{"id":965402,"date":"2026-07-28T21:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/965402\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T21:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:46:14","slug":"philadelphia-city-council-pushes-back-against-approved-school-closure-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/965402\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia City Council pushes back against approved school closure plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter<\/a> to keep up with the city\u2019s public school system.<\/p>\n

Members of Philadelphia\u2019s City Council say their fight to stop the district\u2019s school closure plan is far from over, and they\u2019re prepared to use several tactics to force changes before closures begin next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to use every tool in our arsenal to make sure that we protect our children,\u201d said Isaiah Thomas, chair of the City Council\u2019s Education Committee, at a press briefing Tuesday. <\/p>\n

The district plans to close 17 schools beginning in the 2027-28 school year<\/a> and reshuffle those students elsewhere under a sweeping facilities plan approved by the Board of Education in April. The plan would also co-locate several schools and upgrade nearly 170 school buildings. <\/p>\n

The facilities plan is meant to ensure students go to class in quality buildings and families can access more opportunities, such as prekindergarten and AP classes. It\u2019s also supposed to help the district adapt to its declining enrollment<\/a>, which has left hundreds of empty seats in several schools.<\/p>\n

The City Council doesn\u2019t have a direct say over the closures, but it does control some district funding. Last school year, several members vehemently opposed the plan, and Thomas called for board members\u2019 resignations<\/a> after they voted to approve it.<\/p>\n

We’re here to help.<\/p>\n

Every day, Chalkbeat Philadelphia reporters are answering your questions, following the money, and digging into what’s happening in the city’s public schools. Keep up with our free newsletter, delivered every Wednesday and Friday morning.<\/p>\n

With the upcoming school year slated to be the last for several schools, council members say they plan to use their power to continue pushing for changes. Some said they were looking to keep Paul Robeson High School and Lankenau Environmental Science High School in particular off the closure list.<\/p>\n

Thomas said he is still considering potential legal action over the closure plan. Councilmember Curtis Jones said he is considering requiring an independent audit of the district\u2019s spending on services such as school lunches.<\/p>\n

School Board President Reginald Streater said in a statement that the board \u201cvalues City Council\u2019s partnership and remains committed to engaging stakeholders throughout the plan\u2019s implementation.\u201d The board will continue to review community feedback about the plan, Streater added.<\/p>\n

The district will work closely with students, families, and staff, as well as elected officials and community members, \u201cto ensure every transition is thoughtful, transparent, and centered on student success,\u201d school district spokesperson Monique Braxton said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The district shared its facilities plan after dozens of community engagement sessions and surveys of residents across the city. The initial proposal included closing 20 schools, but following protests, the district removed three from the list the board approved in April<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is no secret the facilities plan is unpopular,\u201d said Councilmember Nina Ahmad, who has opposed the district\u2019s plan to close Lankenau Environmental Science High School in particular. \u201cIf three can be taken off, then more can be taken off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas said he plans to mobilize Philadelphians to continue their fight against the closures. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to care more about these 17 schools closing than you do about LeBron James coming to Philadelphia,\u201d Thomas said, referencing the recent NBA news that the famed basketball player will join the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>. \u201cThis matters more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter to keep up with the city\u2019s public school system. Members of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":965403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,40980,13239,407,387901,12515,1448,2830,1311,18823,36509,122106,387902,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-965402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america","tag-chalkbeat","tag-city-hall","tag-education","tag-education-committee-chair","tag-isaiah-thomas","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-philly","tag-school-board","tag-school-closure","tag-stop-school-closures","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116999801572065567","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=965402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/965403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=965402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=965402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=965402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}