Only the Mayor chooses you, only the Mayor could get rid of you, right? So what we are -- we're not insulated from the community and from the people. So we're just asking you to take -- if you're -- it is a partnership -- if this is a true partnership that has been mentioned over and over again today, like it seems like you're not really taking our feedback seriously. That is -- that is what it feels like. And, you know, we just think that there is other ways to go about it when we know you need to right size. And that is -- we understand that completely, but we're just asking to be included in that process as you are right sizing what the district looks like. Because again, we know the communities, we -- they -- those people elect us to represent them. So we have a different understanding of the communities than maybe some of you all have. And we are -- we are just asking to kind of slow this process down to think about the other impacts that it -- that it has. And when it comes to, as I mentioned, just to my district specifically, you know, thank you Ludlow, right? You have listened to the community, understood that Ludlow, you -- if you remove Ludlow, you remove a school from the entire neighborhood. So that neighborhood would have no 17 school, right? So thank you for that. But you're doing that in other places as well, throughout the -- throughout the city. And we're just asking to take that step back to really take a look at what makes sense for the people that are there. We are not -- it doesn't have to make sense for the district; what makes sense for the people, because that is who you serve, right? Ultimately, that is your constituents; the students, the people, the families, right? You mentioned that they families have the opportunity to move. People are going to not choose Fairmount because their school is going to have 900 kids in the elementary school. They're going to not choose that neighborhood. What elementary schools have 900 kids Pre-K-8? Like, that is -- that is a real fact. That is a fact. So just want to put that on a record because like, if it is about community, if we -- if we understand that families have the ability to, you know, vote with their feet, like let us keep them from doing that, but this plan, certain parts of this plan will cause that. And we're asking you to take a step back to understand that and to really analyze, right? Or to really share what went into the sauce to make the plan --
Because again, there is so many contradictions just in the 5th District alone when it comes to some of the ideas and goals of the plan. So I that is it. I don't -- I am done been beating this for the past couple of months.
I want to -- I want to give the superintendent an opportunity.
Thank you, Councilmember Young. Again, I want to be really clear on the record that we are -- we've been listening for a long, long time, and we're going to continue to listen. I do want to just note for a school like Waring, I want to answer that question very factually on the record, because I think the public really needs to know what is -- what we're doing here. Waring is a school that we're not recommending to turn into a merged middle school on that site. There are 10 students in the first grade at Waring. It is not a sound -- there are -- there are -- 15
16 Dr. Watlington, before I cut you 17 off, we know the numbers at Waring. 18 That is not what we're saying. We 19 know that Waring is a underutilized 20 school. We get that. What I am 21 saying is that we can merge the 22 schools that -- the lines are 23 merging anyway; the catchments lines are emerging. So Waring students are going to go to Bache-Martin, what I am saying is create a separate elementary school K-5 and then a separate middle school where Waring is so that community can have a separate elementary school and a separate middle school, right? Because you -- we are already changing Waring into a middle school for a Masterman. That is a part of your plan. So we know the building can be a middle school. Why can't it be a middle school for that community?
Hey, Dr. Watlington, before you respond to that, let me take a step back to my 5/20 request with Board President Streater.
Let me give you a good example of why we need the delay this vote. Member Young is a very intelligent member of City Council. We -- as we've heard multiple times here today, right? And so Member Young clearly doesn't know -- he is not a member of the Education Committee -- that you all have a philosophy of moving away from the middle school model. Just listening to the example he gave, he doesn't know that. These are the type of conversations that we need to take the time to have so that you and Member Young can brainstorm, Okay, if we are going to move away from the middle school model and we don't like the recommendation that is on the board right now, how can we come together with the district council person, state legislator, community, and school leaders to figure out what is the best mechanism based on the foundation you have.
But Member Thomas, they're turning that building into a middle school.
The irony that is stark, but go ahead, Dr. Watlington.
Based on demand, but the demand in that community, specifically when you have Bache-Martin that is -- you're going to have 900 kids. The demand for that community for a school is there. The demand for a public traditional catchment school in that neighborhood is there. So that you could put Masterman on Mars and the demand that is going to be there.
No, it is not, Mr. Chairman -- Councilmember Young. That is patently not true. There are not kids in the 1st 8 grade, nine in the 3rd grade, 19 in 9 the 8th grade. 10
The demand to turn that into a neighborhood middle school is, from my review of the data, it is not there. Councilmember Young --
What -- where what community? We had to tell -- we had a meeting. We had community members there. That was a great idea to those members of that community because --
-- it keeps their community -- it keeps the class sizes and their elementary school smaller and gives them the still ability to have a neighborhood middle school where those middle schoolers can thrive and have their own space.
Dr. Watlington, have you and Colonel Hill and your team met with Member Young as it relates to these concerns?
Because I don't see how we resolve this right now. And we have a lot of people in the general public.
Just because I want to make sure we take the homework away --
I just wanted to be able to put that on the record. We're not going to be able to resolve that right now, right? I understand that, but I just wanted to put that on a record for people in those communities who've -- and I want to thank your team. Thank that came out to this -- to community meeting --
-- to hear, to talk to us about, you know, what that merger looks like and what that, you know, the facilities plan as it relates to Fairmount in Francisville and Spring Garden, what that looks like. But it doesn't get to the fact -- it doesn't answer those concerns that those people have where there's going to be 900 kids from Pre-K-8 and one -- on one block.
We've made a note -- we've made a note. May I just ask one question? Because I want to make sure that in the spirit of listening that we take the appropriate feedback. Councilmember Young --
And then -- and then after this we have to move on to public comment.
10 seconds. Councilmember Young, we are using Strawberry Mansion as a professional learning center. We've figured out different uses. Are you saying to me that you would like me to recommend a close Strawberry Mansion High School?
