Overview
- The School District formally approved the $4.6 billion operating budget on Thursday, with the operating measure passing unanimously and the capital budget approved 7-1; Board member ChauWing Lam cast the lone no vote.
- Superintendent Tony Watlington ordered roughly $50 million in classroom reductions and about $169 million in central-office savings to address a $300 million structural deficit the district ties to chronic underfunding and lost federal COVID relief.
- The budget actions will freeze, cut, or reassign about 265 positions across the district and eliminate roughly 148 teaching posts and 117 climate positions, and district officials say they will avoid layoffs by moving affected staff into other vacant roles.
- Mayor Cherelle Parker has proposed a $1-per-trip rideshare tax she says would raise about $50 million and restore positions, but the measure faces strong opposition from City Council members and companies such as Uber and Lyft.
- The cuts come as the district advances a $3 billion 'Accelerating Philly' facilities plan that closes 17 schools and renovates others, a controversy that has spurred protests, legal threats, and renewed scrutiny of Philadelphia’s limited ability to raise local school revenue.