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From YouTube: Committee on Children and Youth 3-3-2021
Description
The Committee on Children and Youth of the Council of the City of Philadelphia will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 2:00 PM, in a remote manner using Microsoft® Teams to hear testimony on the following items:
210034 Resolution authorizing the Committee on Children and Youth to conduct hearings examining the relationship between the property tax exemption for wealthy nonprofits on the School District’s budget and the resulting environmental hazards in School District facilities on the health and safety of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable children.
A
I
now
note
that
the
hour
has
come.
Mr
spiva,
will
you
please
call
the
role
to
take
attendance
members
that
are
in
attendance?
Will
please
indicate
that
you
are
present
when
your
name
is
called
and
also,
if
you
could
say
a
few
brief
words
when
responding,
so
that
your
image
will
be
displayed
on
screen
when
you
speak.
D
B
A
B
Yes,
everyone
who
has
been
invited
to
the
meeting
today
to
testify
should
be
aware
that
this
public
hearing
is
being
recorded,
because
the
hearing
is
public.
Participants
and
viewers
have
no
reasonable
expectation
of
privacy
by
continuing
to
be
in
the
meeting,
you're
consenting
to
being
recorded
additionally
prior
to
recognizing
members
for
the
questions
or
comments
they
have
for
witnesses.
B
A
Wonderful,
thank
you
very
much.
Well.
First
of
all,
I
want
to
welcome
everyone
to
this
important
hearing
and
thank
the
bill's
sponsor
for
moving
this
resolution
forward.
I
know
many
people
have
been
waiting
for
a
long
time
for
this
hearing.
We
have
a
robust
witness
list
as
well,
so
I'm
looking
forward
to
getting
started
and
would
like
to
invite
an
opening
set
of
remarks
from
the
bill's
sponsor
council
member
kendra
brooks.
C
Thank
you
so
much.
Madam
chair.
I
want
to
thank
the
panelists
here
today.
The
concerned
members
of
the
public
who
signed
up
to
testify
today
and
the
school's
co-sponsors
of
this
hearing
resolution,
including
every
member
of
the
committee
council,
members,
gautier,
gem,
johnson
and
thomas
and
in
addition
to
council
members,
squilla,
green
and
bass.
C
A
F
G
A
A
This
is
something
that
goes
far
beyond
the
schoolhouse
doors
in
the
1990s.
The
last
time
that
we
had
a
significant
pilot
program
in
the
city
of
philadelphia,
the
city's
largest
institutions
came
together
when
philadelphia
faced
bankruptcy
when
it
was
looking
at
falling
status
within
a
a
corporate
marketplace
and
made
a
commitment
to
the
city
that
it
would
stand
up
and
embrace
the
city
and
send
as
much
of
an
external
message
to
the
broader
world.
That
philadelphia
was
on
the
rise
now
again
in
2021.
A
Two
decades
later.
We
believe
that
that
same
message
must
be
sent.
We
believe
that
that
same
message
must
be
sent
loud
and
clear
by
some
of
our
city's
biggest
actors,
that
philadelphia's
recovery
relies
on
the
health
and
well-being
of
its
children
of
its
school
system
and
and
that
those
things
are
are
core
to
our
future.
The
message
today
is
clear:
as
long
as
our
children
struggle
to
learn
in
schools
with
poor
or
no
ventilation
at
all
exposed
asbestos
lead,
paint
and
chronic
mold
outbreaks.
A
Our
largest
non-profits
have
a
critical
role
to
play
in
altering
our
city's
future
by
investing
explicitly
in
school
funding
justice.
When
we
invest
in
modernizing
our
school
systems,
we
make
an
investment
in
the
public
health
and
in
our
city's
future
we
need
a
unified
and
powerful
message
from
our
largest
city,
civic
leaders,
that
the
inequitable
funding
of
philadelphia
schools
must
end
restoring
pilots
can
send
a
message
loud
and
clear,
not
only
to
city
hall
but
especially
to
harrisburg
and
to
washington
dc
that
we
must
build
the
schools
that
our
children
both
need
and
deserve.