-- saying what -- I'm not saying you -- I'm not recommending the closure of any school. Like that is, that is your job and it is our job to have to figure out if we're going to support that or not. What I'm saying is that based on your own, I guess, numbers on what you decide to do and how would you decide to use to close a school, right? That fits the criteria. So we're just trying to figure out why do some schools fit the criteria and others don't. I think that is what we're trying to figure out. But if you want to get to that point where, you know, that is the -- it is a -- it is a, it is a school that is underutilized, severely underutilized, right? So what goes into making that decision to close one severely underutilized school, but not another severely underutilized schools? That is the question that we're trying to get to.
Trying to get me on a record to say closed sharp mansion. Like how dare you, man? Like, that is crazy.
Superintendent, what I -- what I think should happen, and I got my dates wrong, I kept saying 5/20. The date is actually 5/28. I think what we -- I think the exchange between you and Member Young just kind of shows the entire city that we're just not ready for this yet. I listened to the Mayor talk about the importance of us having a united front. So when we go to Harrisburg, we have every tool that is possible. You might have heard of a lot of emotion and a lot of frustration today, but -- and let me just ask this one last question. If we are to adopt the plan and we see the reduction in staff, there is one thing that I didn't get on the record and I know this is important. The climate staff that work in the school district right now, if they were to see a reduction in their hours, they would go from full-time to part-time and they would lose their benefits. I'm talking about the UNITE HERE folks. Is that true? Would UNITE HERE people use their -- lose their benefits?
I am not aware of any plans on the table for people to lose benefits. I think --
Can we -- can we -- can we get that back as a part of the -- as a part of our follow up when we do -- when you guys get -- answer the questions in writing?
-- the UNITE HERE workers, the people who work in our schools, what happens with their full-time, parttime benefits and things like that. But again, these are dynamics that just say we just need a little more time to cross some T's, dot some I's, modify a few things and put us in a position to be able to have something that we're all comfortable with instead of us saying, they did that, not us. That is no good. Thank you all for being here.
We truly appreciate it. Very quickly, Councilmember Ahmad.
Very quickly, I didn't get it in last time. Thank you again, all of you. I got some information and we're talking about efficiencies and carving out money here, there, and everywhere. That the Office of School Safety is currently spending over $8 million on new uniforms for the SSOs, and also that money has been allocated to re-brand district vehicles. Is that correct? And do we have other $8 million tucked away within our school district budget that would really help alleviate many of the problems we're talking about?
Thank you very much. Would -- I challenge the $8 million as a result of the most recent collective bargaining agreement, we have increased the allocation of tans and shirts for our school safety officers and for their protection --
Colonel Hill, collective bargaining agreement with who?
That is the collective bargaining agreement with the -- with SPAP?
-- Officers Association. Additionally for their wellbeing, we have also provided them with vest as a result of the hazards that they have -- that they face in their duties. I am absolutely certain that those expenditures do not amount to $8 million.
This was just -- this was reported to me, that is why I'm asking.
And I would like to verification of this; money spent on reforms --
-- and he district council vehicles. Last question, did all the board members visit the schools, and 8 now 18 schools, that are being 9 impacted by this? 10
11 Board President, do you know the 12 answer if all of the board members 13 visited the schools, that is 14 impacted? 15
20 Okay. So Board President, will you let us know whether or not things -- will you give us an update? Can that be one of the questions --
What I can say is the Board of Education sojourn to visit all of our schools, understanding that we're volunteers and there are so many schools in the school district and charter schools. I will -- I believe they've been to some, but I can't answer that question right now. But we do visit --
Would like to get an to see if you have visited the schools you're impacting.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all for being here today. I want to swiftly move into public comment because the constituents of Philadelphia have been waiting patiently. Hopefully there is representation from the admin as well as the school district who are going to sit here and listen to public comment. With that being said, Mr. Clerk, would you please call the first person for public comment?
Arthur Steinberg, Jerrett Johnson, Kimberly Nelson. Nefertiti Rainer.
Colleagues, I apologize for rushing you through, but we have over 40 people who signed up for public comment, and we want to make sure that we try to hear from as many people as possible. Mr. Steinberg, thank you for the work that you do, sir. Please state your name for the record and you may begin with your testimony. Before Mr. Steinberg begins, excuse me. Can we get everybody quiet please?
Okay. Thank you, Chair Thomas. Good afternoon to you and the members of the Committee of the Whole. As you stated, my name is Arthur Steinberg. I'm the president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which represents more than 14,000 educators in the -- who work in the School District of Philadelphia. I want to thank this body for once again holding the district accountable on its plan to close 14 schools and massively disrupt school 15 communities across the city by 16 moving, merging, and co-locating 17 dozens of school programs. It is shocking, frankly, that the disrespect the district has shown to us throughout this process, on too many occasions that -- today been shown to you, one of their primary funders. We have put up with that throughout this process trying to obtain information and data and it was kind of surprising to see you treated the same way. The Board of Education, as you all have stated so far, must not vote on the Facilities Master Plan until the district clearly shows really what Councilmember Young was just asking for; how they arrived at decisions about the fates of individual schools that have failed to do so since publicizing the plan in January. Let us see if they're sufficiently motivated to do so by Thursday, May 23rd -- May 28th, if in fact they move it there. Your activism on behalf of school communities you represent helps save the Motivation High School in the 3rd Council District, Ludlow Elementary School in the 5th Council District, and Conwell Middle Magnus School in the 7th Council District. There are more schools targeted for closure for reasons that are totally obscure to those of us outside of 440 North Broad. The district can and must do far better in earning community buy-in and trust before the board holds a vote. Educators and students and communities need to know what conditions they'll be working, learning, and in -- so they can plan accordingly. For our members not having any reliable way to know where they'll be working with two or three -- within two or three years creates anxiety and stress, which they can easily escape by moving to another school system right outside the city. Because for the first time in decades, the suburbs are experiencing that shortage as well. In addition to that, this will then accelerate the departure of many of the students from the schools, which will in turn create a loss of funding. As you might recall from our union's recent contract campaign, and I'm going to get into shameless plug here, we were able to win historic raises and benefits, including paid parental leave and accelerating the ability of educators to move up the pay scale so that we can remain competitive without -- with the -- with our suburban counterparts. And we were able to do this without having to walk off the job for a couple reasons. Number one, we really did not want to impose a hardship on the community and the district then recognized the worth of our people, and they realized that -- damn well that our folks would work out if they didn't accommodate us. It is -- the City of Philadelphia cannot afford to make more missteps to drive educators and families outside the city. It is going to be difficult for us to mobilize educators at Lankenau, AMY Northwest, Parkway Northwest, Waring, and I can go on and on, to lift a finger to secure the badly needed funding from this general assembly and this Council when the district gives no justification for closing in the unique and precious learning environment they've built. Elementary school students shouldn't have to protest for lack of working toilets in their school or come to City Council to beg for plumbing to be fixed. Some of you were there in solidarity. I don't want to mention your names because I'm afraid I'll miss a few and I don't want to insult anybody.
