS. This is the business of the School District. Does anybody remember the Pentagon procurement tales of $400 hammers and $200 toilet seats from the 1980's? That is nothing compared to the excesses at the School District. Education is definitely a back burner issue. It's not about race either. It's Politics, Greed and lots of Cash.
— DarnelX - Nailed it. — pachysandra
- No it's not about Race. Urban and Rural districts are struggling academically and financially not just across Pennsylvania but across America as well. It is not about Race.
Race, though, is why 70% of the people vote.
"Budget"? "Deficit"? (Nationally) No one cared until a Black guy was in charge.— Cuddles - I still can't believe they are closing Germantown High.— everydayguy
- i can't believe they aren't closing strawberry mansion. what a bunch of cowards!— pointguard
- Don't worry pointguard. This is a victory for charter thieves (I mean operators). With less schools to take over, this will bring down the number of projected indictments and convictions of charter operators over the next several years. Do not be swayed by another national report on charters showing that once a charter performs poorly (and look at that staggering number in Philly) they almost never improve. Are you going to June Brown's sentencing hearing as a character witness? — mick-of-the-moment
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