A
I
I
I'm
here
today
to
testify,
for
many
reasons,
but
I'll
start
with
one
alarming
fact.
My
district
in
western
southwest
philadelphia,
an
estimated
one
in
four
children,
have
asthma,
along
with
the
lead
in
asbestos
contamination
that
is
endemic
to
the
public
school
buildings
in
west
and
southwest
philly.
The
uncontrolled
growth
of
mold
has
had
an
undeniable
impact
on
the
children
who
attend
these
schools
at
one
school.
I
I
A
20-minute
walk
from
penn
alexander
school,
highly
desired
public
school,
financially
supported
by
penn
leads
you
to
avery
d
harrington
school,
a
west
philadelphia
public
school,
struggling
with
a
lack
of
resources
and
over
capacity
class
sizes,
drexel
university.
Another
hugely
wealthy
non-profit
of
property
in
my
district
has
a
lot
in
common
with
penn.
I
The
west
philadelphia
corporation
displaced,
thousands
of
black
community
members
by
the
1970s
this
neighborhood
was
all
but
eliminated.
This
is
another
consequence
of
this.
Land
grab
was
a
diversion
of
billions
of
dollars
of
property
out
of
the
tax
base
and
our
public
schools,
which
are
funded
largely
by
property
taxes
at
the
municipal
level,
bear
the
brunt
of
that
loss.
I
The
university
has
a
non-profit
real
estate,
subsidiary,
called
academic
properties
incorporated
that
quote-unquote
owns,
manages
leases
or
operates
a
portfolio
of
over
1
million
square
feet
of
both
commercial
and
residential
holdings,
while
drexel's
legacy
of
displacement
and
disinvestment
cannot
be
erased,
it
can
build
the
foundation
for
a
different
path
by
reversing
the
extraction
of
wealth
from
the
historically
black
community.
It
resides
in
so
penn's
10-year
commitment
to
contributing
to
the
remediation
of
led
and
asbestos
from
our
schools
is
certainly
needed,
but
the
chronic
underfunding
of
the
philadelphia
public
schools
also
cannot
be
resolved
with
charity.
I
This
means
that
the
enormously
wealthy
institutions
in
west,
philadelphia
and
beyond
must
contribute
a
full
40
of
their
foregone
property
taxes
as
an
ongoing
source
of
revenue
dedicated
to
safe
and
healthy
public
schools.
With
that,
that's
the
end
of
my
testimony.
I
want
to
thank
you
again
for
giving
me
the
opportunity
to
speak
on
this
important
issue.
J
J
Local
officials
can
make
the
case
that
pilots
are
actually
in
the
nonprofit's
own
self-interest
or
at
least
part
of
being
a
member
of
the
community.
After
all,
nonprofits
can't
thrive
in
a
bubble.
If
they're
in
a
city
with
high
crime
into
king
infrastructure,
you
know
those
sorts
of
things
are
going
to
affect
the
nonprofit
as
well,
so
a
pilot
that
makes
it
easier
for
a
city
to
provide
quality
public
services
and
reasonable
tax
rates
can
actually
benefit
the
nonprofit
itself.
J
Universities,
for
example,
often
get
greater
benefit
from
the
exemption
of
investment
income
from
federal
income
taxes.
So,
with
these
concerns
in
mind,
there's
non-profits
that
may
be
willing
to
make
what
are
essentially
pilots
but
go
by
other
names.
So
in
some
cities
these
are
called
voluntary
contributions,
service
fees,
etc.
J
J
Now,
from
a
city's
perspective,
money
is
fungible
can
reallocate
funds,
but
by
earmarking
pilots.
Those
agreements
may
be
viewed
very
differently
by
the
universities,
so
now
university.
Presidents,
the
negotiated
pilots.
They
can
go
to
their
board
of
directors,
they
can
go
to
their
donors
and
say
the
university
is
furthering
education
and
learning
in
worcester.