If the district truly cared about community buy-in to its facilities plan, they would demonstrate their ability to make those urgent repairs and provide the relevant information on school closures. Now, please force them, continue to force them to show their work, disclose the why behind their proposals, and establish detailed timelines of what will be done to each affected school, and when. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Truly appreciate you, sir. I'm sure members don't have questions for Mr. Steinberg. Great. Thank you, sir. We appreciate you.
I'm sorry and I apologize for not framing this. But moving forward, when you come up to testify, you have to start by stating your name for the public record. After you state your name, you may begin with your testimony. When you hear the bell, that means we're asking you to begin to wrap your testimony up and summarize it. When you hear the second bell, that means that your time is up. Okay. You may proceed. I'm sorry. John. Please state your name for the record. Are you okay?
Okay. Go ahead. Please state your name for the record and you may begin your testimony.
Okay. Hello everyone. My name is Nefititi Rainer. Thank you for the opportunity to come up here after long, what, seven hours that we've all been here. So basically, I had a written testimony, but we've been here too long, so I'm going to try to keep it short and sweet. Basically, the problem that I see with the school district is that we don't have enough proper data analysis. It is kind of just surface level. We saying that people are graduating on time and we have less people dropping out, but that is actually not a 100 accurate. It is taking people longer to actually graduate on time. The numbers don't add up. Still one out of four children do not graduate when they're supposed to. As you can see, the children come up and they're saying that they're not -- they don't have public -- they don't have proper resources in their schools to actually feel comfortable. And this actually affects their mental health, their emotional health and how they function in schools. And I'm not far from this; I'm only years old. I graduated 8 class of 2020, so I've seen all of 9 this firsthand, experienced it, went 10 to school with bars on the windows, 11 dirty bathrooms, and all of that. 12 So it just shows how inadequate the 13 schools are and people have to 14 practically beg for hours and hours. 15 We can't come to a 16 resolution and people do not have 17 trust. The school district -- the 18 school board is being honest, but it 19 is no transparency. You're not 20 being honest about the details. We 21 need way more stuff for the 22 children, the schools, even the 23 teachers to properly teach the kids 24 of the community. Is that it?
Thank you for your testimony. And I apologize. I apologize as well. Okay.
Good afternoon. My name is Kimberly Nelson, and this is my daughter, Kennedy Nelson. I'm here to this morning -- this afternoon about the conditions of the schools that have been ignored for decades for ADA accessibility. Tier one is one of the -- tier one for special education, they receive $28,200 -- $28,200 per year for a child. A child with a disability or special needs -- FEMALE VOICE: -- per child.
They -- per child. They receive $56,400 per year per special Ed child. Tier III, they receive $85,000 and up per child. In September of 2025, my daughter was strong and healthy to go to our neighborhood catchment school, and that is Overbrook High School. My daughter passed out a few weeks ago because of the conditions of the school; the classroom was hot. She was put into the hospital because she was dehydrated and she was -- she can't use the bathroom. The bathroom is not a ADA accessible. It doesn't have any railings. It sits 15 inches from the floor. The bathroom still does not work. Inside of the learning class, the life support skill class, all of the cabinets inside of the kitchen where the deplorable and they were all falling apart inside of -- okay. All right. I just want -- the ADA accessibility inside of our schools are not in compliance. And I have put in several and sent out emails to several entities inside of our city. And it is unfair that I have to worry about my child being safe inside of a school that does not have the necessary needs to be able to educate her. And for the amount of money that they receive from our children, it is not acceptable. We should have better choice. Yes.
I want to say thank you because honestly, I'm looking around, I don't have any staff here, but if I can get one of my colleagues at large to volunteer to get staff -- this sister has been coming down to City Council saying this for some time. This isn't her first time down here. This isn't her first time testifying. It is not the first time hearing stories about her daughter and she has been polite and respectful in her advocacy and she's seen no change. I don't have staff here right now, but can we -- thank you, Councilmember Brooks. Can we connect with them -- with the sister so we can do something about this?
Ma'am, thank you for waiting six hours to come tell your story again, and I'm sorry for what you had to experience as well too. Thank you. All right. Next person, Mr. Clerk.
Thank you. Anne Dorn, Sabrina Rung, Amy Szymanski and Brianna Blackwood. Anne Dorn, Sabrina Rung, Amy Szymanski, and Brianna Blackwood.
Please state your name for the -- for the record and you may begin with your testimony.
