The school board has put the first money behind its facilities plan, and City Council is now asking whether the board itself should change.
On Thursday, October 29, the Board of Education voted to authorize up to $200 million for modernization projects at four schools. It is the first concrete spending under the district’s $3 billion, 10 year facilities plan, adopted about six months earlier.
The vote was 6 to 1, according to the Formative Spaces report on the meeting. The four projects are budgeted at $68 million for Bache-Martin Elementary in Fairmount, $48 million for Catharine Elementary in Southwest Philadelphia, $53 million for Patterson Elementary in Southwest Philadelphia, and $12 million for F.S. Edmonds in East Mount Airy. Together that is $181 million in specific project costs within the $200 million authorization.
The board awarded the contract to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, which will oversee requests for proposals, select developers, and manage agreements. Its administrative fees are capped at 1 percent of payments to construction firms, up to $2 million total.
District officials said the renovations will add 700 seats and affect about 2,400 students. The planned work includes new gyms, cafeterias, classrooms, HVAC upgrades, roof and window replacements, restroom renovations, and accessibility improvements.
The renovations are tied directly to the closures. Bache-Martin Elementary will take in students from Robert Morris and Waring elementary schools. Catharine and Patterson are both adding grade levels to accommodate the closure of Tilden Middle School.
Board member Whitney Jones cast the dissenting vote. She also voted against the April master plan, and she cited as a concern the $1.9 billion in state and philanthropic funding that the district has not secured.
Separately, Councilmember Isaiah Thomas introduced a resolution authorizing formal hearings into the school board governance model. The question is whether Philadelphia should shift toward a fully or hybrid elected board. Board members are currently appointed by the mayor and confirmed by Council. No hearing date is scheduled, and no discussion with the mayor has happened yet.
Board President Reginald Streater said, “There was a resolution that was passed that directs all next steps to go through the SDP. So, we have taken the football and have given it back to Dr. Watlington.”
The backdrop has not changed. Seventeen schools close in June, nearly 170 schools are renovated over ten years, and $2 billion in grants is not yet secured. Placement letters have been sent, but many students still do not know their next school.
The board has now spent the first $200 million. Council wants to talk about who gets to make the next decisions.