Those
are
certainly
objectives
consistent
with
their
mission
as
an
educational
institution,
and
they
can
also
make
the
place
case
that
improving
the
parks
adjacent
to
their
campuses
can
help
attract
students
and
professors
to
their
campuses.
J
A
fifth
recommendation
is
to
seek
long-term
pilot
agreements
in
the
range
of
5-30
years.
A
long-term
agreement
means
there's
the
predictable
revenue
stream
for
government
and
a
known
budget
item
for
nonprofits
and
equally
important.
It
avoids
renegotiating
pilots
every
few
years.
These
can
be
quite
time
consuming
for
government
for
non-profits,
and
you
know
these.
These
negotiations
can
become
contentious.
J
So
one
key
question
is
which
services
should
come
for
offsets?
First,
I'd
say:
the
services
should
benefit
local
residents,
so
scholarships
certified
set
aside
for
city
students
would
count,
but
financial
aid
for
students
outside
the
city
would
not.
You
might
want
to
focus
on
new
services
that
are
kind
of
above
and
beyond
the
organization's
main
business
model.
You
don't
really
want
to
be.
You
know
just
giving
nonprofits
credit
for
things
that
they're
already
doing
so,
for
example,
pretty
much
every
hospital
has
considerable
unreimbursed
medical
care.
J
You
might
not
want
to
reduce
the
cash
pilot
just
because
the
hospital
has
unreimbursed
care,
but
if
a
hospital
sets
up
a
new
free
wellness
program
for
city
residents,
things
like
smoking,
cessation
weight
loss
are
programmed
to
fight
opioid
addiction.
Those
sorts
of
services
could
count
because
they're
really
not
a
part
of
the
hospital's
core
business
model.
J
Now
to
take
this
approach,
city
officials
and
non-profit
leaders
need
to
identify
which
services
are
most
valuable
for
local
residents
and
that
each
nonprofit
is
in
the
best
position
to
provide,
and
it's
important,
that
the
local
government
is
clear
and
consistent
about
their
priorities
rather
than
regularly
requesting
a
new
type
of
program
or
service
so
to
wrap
up.
As
I
said
at
the
beginning,
pilots
can
provide
a
valuable
revenue
source
for
cities
with
a
large
non-profit
presence.
J
J
Third,
you
need
to
justify
why
you're
seeking
a
certain
dollar
figure
that
means
estimate
the
cost
to
provide
services
to
nonprofits
and
use
some
sort
of
basis
like
a
non-profit's
assessed
values
or
their
square
footage
to
calculate
a
fair
number
for
a
pilot.
Fourth
consider
ear,
marking
pilots
for
non-profit
priorities,
rather
than
having
the
money
go
into
the
general
fund.
Fifth
pursue
long-term
agreements
in
the
range
of
five
to
thirty
years
and
finally
reduce
cash.
J
Pilots
for
non-profits
that
agree
to
provide
new
services
for
local
residents
and
adopting
these
collaborative
strategies
have
led
to
breakthroughs
in
pilot
negotiations
and
significant
annual
contributions
in
cities
like
boston
and
worcester
and
many
other
places.
So
again,
thank
you
for
the
invitation
to
speak
today.
I
appreciate
your
attention
and
I'd
be
happy
to
take
any
questions
either
now
or
at
the
end
of
the
panel.
D
D
Some
of
my
research
focuses
on
the
impact
that
foregone
tax
revenue
in
the
form
of
economic
development
development
subsidies
has
on
workers
and
communities,
specifically
communities
of
color.
So
I'm
here
today
to
comment
on
why
private
universities
and
mega
non-profits
need
to
pay
their
fair
share
into
our
city
through
pilots
or
payment
in
lieu
of
taxes.
D
D
While
the
university
receives
approximately
35
million
annually
in
direct
subsidy
from
the
commonwealth,
it
is
unclear
how
these
universities
provide
direct
and
long
lasting
benefits
to
the
community
it's
situated
in
and
also
surrounded
by.
Instead,
the
university
has
fueled
gentrification
in
west
philly
and
the
now
university
city
district.