My name is Anne Dorn. I'm a member of PCAC, the advisory council that talks to stakeholders all over the city, finds out what is important to people and then tries to put together some advice for the board. And the first thing I wanted to talk about today, President Johnson actually already brought it up, about how -- there was an article in the Inquirer September 16th, about how the district has a budget for 16 plumbers, but only eight on staff. 17 And again, this was an 18 article that appeared last 19 September. The same issue was 20 brought up today. Deputy 21 Superintendent Hill had a lot of 22 things to explain about how they're patching the broken plumbing, but these plumbers have still not been hired. And I think this really points to a larger issue with the district. There are a lot of -- there have been a lot of questions today about why is the school selection process not going well? And the person who designed the school selection process was let go two years ago. But the school selection process itself is still here. And I think this is a really a pattern with the district that when a mistake is made, a person may be held responsible, but the mistake is never fixed. And that prevents mistakes from getting fixed because nobody can ever admit that anything is wrong, because rather than fixing what is wrong, a person is blamed; a person is let go. So I would just really ask if we want to do better with plumbing or absolutely anything else, we just need a system where people who make mistakes are allowed to fix them.
Thank you for your testimony and thank you for your patience. Please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony.
Good afternoon, Council President Johnson, and members of City Council. My name is Brianna Blackwood and I'm a first year SSC, Student Success Coach, with City of Philadelphia. Serving at Finletter Elementary School at Councilmember Phillips' District. Today I serve with City Year because it has been meaningful -- it has been a meaningful part of my life for as long as I can remember. In middle school, I had a SSC, Ms. Jordan, who inspired me to push myself and believe in my potential. It motivated me to pursue this role so I can provide the same to encourage others. We at City Year SSC serve across 11 partner schools in Philadelphia, 12 working alongside teachers to support students academically and emotionally. At Finletter and all our partner schools, we provide targeted instructions, individualized support, and consistent progress monitoring. We also help build a positive school climate by forming strong relationships and supporting students' emotional growth. Each SSC has a focus list of 18 students who we support in small groups; individual, academic, and mentoring sessions. And that is just one part of our service year. We also support whole classrooms, contribute to school-wide attendance, and cultural initiatives and help run afterschool programs, giving students a safe structured space to learn and connect. We motivate students by setting clear goals, celebrating small wins, and making sure every student feels seen, heard, and capable of success. I'm proud to share that I'll be returning for a second year of service with City Year.
Thank you. And thank you to the folks at City Year for your service. One of my favorite special education teachers, please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony.
My name is Amy Szymanski. I am from Lankenau Environmental Science High School. I'm here speaking today on behalf of the students and parents of Lankenau High School who can't continue to leave class and leave work to speak on behalf of their school closing. I understand the advocacy that you've all done already, so I know I'm here preaching to the choir. But I do want to highlight that the most current reiteration of the plan keeps the school building open while still disrupting the education of the students who are there. The consistency that is required for students with autism and students with visual impairments will be disrupted while the school building is used for -- as an environmental science education hub for other students around the school district. While our current incoming -- our current 9th graders, our current 10th graders, and our incoming 8th graders, going to be 9th graders next year, will not be able to finish their high school career at the same school with the same level of safety and trust and consistency. That has already been established. So like everybody else, I'm hoping that they do not vote tomorrow and they continue to redraft the plan. Thank you.
Come back real quick, I'm sorry. You come on back. Please Come on back. Mr. Clerk, while I'm asking this question, can you call the next group of people to come on up. While these folks are coming up, I got a question for you.
You-all start making your way up. Question for you, and I just want the other members of Council to hear this because this is really important. How many special -- what percentage of the population at Lankenau are actually special needs children?
And 15 that is important, colleagues; 24 16 percent of the students at Lankenau 17 are special needs. And colleagues, 18 look, when we say special needs, 19 we're not talking about like just an 20 IEP, right? Can you give us an 21 example of some of the special needs 22 children you deal with? 23
About 10 24 years ago, Lankenau was designed to be the receiving school from students from Overbook Elementary -- Overbrook Education Center, I'm sorry -- in order to make sure that there was a seamless transition for students that had co-disability of intellectual disability and visual impairment and/or blindness. So those students are a large percentage of our special education population.
So tell them what type of needs are we talking about? Blind, what else?
Blind students with intellectual disability, that is your typical student who would be in a life skill support class. Similar to what the family of that mom was just talking about, I think they left.
I just wanted my colleagues to know. Thank you. We appreciate it. Please state your name for the record and you may begin with your testimony.
Should I go first? Hi. My name is Lily with Lift Every Voice Philly. I'll be reading testimony on behalf of Julie Krug, who -- a parent member, who could not stay as it got later. “My name is Julie Krug and I live in the 2nd District. I'm here today to speak on behalf of the education budget. I'm speaking as a member of Lift Every Voice Philly, a Black led parent membership organization. Currently we have members representing 18 schools across the city. I want to first thank City Council for all of your work standing up for Philly students, and also share that LEV supports delaying the vote on the school facilities plan this Thursday. Right now we are here speaking about the dreams and nightmares budget facing us and calling on you to step up. Every person on this Council has an opportunity to be a hero by protecting the children and workers in our school. We cannot accept a city with the largest fund balance in a generation while our schools face a $300 million deficit. In just a number of weeks, my daughter will be graduating. When I was a first-time kindergarten parent in 2013, our schools faced awful budget cuts. My daughter's school at the time had overcrowded classrooms and no aides. Across the river, a child who had attended a school without a nurse died after suffering an asthma attack. That was the result of the disinvestment. How could our city have let that happen? Now it is happening again. My daughter's school was devastated last year after losing three teachers. The school currently has two beloved building subs. At my son's high school this year, staff worked together to provide fights on least two occasions. Those critical moments of deescalation don't happen without enough adults in the building. We are asking you to use every tool at your disposal to reach 70 million -- $75 million to fully protect our school-based staff. While the Mayor's proposed 50 million is a welcome step, it is not enough. It leaves more than 200 positions still at risk and schools facing real disruption. Our kids cannot afford another cycle of cuts. They need to know that the adults in the city will provide for them first.” Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record and you may begin with your testimony.
