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Thursday, February 9, 2012

UPDATE, 1:50 p.m.

Mayor Nutter has formally announced the deal, which will keep 48 schools open on nights and weekends through March 17, allowing all programs currently scheduled to go forward, my colleague Troy Graham (no relation, all you conspiracy theorists) reports. 

The city will contribute $175,000 toward the district's costs for keeping these schools open.

The schools are: Baldi, Comly, Decatur, Disston, Dobson, Edison, H.R. Edmunds, Farrell, Fels, Fitzpatrick, Fox Chase, Anne Frank, Frankford, Greenfield, Hackett, Hancock, Heston, Hill, Holme, W.D. Kelley, LaBrum, Lamberton, Lincoln, Loesche, Longstreth, Thurgood Marshall, Mayfair, McCloskey, Meehan, Moffett, Northeast, Overbrook, Pollock, Rhawnhurst, Roxborough, Saul, Sayre, Shawmont, Solis-Cohen, South Philadelphia, Sullivan, Taggart, University City, Washington, Webster, West Philadelphia (new building), Wister.

UPDATE, 10:30 a.m.

The Mayor will announce the deal to keep city schools open on nights and weekends through the spring at a 12:30 press conference today.

EARLIER

A source said Thursday morning that a deal to keep Philadelphia School District buildings open on nights and weekends through the spring has been hammered out and will be announced by Mayor Nutter sometime later today.

Schools, which were to close one hour earlier during the week and completely on the weekends, will now be open through 9 p.m. weeknights and as needed on weekends through March 17 for city basketball programs and through April for a handful of drama programs.  The closures mainly affected city Department of Recreation programs; the district had said it would save $2.8 million by shutting the buildings down.  Thousands of basketball, drama and dance programs would have been left with no place to finish their long-planned seasons.  What will happen in the long-term is not clear; the deal just gets the programs through their seasons.

The sticking point was the actual cost of keeping the buildings open, the source said.  The city was willing to pay its costs, but felt the $2.8 million figure was inflated.  The actual figure the city will pay is not clear, but the source said the deal was completed last night and the mayor was "hands-on" in closing the deal.

District officials and city officials had acknowledged earlier this week that the city and district were in talks to reach some sort of agreement. Councilman Bobby Henon had posted news that the deal was done earlier this week, but apparently that was a bit premature and more details needed to be finalized. Henon had said schools would still close at 8 p.m.; the final deal has them closing at 9. 

The district still faces a budget gap of somewhere around $30 million it must close by June.

Posted by Kristen Graham @ 8:15 AM  Permalink | 23 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:27 AM, 02/09/2012
    Okay, how much is this going to cost the tax-paying residents of Philadelphia???
    Dadair1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:27 AM, 02/09/2012
    Okay, how much is this going to cost the tax-paying residents of Philadelphia???
    Dadair1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:28 AM, 02/09/2012
    Okay, how much is this going to cost the tax-paying residents of Philadelphia???
    Dadair1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:36 AM, 02/09/2012
    Hey Adair, why don't you go hash it out with Henon.
    Hey Adair, why don't you go hash it out with Henon.
    Hey Adair, why don't you go hash it out with Henon.
    Planet of the lacking analytical skills
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:49 AM, 02/09/2012
    That's surprising Johnny Doc's announcement was premature, he's usually on top of that stuff. I mean, Bobby Henon's announcement. Sorry.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:17 AM, 02/09/2012
    Planet of the lacking analytical skills, he doesn't return calls!!!
    Dadair1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:39 AM, 02/09/2012
    The School District should buck up for some Powerball tickets. Might be their only hope until this city gets serious about things.
    hey buddy
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:04 AM, 02/09/2012
    let's raise property taxes by yet another 10%.

    philadelphia can be the next detroit/camden, with no middle class left to pay the freight, abandoned lots everywhere, and only super-poor and their super-predator kids left to run wild.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:33 AM, 02/09/2012
    o great! save the poor kids from not playing b-ball, but have all the blue collar workers layed off, and on unenployment and food stamps to feed our families good job. henon & nutter
    marko1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:16 PM, 02/09/2012
    this comment really makes no sense, sounds like you lost your job and are still in shock about it.
    discobiscuit
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:41 AM, 02/09/2012
    How about collecting taxes that are already delinquent, selling off PHA property? No need to raise taxes. And as much as I hate them, let the people who run the Parking Authority take over collecting taxes. They seem to know how to get the job done.
    Planet of the lacking analytical skills
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:40 AM, 02/09/2012
    Glad they made a concession for play time but not every school has a police officer.

    Bizz
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:16 PM, 02/09/2012
    why do you need cops in schools?
    discobiscuit


View comments: 1  |  2
About Kristen Graham
Kristen Graham has covered the Philadelphia School District since May 2008. A native Philadelphian – and a graduate of the district and Temple University – she has written about everything from crime and county government to education since joining the Inquirer in 2000. Kristen, who also spent time as an online producer at Philly.com, has won multiple journalism prizes and if asked politely will sing as much of “Hail Northeast,” her high school’s alma mater, as she remembers. She comes from a family of teachers and believes there is no more difficult or important job than that of an educator.

During the school year, you’ll find Kristen chatting live on Philly.com most Mondays at noon or 4 p.m. 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.