D
D
While
reparations
do
require
very
specific
steps
and
commitment,
I
do
think
that
pilot
first
preparing
the
economic
and
spatial
harm
that
has
been
caused
to
these
communities.
So
my
second
point
mega
non-profits
highlight
the
stark
economic
divide
that
exists
in
the
city,
and
I
think
the
representative
talked
about
this
also.
D
But
I'd
like
to
be
very
clear
in
saying
care,
services
and
educational
programs
should
never
be
viewed
as
charity,
but
as
a
basic
right
that
we
all
need
to
be
invested
in,
so
that
we
can
be
the
fullest
and
healthiest
versions
of
ourselves
that
investment.
It
should
be
reparative
intentional
and
robust.
D
A
D
A
C
J
C
J
Right
well,
I
mean,
I
think,
that
a
lot
of
the
comments
that
you
made
in
the
opening
remarks
and
some
of
the
the
speakers
made
specifically
about
philadelphia-
illustrates
the
need.
You
know
whether
that
be
you
know
the
need
to
invest
in
a
safer
environment
in
the
school.
So
I
mean
it's
basically,
I
think,
just
showing
you
know
the
gap
between
the
level
of
public
resources
needed
to
provide.
You
know
decent
public
services
and
the
level
of
revenues
that
the
the
city
can
realistically
obtain
from
other
avenues.
C
I
C
All
righty,
so
you
know
we
know
that
non-profits
tax
exemption
is
determined
on
the
state
level,
which
is
why
we
here
in
philly.
Let's
select,
you
know
why
here
we
in
philly
are
unable
to
pass
legislation
on
this
issue.
Do
you
think
there
are
state-level
implications
for
the
issue
of
non-profit
tax
exemptions
and
have
you
had
a
chance
to
look
at
that.
I
Yeah,
absolutely
so,
there's
there's
definitely
implications
on
the
state
level,
because
I
think,
with
many
issues
that
we
deal
with
in
philadelphia,
whether
it's
nonprofits
and
pilots,
whether
it's
school
funding,
whether
it's
progressive
taxation,
the
truth
is
that
there
are
other
jurisdictions
that
are
that
are
dealing
with
the
same
issue.
Right
I
mean
philadelphia
is
not
the
only
city
where
non-profits
are
increasingly
acting
as
a
business
instead
of
an
entity,
that's
accountable
to
its
community.
I
So
in
regards
to
doing
what
we
can
to
change
it
legislatively
on
the
state
level,
I
think
one
of
the
big
things
that
we
need
to
do
is
figure
out.
How
can
we
unite
with
other
counties
that
are
dealing
with
this
with
this,
this
situation
of
having
large
non-profits
that
are
that
are
extending
their
reach
beyond
whatever
their
core
sector
is
and
are
now
operating
as
like
corporations?
Essentially
right.
So
I
think
in
allegheny
county
is
a
perfect
example.
I
I
We
can
obviously
win
here
in
philadelphia,
but
we
can
also
start
to
bridge
that
urban,
suburban
rural
divide
that,
I
think
is
often
staming
us
on
issues
when
it
comes
on
the
state
level,
where
we're
showing
like.
Actually
this
isn't
just
a
philadelphia
issue,
it's
not
even
just
for
me
like
a
west
philadelphia
issue
right.
This
is
a
bigger,
bigger
issue
that
affects
all
of
us,
so
my
my
hope
is.
C
D
Yeah,
so
I
mean
we
know
that
there
is
a
really
rigid
and,
I
would
say,
oppressive
and
colonialist
to
regulation
that
binds
how
we
can
raise
revenue
on
a
state
level
through
the
uniformity
clause,
but
I
think
that
pilots
actually
provide
us
with
an
opportunity
to
raise
this
revenue
without
falling
into
a
conversation
about
the
uniformity
clause,
because
overall,
we
know
that
the
city
is
heavily
reliant
on
flat
taxes,
which
we
can
consider
to
be
regressive.
Taxes
and
regressive.