My name is Ben Scheinfeld and I live in the 3rd District. I'm here today as a member of Lift Every Voice Philly. We're a black led, parent membership organization, united across class, race and neighborhoods to demand action on our schools. I want to recognize the Council for making our wellness policy a reality and their support with that. Right now, we're speaking on that $300 million funding void that is looming for our schools this season. It is indefensible to let this nightmare loom while the city sits on the largest fund balance in the generation. I have a first grader at Lea, a K-8 school in West Philly. I feel incredibly fortunate that he can walk to school with his neighborhood and be part of a community that has endured for over a century. To send your child to school is an act of trust. To some extent, you're putting your trust in the institution, the facilities, the curriculum. Really though, you're putting your trust in the people who make up your school; teachers, counselors, facilities and climate staff who take care of our kids every day. At Lea, we have Ms. C. She is one of hundreds of climate staffers who are members of UNITE HERE, Local 634 and at risk of being torn away from their school communities. On paper, she is responsible for something like lunchroom management. In practice, she manages many different responsibilities every day on top of the truly critical work of getting dozens of high energy kids to actually eat lunch in a confined space. That is impressive, but that is not what makes trust or the lunchroom work. What makes it work is hearing Ms. C describe your kids' behavior, emotions, and even their eyelashes, realizing that she hasn't just learned their names, but reads their faces. Whole lunchrooms of individual kids that she truly knows. Support when they need -- boundaries when they need. Trust that makes schools work is being able to tell your tiny 6-year-old, "If you need help, find Ms. C. I trust her, and she'll have your back." There are hundreds of Ms. Cs across the district who need your action now. Often they have years of service at their schools. They make up the bedrock of trust in public education. They cannot be cut or shuffled around without eroding Philly parents' confidence that our schools can work. The Mayor's 50 million proposal is a welcome step forward, it still leaves more than 200 positions at risk. Our proposed $75 million investment would protect more than 500 essential staff members, including building subs, climate staff, and teachers --
Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to summarize because I want everybody to get an opportunity.
All right, last sentence. This is a legacy moment as you mentioned. Continue to reverse precedent. Keep rebuilding trust in schools, starting with funding these positions.
Thank you for your testimony. Thank you for your patience too. And please know your voice matters. We appreciate it. If you could call the next set of folks to testify, then you can go if that is okay.
Marissa Amos, Nikia Rosado, Eden MacDougall, David Alexander Jenkins.
Please state your name for the record. You may begin with your testimony.
My name is Judy Robbins with Lift Every Voice Philly. I am reading on behalf of our parent member Marissa Amos, who could not stay as well as many of our parent members who had to leave today. LEV also supports delaying the vote at the district. “My name is Marissa Amos, and I live in District 4, Councilman Jones' District. My child is a third grader at Powel Elementary. I'm speaking as a member of Lift Every Voice, a Black led parent membership organization. We are united across class, race and neighborhoods to demand urgent action in our schools. We see it as our duty as parents, as voters, and community leaders to push for systems' change by leading together. Currently, we have members representing 18 schools across the city. Standing behind me are our members and supporters who are resolute in our commitment to fundamentally change our schools. I want to thank City Council for standing with us on the Joy campaign and our fight for silent -- for no 3 silent lunches and guaranteed daily access to recess. In Philadelphia, we know this line, “Seen my dreams unfold, nightmares come true” Right now that contradiction is playing out in real time. The city holds over $1 billion in reserves while public schools are being forced to cut the very people and programs our kids rely on every day. While other others debate new taxes or rush to vote on closing our schools, we know the $1.2 billion in reserves is the immediate solution to keep our staff in place. We thank the Councilmembers standing up against these rush decisions, and we urge you to use that rainy day fund now to give our families the stability we deserve. And for me, this isn't just about numbers; this is personal. My child is kind, curious, courageous, but also anxious and still finding her confidence. Because of that, the people in her school building matter deeply. It matters that when her teacher is absent, Ms. Hamilton, a building substitute she has known since kindergarten, is there. Someone she trusts and feels safe with. It matters that Ms. Statin, one of only two climate support specialists, greets her with a hug in the morning. Not just my child, but so many children who need that sense of belonging to start their day. And when my daughter faced bullying in kindergarten, Ms. Statin was there for her and for me, helping us navigate that moment of care --
Ma'am, I'm sorry. I hate to do this, but I need you to summarize. Yeah.
Sure. Without full funding, schools will face real disruption, larger class sizes, fewer supports, and fewer trusted adults. A $75 million investment would protect more than 500 essential staff building substitutes, climate staff, and teachers; the people our kids rely on every day. We call on you to use every tool at your disposal to reach $75 million to fully protect school- based staff and prevent cuts across all school -- schools. As well as require the district to release preliminary budgets so that school, communities, and elected officials understand what is -- what is at stake --
We know City Council has stood with parents before, and we're ready to stand with you again to get this done. Thank you.
Is there anyone else here from Lift Every Voice that came to testify?
How many more people from Lift Every -- come on up, let them. David, I got you. Come on up. Let us get Lift Every Voice -- all the Lift Every Voice folks now. State your name for the -- state your -- state your name first then start.
