PHILADELPHIA (February 26, 2026) – School District of Philadelphia employees, students, and community members urged the Board of Education on Thursday to delay implementation of a plan to close schools and radically disrupt learning in dozens of other schools by co-locating and moving student bodies and programs.
Members of the five unions representing District employees – Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT Local 3), which represents more than 14,000 educators; Unite Here Local 634, which represents school cafeteria employees and student climate staff; Teamsters Local 502 (CASA), which represents administrators; SEIU 32 BJ, which represents maintenance and operations staff; and the School Police Association of Philadelphia (SPAP), which represents school safety officers – led a rally in front of the District administration building ahead of a meeting in which Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington, Sr., presented a 10-year Facilities Master Plan (FMP) to the Board over strong opposition from affected school communities.
Dr. Watlington confirmed at the meeting that the District had backed off its plan to close Russell Conwell Middle School and Motivation High School, but PFT President Arthur G. Steinberg continued to urge the Board to delay adoption of the FMP until all data and rationales driving the proposals have been shared with the public.
"The only plan for facilities that our members, students, and communities have ever wanted is a plan to fix, modernize, and remediate our buildings. This new Facilities Master Plan, or what we’re calling FMP 1.0, is not that. The District has not provided the data or plan details to convince anyone that FMP 1.0 will leave students, staff, and communities better off. We are instead experiencing déjà vu, because the last round of mass closures did lasting harm to students, communities, and the public’s trust in the District," PFT President Steinberg said. "Why won’t the District explain, for example, how the 216 students enrolled in the closing Robert Morris School would be divided between the two proposed receiving schools, Kelley and Bache-Martin? How are we to know whether the receiving schools have adequate capacity, or what renovations are required at each site, or how the transition would be sequenced? Families cannot make informed decisions without this information."
Prior to the meeting, District union leaders along with Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO President Daniel P. Bauder and elected officials led more than 100 people in a rally opposing the plan to close and sell off school buildings.
"With all of the facilities challenges facing the School District, you would think that all of the fine people who work in this building behind me would be spending all of their time to come up with some sort of a plan to take care of those things that these students have to deal with every day, and everything that these educators and these professionals have to deal with. But no. They're wasting your time, they're wasting my time, and they're wasting our money putting together these plans to give it away to – who knows?" President Bauder said. "Who are they going to sell these buildings to?"
"The School District of Philadelphia's proposed facilities master plan is a bad deal for my constituents and disproportionately impacts Black and Brown students across Philly. I appreciate the District for taking on the challenging but necessary task of improving our school facilities. But it would be catastrophic to close several high-performing, criteria-based schools in West and Southwest Philly and force students to travel miles away from the classrooms and educators they know and trust," City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) said. "I stand with our students and the workers who power our public schools in demanding better from the School District. I also call on the Board of Education to reject the proposal in its current form."
"We work hard in these schools. We don't sit in the building and make changes without talking to the people it really matters to!" Unite Here Local 634 President Nicole Hunt said. "Dr. Watlington was hired to support the students, not disinvest in them!"
"I am a proud product of Philadelphia public schools. And I am asking you to stand behind us, all five unions, as we stand here to say, 'Not today. Not today. Not today!" CASA President Dr. Robin Cooper said.
"The reality is that moving large groups of students to new and unfamiliar environments deprives the students of neighborhood safe havens and can create new safety challenges," said SPAP President Bernadette Ambrose. "The reality is the District's mass closure plan may very well put safety at risk."
In addition to Councilmember Gauthier, elected officials who stood in solidarity with the unions included state Reps. Andre Carroll (House District 201), Morgan Cephas (House District 192), Darisha Parker (House District 198), and Chris Rabb (House District 200); and Councilmembers Nina Ahmad (At-Large), Kendra Brooks (At-Large), Isaiah Thomas (At-Large), Nicolas O'Rourke (At-Large), and Jeffery Young (5th District).
Testimony as prepared from President Steinberg and PFT Director of Environmental Science Jerry Roseman to the Board can be found here. Photos of the meeting and rally can be found here.
