The teachers union says it can save all 17 schools the district wants to close, for $25 million in the first year, and it is taking the plan to the school board today.
The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers unveiled its Facilities Action Plan on Wednesday morning at a news conference at the union’s headquarters. PFT President Arthur Steinberg presented a plan to repair the 17 schools rather than shut them, at a first year cost of $25 million, according to the union’s calculation of renovation costs. The union says the work can be done without raising additional funds.
The plan is a direct challenge to the district’s own facilities plan, which the Board of Education approved on April 30. That plan costs $3 billion over 10 years, renovates nearly 170 buildings, and closes 17 schools. The board members who approved it were appointed by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who has previously said she supports the closures but has not been vocal about the issue.
The district pushed back on Wednesday. A district statement said the union’s plan “does not adequately address the fundamental challenges facing our school system: declining enrollment, aging and underutilized buildings, and longstanding inequities in educational opportunities.” District spokesperson Bill Mich said the district shares the union’s commitment to safe, healthy, and modern learning environments, but said the proposal does not adequately address the district’s building challenges, including nearly $300 million in “documented facility deficiencies” at the 17 schools.
Steinberg did not mince words. “We cannot allow [the district] to respond to their own failure by closing schools and abdicating their obligation and responsibility to make all district schools safe and healthy,” he said at the news conference. He called the closures “a pessimistic vision for the School District of Philadelphia’s future, and the city as well.”
For Frankford, the fight is about Harding Middle School. Harding is one of the 17 schools on the closure list. The union’s release included photos from the school, a cracked ceiling and a detached outlet described as a potential electrical hazard in the cafeteria. Under the district’s plan, Harding students would move to Sullivan, Marshall, Lawton, and Carnell schools, and Sullivan would move into the Harding building.
Steinberg said the union plan would give families a reason to stay. “By utilizing our plan right now, it will give families a clear indication that the facilities are going to improve. There’s less reason for them to leave and more hope for them to stay in their neighborhood schools,” he said.
The timing matters for families choosing schools right now. The district’s school selection process, through which families choose schools for next year, ends Nov. 24. Steinberg said he worries many families will opt to leave the district if the closures move forward.
The district has its own money problem. The district lacks the funding to pay for its closure and renovation plan and is banking on raising $2 billion from local, state, and federal sources. State Sen. Vince Hughes, a Philadelphia Democrat, called funding school infrastructure “unfinished business” and a priority in the next legislative session starting in January. Gov. Josh Shapiro floated a $1 billion state program for critical infrastructure in his 2026-27 budget, but it was not included in the final budget Shapiro signed.
The union’s plan covers only the 17 schools set to close. It does not address the more than 200 other buildings the district is responsible for, and the union has promised a second phase covering the remaining schools before the end of the year.
The politics are moving fast. Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier, Rue Landau, and Nina Ahmad attended the union’s news conference on Wednesday without giving remarks. Council members have threatened to sue, pull district funding, or hold hearings, but the board, not Council, decides which schools close. Superintendent Tony Watlington has already begun rolling out transition teams to the closing schools. Steinberg called on the mayor to intervene, saying it would fit her “One Philly, One Future” budget motto.
The union delivers its plan to the school board today, Thursday. Steinberg said he has little faith the board will listen. The story led the Inquirer’s front page this morning.