My name is Aaron Spence, but I'm reading on behalf of a member Siani Bolling --
Hello. My name is Siani Bolling. I am from West Philly. A founding member of Lift Every Voice Philly, and a proud parent of a Philadelphia public school student. I'm speaking today on the budget cuts. Right now, we are facing a dreams and nightmare budget. On one side, the city is holding over a billion dollars in reserves. On the other, our schools are once again being asked to do more with even less. We thank you for your leadership to slow down the facilities plan as we work together to plug this budget hole. The threat of 17 school closures being rushed through this Thursday is a distraction we can't afford, and neither -- and neither is waiting for a new tax to pass. The solution is already in the bank. That $1.2 billion in reserves should be the first tool we use to keep our staff in place. The cuts that are being proposed directly affect essential workers such as climate staff and building substitute teachers that help keep schools running day to day. Without building substitutes when a class permanent teacher is absent, there will -- there will be no one to cover classes. That means lost learning time, larger combined classes, and more chaos in the building. Our climate staff are also -- are also essential keeping our children safe. They are the adults who make sure students can safely go to the bathroom, who supervise our hallways, lunch, and recess, and who step in to support classrooms when needed. Our schools would fall apart without these essential class -- without these essential workers. As a childcare worker, I see every day that you need enough adults in a building to safely support children so they can continue to thrive in their learning environment --
The city has the resources right now to prevent the chaos. The mayor's proposal only covers 60 percent of the school budget cuts, leaving more than 200 positions at risk. We need you to use every tool at your disposal to reach 75 million to fully protect school-based staff.
And can we give all the people from Lift Every Voice round of applause. We've truly appreciate the work you've done. We want to thank you for your advocacy around bringing joy to the school district. We appreciate you, you're an important advocacy arm, and we love what you're doing to fight for our children. So thank you all for being here, and thank you for your patience. We appreciate it. Please state your name for the record, and you are -- and you may begin with your testimony. Are you next? Excuse me, are you next? Are you on a list? Did you sign up?
Member Thomas, David Alexander Jenkins. You know, I came in and sat here for six hours because I'm a concerned citizen who lives in Rittenhouse Square, who always sees the white elephant in the room. And it said that if I want to buy a home, you guys will give me a 10-year tax abatement for which I can put marble floors down and look at a -- at a beautiful view of the park, and then take from the city almost $130 million out of the budget every single year. And while children starve, try to figure out how their parents are going to go to work, they can't get to school. I get to have a fabulous view and a wonderful martini from my bathtub while people can't be educated in Philadelphia today. So I want to thank you guys for the work that you do tirelessly because you're handed a lemon and you have to make juice out of it. But I think I would like to say, please tax me, please tax my neighbors. Please ask us who you give the benefits to, to do our job in the City of Philadelphia, to put money back into the system which pays us so that the people that we educate and graduate who then work for our companies we've actually paid for in the first place. So that is all I wanted to say.
I don't know if I could have said it better. Thank you, sir. We appreciate your testimony means a lot more coming from you than us. State your name for the record, and you may begin with your testimony.
My name is Eden MacDougall. I'm reading a comment on behalf of a family friend who works for the district. Her name is Lydia. She couldn't be here today. She is saying, “We're trying to send the message to our students that learning doesn't stop when they step off the school campus. That opportunities for growth can happen anywhere and at any time. The current student fare restrictions fly in the face of that message and further exacerbate the economic inequity that Philadelphia children are forced to live in. If your family has the means to pay for your commute, the sky is the limit for you. If not, good luck getting on your last ride by 8:00 p.m., and that is only if you happen to live past an arbitrary cutoff radius from your school.” Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. You are -- has that -- everybody here signed up?
Amazing. Please state -- let me -- before we keep going, I just want to take a moment to commend the people from the Mayor's administration who are in the back, that are still listening to all of the public comments. So know that it is not just City Council listening to everything that you're saying and are sitting here waiting. We also have members of the administration that is listening to everything that is being said. Please state your name for the record, and you may begin with your testimony.
Anna Victoria Sandoval. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for having the time to voice my opinion as well. Just like many of us in this room, I have a lot of hats that I wear, but today I'm here as a parent and an alumni from the district. And seeing the closure of the schools happening, like for example, Bache, but also the lack of movement that has been seen in the school of Southwark. I, myself, am a mother of three kids at Southwark currently, and I just want to voice that I'm also a parent from the SAC leadership today. And just as we all have seen, the crowd has gotten less and shorter because of time. All I would like to say is that we really need you guys to answer your questions and give us --
No, it is not -- that is not it. What -- I'm -- I'm sorry. Just -- we going to pause for one second. All right? Just one second. All right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. If everybody -- I know everybody is a little anxious and it is not -- it is beyond any of our control. So if we could just -- we're going to try to expedite this a little quicker than what we would normally do. All right folks? And I'm apologizing for that. All right? But we do got to expedite this a lot faster. All right. Go ahead.
I would just like to ask for the folks here today to give us actual answers instead of giving us a roundabouts on, like, what is the -- what is the time limit for when we are actually going to get a yes or no for the fixing or for Southwark to be approved to get an annex. For approving, to get the funding for fixing our bathrooms. We keep hearing you guys talking about how our future, our future, our future. Our kids' future is right now. And we want answers now. So we thank you for your time. And I'm also going to be interpreting in Spanish -- in English for one of our parents that we have from Southwark. So they can also give you their points and opinion on what's going on. And I'm sorry if I'm rambling, it is just that there's so much things that were happening today that, you know what? It gives that mind of openness of like, there is so much that needs to be fixed. And we, from Southwark, are focusing on mice. And as we saw today, there are mice here too. So like, what are we doing? What are we doing? Where's our money going? And yeah --
So I was trying not to say that on the record, but since you already said it on the record, anybody who is uncomfortable, please know that you could submit your testimony in writing to us. If you do not want to stay, if you're uncomfortable with anything that is happening, you can submit your testimony in writing. We promise you we'll read it and it will be the equivalence of if you testified here in person. So thank you for going ahead and putting it out there. The elephant in the room -- the elephant in the room. Oh, Lord. Please state your name for the record if be given your testimony. MS: LUCAS: Sorry, I am here since morning, so yeah. Good afternoon. My name is Tiana Leon Lucas, and I'm a mother of two students at Southwark Elementary School. My daughters are in sixth grade and third grade, and they're in the bilingual program. I'm here to speak out for my children. Our students deserve to have a safe and decent school where they don't have to run home just to use the bathroom and have good conditions of the bathroom. They have told me time again -- time and time again that they have to wait in long lines in the bathroom just to see if they can go to the bathroom. And in occasions, they have accidents while waiting. In reality, the situation is much worse than what I'm speaking. For example, my daughters have told me that they have had to endure the smell of dead rats in their classrooms, and also having to see running rodents from one side of the classroom to the other. And they have slipped in the bathrooms with the floor flooding of toilet water. I have a few questions. Do you think it is right for our children to have to be exposed and shamed with fear and anxiety and being humiliated with these things happening?