D
So
when
we
decide
against
progressive
revenue,
we're
really
leaving
city
we're
leaving
money
on
the
table
for
the
city
through
sort
of
foregone
revenue,
and
this
money
otherwise
could
be
used
to
fund
our
public
services,
specifically
in
this
case
we're
talking
about
funding
our
school
district.
So
I
think
this
really
provides
an
opportunity
to
start
thinking
about
how
we
tax
generally-
and
this
is
not
a
tax
right.
C
G
G
I
also
appreciated
you
know
your
your
emphasis
on
having
a
reasoned
discussion
with
the
large
nonprofits
that
you
know
that
we
would
need
to
to
really
collaborate
with
to
get
this
going,
and
I
hope
that
that's
a
possibility
and
that
we
can
move
forward
in
that
way.
I
absolutely
think
we
should
be
moving
towards
pilots
and
silence
where
appropriate,
for
for
smaller
institutions.
G
My
you
know
I
am
the
council
representative
for
west
and
southwest
philadelphia
right,
and
so
we
have
most
of
the
cities
meds
and
eds
within
our
boundaries
and
like
representative
pradewski
described,
we
not
only
I
mean
so
that
provides
a
lot
of.
That
means.
We
have
a
lot
of
resources
and
assets
within
our
boundaries,
but
it
also
means
that
we
in
particular
see
some
of
the
the
harmful
effects
to
gentrification
and
displacement.
J
J
Otherwise
I'm
not
nothing
is
coming
to
mind,
but
that
doesn't
mean
that
there
aren't
examples
of
that
and
you
know,
certainly,
if
you're
trying
to
you
know
kind
of
align
the
the
cost
and
benefits
of
hosting
nonprofits.
Having
more
of
the
revenue
dedicated
to
the
the
neighborhood.
You
know,
there's
definitely
a
strong
argument
for
that
approach.
G
C
G
C
A
Thank
you
very
much
councilmember
gautier,
mr
langley,
could
you
speak
a
little
bit
among
the
large
cities
in
the
u.s,
the
ones
that
tend
to
have
struggle?
You
know
this
conversation
is,
is
actually
focused
in
on
schools
and
in
particular,
I
think
you
heard
from
opening
remarks
by
council
member
brooks
and
myself.
We've
emphasized
what
is
long
been
recognized
as
a
severe
school
under
funding
in
the
in
the
across
the
state
of
pennsylvania,
but
also
growing
recognition
from
civic
actors
across
the
board.
A
Actually,
the
university
of
pennsylvania
did
announce
a
hundred
million
dollars
over
ten
years
to
be
dedicated
towards
london,
asbestos
removal,
for
example-
and
I
do
think
one
of
the
things
that
council
member
brooks
has
been
very
clear
about
and
what
I
think
many
of
the
speaking
public
has
been
very
clear
about
is
that
the
mission
here
is
around
addressing
specifics
around
school
under
funding.
So
I'm
interested
in
whether
you
have
any
analysis
of
the
larger
city
among
the
larger
cities.
J
Okay,
yeah,
that's
a
good
question,
it's
a
hard
question.
You
know
so,
first
of
all,
in
terms
of
pilots
dedicated
towards
school
districts,
you
know
our
research
shows
that
it's
it's
pretty
uncommon,
but
there
are
precedents
for
that
approach.
You
know.
I
look
back
at
our
survey
that
we
did.
You
know
almost
10
years
ago
now
in
2012,
which
is
still
the
most
extensive
data
on
pilots.
J
You
know-
and
I
would
say
there
are-
there
are
four.
You
know
noteworthy
examples
of
pilots
going
to
school
districts.
You
know,
and
so
those
are
two
ivy
league
institutions
and
two
pennsylvania
jurisdictions.
So
there
is
in
in
in
dartmouth
new
hampshire,
the
the
the
university
gives
one
gave
1.9
million
dollars
to
its
school
district
and
then
in
ithaca
new
york.
J
Ithaca
college
makes
a
contribution
that
goes
specifically
to
the
school
district,
and
then
we
found
data
of
of
nonprofits
that
make
contributions
to
school
districts
in
erie
and
harrisburg.
