Philadelphia councilmembers pledge to keep fighting after plan that would close 17 schools passes

Tension and disappointment remain a day after the Philadelphia Board of Education voted to approve the district's Facilities Master Plan. A controversial, $3 billion proposal that would close 17 public schools in the city, six co-located, and another 169 modernized.

"This is one of the worst decisions I've seen made as it relates to my time as an elected official," said Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who heads the council's Education Committee.

The 6-3 vote happened Thursday night following a contentious and packed hearing. Nearly a dozen council members were on hand, near the front of the room, and could be heard shouting back and forth with board members.

Loud protests and boos ultimately led to two recesses, and the vote culminating virtually.

"Regardless of the noise that was happening, I think it was their responsibility to stay present and feel what folks are feeling," Councilmember Quetcy Lozada said.

CBS News Philadelphia reached out to all nine board members on Friday for comment on the facilities plan vote, but did not hear back by news time.

District and Board leaders, however, have long maintained that while they don't want to close any schools, they have to make hard decisions. Officials have pointed to aging and underutilized buildings.

District Superintendent Tony Watlington said the move will also give students more access to resources, including the ability to provide Algebra 1 to all middle-grade students and doubling the amount of Pre-K seats available.

"We cannot fully modernize every building, ignore enrollmentships, or postpone actions anymore," said Board President Reginald Streater.

But councilmembers have argued the Board and District have not done a good enough job of hearing from lawmakers and families impacted by the plan. At Thursday's meeting, Councilmember Nina Ahmad criticized leaders for not sharing data with council on how they chose which schools to close.

One board member also pointed out during remarks that the $3 billion plan relies on nearly $2 billion from state or philanthropic funding, money that is far from guaranteed.

Several Councilmembers made clear their fight over the plan did not end with Thursday's vote. For Thomas, the first step is eyeing the board members who backed the plan.

"I think anyone who voted in favor of this facilities plan, not only should they resign, but I can assure you that I would never vote to confirm them back on the school board," Thomas said.

While City Council does not have the power to appoint members to the board, the body is the one that can confirm or decline an appointment.

Thomas says councilmembers are discussing a range of options they could push to prevent the facilities plan from taking effect. But on Friday, he declined to go into detail about what that may entail.

"I don't think we should take any options off the table right now," he said.

The lawmakers are also targeting the district in other areas. Councilmember Curtis Jones on Thursday introduced a bill that would create an oversight committee to look into the district's finances.

And several lawmakers are now calling into question the future of Mayor Cherelle Parker's proposed rideshare tax that she says would provide the district with $48 million to stave off moving 340 teachers and staff to new schools.

"How are we gonna vote to increase everybody's ride by $1 a ride and still close their schools in their faces?" said Councilmember Jamie Gauthier at Thursday's meeting.

But foremost, Councilmembers say they are worried about the impact the vote will have on students, staff and families in these schools. Thomas called the vote "traumatic" to many communities, and says families should take time to process everything that's happened.

"It's OK to not be OK," Thomas said. "I think people should be able to own their emotions they're in right now without being forced to think about what's next."

"Understand that whatever decision is made impacts children and families on the ground. So I think that we have to make sure we're prioritizing that," Lozada said.

District officials have long referred to the facilities master plan as a "living" plan that could change based on a number of factors. A spokesperson for the district says they are now working on putting together a transition team to assist and schedule meetings with impacted families as this process moves forward.

How did the board vote on the new Philadelphia facilities plan? 

Here's how the board voted on the plan: 

• Streater: Yes
• Sarah-Ashley Andrews: Yes
• Crystal Cubbage: No 
• Cheryl Harper: Yes
• Whitney Jones: No
• ChauWing Lam: Yes 
• Wanda Novales: No
• Joan N. Stern: Yes
• Joyce Wilkerson: Yes 

Which Philadelphia schools will close in the facilities plan? 

The School District of Philadelphia's original plan called for 20 schools to close. Then, in February, it was reduced to 18, and now, 17 will close. 

Here's the full list: 

• Academy for the Middle Years at Northwest
• Blankenburg
• Fitler Academics Plus School
• Harding Middle School
• Lankenau High School
• Ludlow
• Morris
• Overbrook Elementary School
• Parkway Northwest High School
• Parkway West High School
• Penn Treaty School
• Pennypacker
• Robeson
• Stetson
• Tilden Middle School
• Wagner
• Waring
• Welsh