I'm sorry, we need you to summarize. I'm sorry.
Okay. I'm going to finish with this. We are here -- we are here demanding solutions, quick ones, and real ones. I did not think that I would have to come here and have to ask for basic necessities of sanitary here in the United States. We demand that the upcoming budget be increased for pest control, for a better future, for our kids in the city and for diversifying our bathrooms and having an annex. Thank you so much.
Thank you. I just want to acknowledge the work of City Year of Philadelphia. I'm a former member of City Year of Philadelphia. I served two years as a project manager when they first came to the City of Philadelphia, so continue to keep up the good work.
Hello. My name is Zach Strassburger. I am the parent of three children who have attended or will attend Southwark School. Southwark is a community school that stays open longer for working parents as part of the Mayor's extended day extended year program. But you've heard about our bathrooms where sewage water drips through ceiling tiles onto students. Where there's no real cafeteria or kitchen where students eat in a basement next to the largest bathroom in the building where the air smells like sewage and makes the kids sick. Where students see rodents so often, they name them Mickey and Minnie. My youngest child is supposed to start at Southwark this fall, but they have autism. They use the bathroom independently, but they aren't going to be able to wait 10 minutes for an open kindergarten stall or wander the halls looking for an open toilet. My kid won't be able to leave the building to go use the proposed modular toilet behind the school. Does this mean my child can't attend Southwark because of the bathrooms? Where in the IEP do I say, improve skills at recognizing unsafe bathrooms as measured by sewage coming out of the floor. These problems aren't new. My fourth grader doesn't understand why I'm here today because he says the conditions have been bad for so long, and he doesn't expect better. But I asked him what his little siblings should do entering kindergarten, and he said we should spend the summer teaching the youngest to avoid puddles on the floor. That is not acceptable for either kid. My fourth grader shouldn't feel that nothing will change, and he should feel worthy of working bathrooms. Please help.
Good afternoon, Council President Johnson and city Councilmembers. My name is Davia White Walton. Council President, you might know me as the Fresh Princess.
I'm a -- I'm a City Year Student success coach at Harding Middle School, which is in Councilmember Quetcy Lozada's District. I also reside in West Philly and Councilmember Gauthier's District. I support Ms. Theresa Carr's eighth grade English classroom every day. She would have loved to be here in person, but she's currently supporting in the school house during the PSSAs that reflects the kind of teacher that she is. I'm grateful to have the chance to share her words with you all. Thank you.
“My name is Theresa Carr, and I teach 8th grade English at Harding Middle School. My journey in education began when I served as a City Year Philadelphia core member at Roxborough High School in 2023. That year introduced me to this city and showed me how meaningful it is to share my love of literacy with Philadelphia's creative and thoughtful young people. This is my second year teaching at Harding, but the first year I have welcomed a City Year core member, student success coach Davi, and to my classroom. As a former core member, I knew City Year was valuable, but even I have been struck by the difference her presence makes. Coach Davi occupies a role that teachers cannot replicate. Students see her as a mentor and guide. While I lead instructions, she moves through the room helping students navigate hurdles, offering different ways to engage with the lesson, and giving encouragement that feels personal and motivating. Because of the trust she builds, her support accelerates students' learning in ways that are both immediate and lasting. At Harding and across the school district, we need all hands on deck to support student achievement. City Year members are not extra, they are essential partners in building strong and consistent relationships that help students thrive academically and emotionally. Now that I'm a teacher, I see even more clearly how City Year strengthens school communities, support students' wellbeing, and introduces young adults to the possibility of a career in education right here in Philadelphia.” That concludes my testimony from my partner teacher, and I place my Davia hat on again to say that I'm happy to announce that I will be returning to City Year for a second year, and I plan, for my long-term goal, to be a guidance counselor in Philadelphia. Thank you.
Keep up the good work. What about your rap career? You going to continue, right? Aren't you Fresh Princess? What -- you --
It is funny, my kids just found out that I rap, so they've been beating on desks and I've been following those beats, so I'm still going.
Mama Gail, are you coming up now? Is Kendra Brooks here? You know Tosha Taylor from South Philly, right? Yeah. Wilson Park. That is -- she is a nice -- I see a nice tale now out there being a super activist as she is. Yeah, he is from downtown. Oh, nice. Come on up, sir.
Swimming pools. SERGEANT AT ARMS: Okay. You have two minutes. State your name for the record.
Hi. I'm Sheree Lewis, a West Philadelphia resident. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm just here as a resident, as a parent. I am -- I'm currently employed at the IRS and I'm also a disabled veteran. I'm saying that on the record to say that if anybody understands budget allocation and things of that sort, it would be me. With that, I had a speech here, but like, after taking in the hours that we've been sitting here, like it is kind of derailed, so I'll just, kind of, run through it. I just find it very -- I'm trying to find a word to, like, to -- I find it very hard to hear when they were asked about financial reports, and then it was just said, well, it is on the -- online. It is on the website. But not to be disrespectful, but just to talk grounded here, there were reports that 50 percent of Philadelphia -- adults in Philadelphia were functionally illiterate. So if individuals are functionally illiterate, that means they're not able to comprehend what it is they're reading. So if they're not able to just comprehend words, let alone numbers, none of that type of stuff is going to resonate with them. Also, education lies in a layered ecosystem where primary funding be from state, federal, and local. I just -- as a numbers person, it is just not making sense. I need to see the full scope, and I'm not like putting blame on anyone, I'm saying that as is -- as a -- with a numbers background, what I'm seeing doesn't add up. And it may not be a funding issue, but a structural and prioritization issue. So I'm asking that we see all, like, a full reconciliation before we make anything, what we need right here before we make any, like, new plans, new tax, any -- anything before we go forward. We need everything before we can accurately assess what we're doing. Philadelphia is no longer in the space of doing things blindly. We need to know what we are doing, how it works for us, and how we're going to move forward.