So
there
are,
there
are
places
that
do
that.
You
know
I.
I
don't
find
it
a
lot.
It's
in
part.
You
know
it
can
be
difficult
to
get
good
data
on
pilots.
You
know
they're
not
really
collected
in
any
central
location.
J
J
That's
that's
also
hard
to
answer.
I
mean
I
definitely
know
the
most
about
boston,
which
probably
has
not
probably
undoubtedly
has
like
kind
of
the
model
approach
to
pilots
around
the
country
and
their
participation
rates
off.
The
top
of
my
head
would
be
something
like
90
for
their
hospital
70
percent
for
their
universities
and
50
for
their
cultural
institutions.
Those
are
very
ballpark,
but
that
data
is
available.
J
The
city
makes
the
data
available
every
single
year
to
kind
of
just
shine
a
light
on
who's
contributing
as
much
as
they
you
know
have
been
asked
to
contribute
under
the
city's
program
and
who
is
not,
and
and
otherwise
pilot
participation
varies
widely.
You
know,
there's
not
it's.
Just
one
of
the
weaknesses
is
that
it
is
kind
of
a
more
ad
hoc
approach,
but
you
know
with
with
the
with
state
laws
the
way
there
are
that
you
know
that's.
You
know
the
the
approach
that's
available.
A
I'm
sure
that's
why
you've
been
invited
on
this
panel
in
part,
because
there
isn't
a
central
gathering
point.
So
it's
really
helpful
to
have
someone
like
yourself
take
the
time
to
to
share
that.
I
think
there
are
unique
in
situations
around
philadelphia.
We
are,
for
example,
the
only
common
wealth
in
the
we're,
the
only
school
district
in
the
commonwealth
of
pennsylvania.
That
does
not
have
an
elected
school
board
and
thus
cannot
raise
its
own
revenues.
A
So
a
lot
of
times,
it's
possible
for
a
school
system
to
raise
revenues
and
to
plot
out
kind
of
its
own
determinative
future
about
what
its
expenses
are
philadelphia.
Despite
being
you
know,
as
a
school
system
that
is
the
largest
in
the
state
of
pennsylvania
serves
the
largest
percentage
of
black
brown
and
immigrant
youth
in
the
state
of
pennsylvania
is
unable
to
raise
its
own
money
and
thus
is
wholly
dependent
upon
city
and
state
and
federal
resources.
To
do
it.
A
A
A
K
K
I've
decided
to
give
my
testimony
today,
because
I
truly
have
deep
compassion
for
the
well-being
of
humans
and
I
believe
that
the
prioritization
of
wealth
and
profits
over
people
is
absolutely
disgusting
and
dehumanizing
in
regards
to
the
lack
of
enforcement
of
payment
in
lieu
of
taxes,
pilots
to
multi-billion
dollar
institutions
such
as
penn,
drexel,
jefferson
and
many
more
for
decades.
This
has
avalanched
to
a
breaking
point,
a
catastrophe
that
overtook
the
ceilings
of
my
school
in
september
of
2018..
K
Although
renovators
were
sent
to
repair
the
damage,
our
roof
still
continued
to
leak,
water
would
leak
into
buckets
and
hallways,
as
they
would
be
shuffled
between
a
time
square
of
students
navigating
to
their
next
classes.
Our
transition
to
our
next
class
in
our
narrow
hallways
and
our
only
one
available
stairwell
had
merely
made
matters
into
misery.
K
When
it
came
lunchtime,
we
would
go
to
our
new
lunchroom
also
called
the
auditorium
where
the
walls
had
been
contaminated
with
blood
and
asbestos,
where
our
laps
turned
into
tables
for
unfresh
packaged
foods,
because
there
could
have
been
an
abundance
of
revenue
collected
and
distributed
to
schools
through
pilots.
The
collapse
and
its
aftermath
wouldn't
have
happened,
but
in
reality
it
did
it
did
to
the
staff
at
my
school.
