Resolution 121006

..Title Calling on the City Council Committee on Education to hold hearings concerning the planned closure of approximately forty public schools and the impact that said closures will have on students, parents, teachers, principals and members of all school district unions. ..Body WHEREAS, Currently, School District of Philadelphia schools are underutilized, operating below national best practices, at 67% capacity; and WHEREAS, Operating below capacity exudes unnecessary expenditures on the part of the School District of Philadelphia's operating budget; and WHEREAS, By closing said schools, with regards to operating costs, the School District of Philadelphia projects it can save upwards of $30,000,000 annually beginning in Fiscal Year 2014; and WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia projects that each school sold will produce roughly $800,000; and WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia projects that the sale of the forty schools will net approximately $30,000,000; and WHEREAS, While shutting forty schools may result in a reduction in the annual operating budget by $30,000,000, there is no guarantee that the sale of the schools will occur immediately, nor simultaneously, and therefore, the projected net gain of $30,000,000 resulting from the sale of the schools may not benefit the School District of Philadelphia as readily as projected; and WHEREAS, The proposed amount of schools to be closed equates to nearly 20% of the total amount of schools operated by the School District of Philadelphia; and WHEREAS, There are approximately 146,000 students enrolled in schools operated by the School District of Philadelphia; and WHEREAS, There are over 20,000 individuals employed by the School District of Philadelphia; and WHEREAS, Closing forty schools will impact thousands of employees, including, but not limited to, teachers, principals and members of other school district unions; and WHEREAS, Closing forty schools will impact tens of thousands of students, their parents and their families; now therefore, be it, RESOLVED, THAT THE PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL, Calls on the City Council Committee on Education to hold hearings concerning the planned closure of approximately forty public schools and the impact that said closures will have on students, parents, teachers, principals and members of all school district unions. ..End