Thank you very much. Please say your name and begin your testimony. How are you doing, sir?
Thank you. My name is Horace Clouden. You know, for those who have the papers and other people who have the paper, there is a rush for this plan because the first planning year, there is a billion dollars on the table, a half a million -- 500 million for design work, and 500 million for no description of work. So that is what is on the table. That is why they want to hurry up and sign this thing. You know, we have solutions. We've been at the board for years with solutions. The solution is to move the children. You know, but we say bring back junior high school, seventh, eighth, and ninth. These K-8's are failing track schools because there's too many grades to manage, and they are in elementary schools. We say, bring back the five closed swimming pools. No need to create a new location at the tune of $70 million, what they would call the super site. Don't invest in -- don't invest $50 million for two schools over a hundred years old with low enrollment and poor test scores. There are other neighborhood schools nearby. Stop creating swing spaces because the staff doesn't want to travel to another location, at the tune of $40 million. Don't build four additions to improve capacity. K-5, 35 million; K-4, 35 million; K-8, 59 million, and K-5, 27 million. Bring back the building trade South Broad Street, Barra, Overbrook, Sayre, MLK, and Roxborough. There's a lot more to say, but I want to say, the next 10 years, they're neglecting half of the city. That is what this 10-year plan is all about. So you have the data and just think this is -- the district -- the board doesn't want to micromanage the district, but somebody has to micromanage the district. So with that --
Mama Gail. My legal name is Gail Clouden. But I'm sitting here for the ancestors because to sit here and hear what we are hearing, this is like the 60s; 1960, 1965. I am not going to talk about 1920, but to hear and know that our children can't read, write, do math, tell time, write -- sign their name in 2026? And we're talking about what? 2032? That is a problem. Strawberry Mansion High School does have other students in the building. For everybody's information, there is two other groups upstairs in the building. We have to do a better job. I want to bring the elephant in the room, and not because I'm racist, but I'm a realist and our ancestors won't let me sit here and be quiet. My husband loves doing data, and the data says that our children are doing worse than anybody else's children. I don't care what setting this is. We got to talk about the schools in the Northeast, because when we were younger, people were trying to go to the Northeast to get a better education. And so here we have everybody going, or many going over there. We've been saying for years, bring our children back home. This should be about equity at this point. This should be about equality. And it is not that. When they just built a building over a 100, what? 100 -- what was it? 129 -- 129, 000?
Excuse me, 129 million. They just built that building. They are getting ready to build another building in the Northeast. You keep saying, we got too many children in one school and not enough in the other. I mean, you-all are smart. I mean, come on, stuff doesn't make sense. Bring our children home and make sure everything is equitable. K-8 schools have not been working for our children. Our older children are slowing down. And I'll say it this way, the large students stand in lines like babies in 7th and 8th grade. They're too big for the schools that they're in. And when they get to high school, they're in the halls because they don't fit. A nine -- what is it? How many -- is it 92-minute class or 90?
A 90-minute class for some child who has been in elementary school from K-8 is too much. Please hold people accountable on every level. Please do that for us. And for the ancestors, I'm always going to speak on your behalf; heal our families, you-all. Heal our children, heal our land. We built it. But guess what? When you go up and downtown and in the neighborhoods and you see who's building, where are we? Bring back Vocational Ed so we can be part of this again. We know how to do everything. Bring people here that know how to teach us. But you don't know many of you is that many of the people that are in the class -- many of the people that are in the class are not teachers. They're not educators. They're people on certified emergency certification. If they're not teachers, how do they teach? And we see how they teach by the data. We got to get some real people in there that know how to teach. Peace and love, family.
Leah Clouden. My question to the City Council and to all of us; when do you stop being polite in a disrespect? You know, my opinion, this is the land grab and warehousing. Data have shown since 2010 or 2013, whenever they closed the schools down all the way up until now, we already saw that it was a failing system. We already know that you can't have confidence in a school district because they don't -- they are not people of their word. When they closed the schools down, they were supposed to send resources to the schools. Never happened. They phased out school. They've been in the practice of phasing out school. So if you're looking at -- if you're wondering why schools are underpopulated, more than likely they were phased out, just like Strawberry Mansion. They were supposed to send the children back into the school, but it didn't happen. Just -- I'm just tired of just the lies, the disrespect. You already know, you've already seen that they can't be trusted. You already seen that the super -- I mean, not the superintendent, but you already see that the Board President is fixed in his decision. So my thing is to City Council, what are you-all going to do about it? Because they're not going to change. You have to force their hand because this is -- this is insulting to all of us. They decimated the communities. We see the children, they can't -- they can't do basic math, read, write, you know, sign their names, just basic phonics, just all of it. We see it. We see it when we go to the stores. I'm just tired of it. And if you're talking about taxing, we got corner stores that are having many casinos in it. What are you-all doing about that? Go get the money from them. We see it in a gas station. Figure it out. Go tax them. Charge them a casino license, whatever you got to do. But you know where their money -- the money is. If you're talking about safety, even with the cars that are tinted windows, they look like little tanks. Like where's the safety in everything? Where's the accountability and everything? Enforce the laws. Then maybe you don't have to worry about the taxing the people. And also figure out a way to hold the school district accountable, if you're going to give them money. Stop just -- because they're not even holding their own people accountable.