K
K
What
are
the
decisions
that
the
city
council
committee
of
children
and,
most
importantly,
these
pilots,
refusing
non-profit
institutions
will
make?
There
is
only
one
right,
one
humane,
life-changing
decision.
Remember
children
are
the
leaders
of
the
future
and
you
must
think
about
how
an
effective
solution
can
shape
a
quality
education
experience
for
children
to
learn
and
flourish.
L
Hi,
thank
you.
Councilmember
brooks
kim
johnson,
basquilla,
green
and
thomas
for
introducing
and
sponsoring
this
resolution
and
holding
a
hearing
regarding
the
relationship
between
property
taxes
and
status
of
large
nonprofit
institutions,
the
state
of
philadelphia,
school
facilities
and
the
growing
urgency
to
address
the
connections
between
health
outcomes
and
the
built
environment.
L
In
this
testimony,
I'd
like
to
briefly
outline
the
goals
of
pen
for
pilots,
based
on
extensive
research
by
faculty
staff
and
students
review
some
of
the
critical
needs
for
pilots
and
other
school
revenue
streams,
based
on
my
own
research
with
residents
and
educators,
around
district
policies
and
finally
ties
issues
to
the
broader
needs.
Around
school
district
facilities,
reopenings
in
public
health
penn
for
pilots
began
out
of
a
student
movement
that
built
on
a
decade
of
student,
community
and
staff.
L
Organizing
more
than
a
thousand
faculty
and
staff
have
signed
our
petition
for
the
university
of
pennsylvania
to
commit
to
making
payments
in
lieu
of
taxes
to
help
ensure
adequate
funding
for
the
philadelphia
public
schools.
Penn
is
the
largest
property
owner
in
the
city
of
philadelphia,
but
as
a
non-profit
institution,
it
pays
no
property
taxes
on
its
non-commercial
properties.
In
other
words,
it
contributes
nothing
to
the
tax
base
that
funds
philadelphia's
public
school
system.
L
This
in
the
city.
His
schools
are
underfunded
and
facing
deep
budget
cuts,
as
articulated
by
the
other
testifiers.
Amid
the
koat
19
pandemic,
penn
did
play
pilots
in
the
mid-1990s.
When
then
mayor,
edwin
dell
issued
an
executive
order
that
suggested
the
city
would
review
the
non-profit
taxes
and
status
of
its
largest
institutions
to
assist
the
city
in
its
near
bankruptcy.
Budget,
crisis,
penn
and
other
large
taxes.
Institutions
began
paying
pilots
through
the
end
of
the
decade.
L
Today,
with
penn
having
become
the
seventh
richest
university
in
the
country.
The
conditions
in
public
schools
in
philadelphia,
the
largest
poorest
city
in
the
country,
require
that
we
make
that
commitment
again
together
with
jobs
for
justice
and
other
community
groups.
Penn
for
pilots
is
asking
that
penn
and
other
similar
large
non-profit
institutions
pay
40
percent
of
what
its
property
taxes
would
be
if
it
were
not
a
tax
institution
to
support
to
support
the
city
schools
based
on
penn's
2016-2017
annual
budget.
L
We
estimate
that
penn's
pilot
payment
today
would
be
roughly
40
million
dollars
to
put
that
figure
in
perspective.
40
million
is
just
over
one
third
of
one
percent
point
three:
five
percent
of
penn's
unrestricted
annual
revenues
for
fiscal
year
2020..
It
is
just
over
a
quarter
of
one
percent,
two
six
percent
of
the
value
of
penn's
endowment
penn
and
the
city's
other
wealthy
nonprofits
can
definitely
afford
to
meet
the
basic
responsibility
met
by
all
the
city's
homeowners
and
businesses
of
contributing
to
our
children's
education.
L
Based
on
my
own
research.
I
also
want
to
stress,
however,
that
while
the
city's
wealthy
nonprofits
paying
pilots
would
be
an
important
step
towards
addressing
the
inequalities
that
plagued
the
school
district
in
the
broader
city
of
philadelphia
and
its
surrounding
region.
It
would
only
be
one
step
towards
addressing
the
needs
of
the
school
district.
Many
of
us
are
now
focusing
on
the
conditions
of
the
school
district's
facilities,
but
we
also
need
to
pay
close
attention
to
staffing
supplies
and
overall
operations.
L
Philadelphia
schools
have
suffered
from
a
disinvestment
in
school,
counselors,
nurses,
paraprofessionals,
educators,
therapists,
librarians
art
and
recreation
teachers
for
decades.
There
are
issues
around
governance,
procurement
and
safety
that
will
make
it
difficult
to
reopen
schools
safely,
even
if
the
school
district
could
immediately
replace
every
hvac
system
border
found
in
sync
faucet
and
remediate
all
the
asbestos
strikingly.
The
greatest
issue
I
find
in
my
research
is
that
the
trust
that
is
needed
to
cooperatively
make
decisions
that
address
the
multiple
needs
and
interests
of
children.
Caregivers
and
school
staff
has
been
severely
eroded
in
the
last
decade.
L
Although
the
school
district's
governing
body,
the
board
has
reverted
to
local
control.
In
the
last
five
years,
public
comments
have
increasingly
raised
issues
around
transparency
and
accountability.
In
recent
months,
the
august
2020
inspector
general
report
on
the
remediation
of
the
benjamin
franklin
sla
asbestos
project
was
a
damn
account
of
the
multiple
failures
of
the
school
district
to
address
the
safety
of
the
building
occupants,
including
workers,
students
and
caregivers,
the
communication
skills
of
a
public
entity
and
the
accountability
of
public
servants.
L
In
this
year
of
covet
19
and
increasing
attention
to
issues
of
racial
and
economic
injustice
throughout
our
city,
it
is
clear
that
all
of
our
major
public
and
private
institutions
have
been
failing
the
children
of
philadelphia
at
this
time
of
reckoning.
I
would
therefore
like
to
end
on
the
note
of
linking
health
building
conditions
and
public
trust
and
accountability.
L
I
want
to
urge
city
council
to
work
with
the
mayor,
the
school
district
and
the
city's
caregivers,
educators,
staff
and
students
not
only
to
press
for
a
critically
needed
source
of
funding
from
the
city's
major
taxes
exempt
institutions,
but
also
to
address
the
decades
of
mistrust
and
equity
and
underperformance
in
our
public
schools.
We
need
a
democratically
elected
board
to
allocate
and
spend
new
sources
of
revenue
on
school
facilities
and
resources.
L
A
Thank
you
very
much,
professor
rodriguez,
and
thank
you
very
much
to
christina
for
your
ambient
leads
powerful
work
on
supporting
safe
and
healthy
school
facilities.
We
know
what
a
difficult
time
it
was
for
you,
especially
for
christina
for
your
school
and
how
painful
it
was
to
have
gone
through
what
you
did,
and
we
know
that
there
are
school
communities
all
across
the
city
of
philadelphia,
many
of
them
black
brown
and
immigrant,
who
are
who
have
also
seen
their
school
years
curtailed
shortened,
upended
by
traumatic
building
conditions.
A
So
we
appreciate
your
taking
the
time
for
this.
I
had
a
quick
question
for
professor
rodriguez.
You
know
you
heard
a
little
bit
from
mr
langley
about
large
non-profits
needing
to
have
a
collaborative
conversation
recognizing
that
you
know
we're
we're
in
a
different
space
than
we
were
20
years
ago.
When
there
was,
you
know,
a
loophole,
not
a
loophole,
but
there
was
an
opening
within
the
state
law
that
could
have
proceeded
around
this.
A
So
I
know
you've
been
working
more
directly
with
with
your
university
and
I
you
know
being
respectful
of
your
ability
to
have.
You
know
confidential
conversations,
but
what,
in
your
from
your
experience,
have
been
sort
of
the
bulking
points
as
to
why
you
know
a
university
that
is
deeply
invested
in
neighborhoods.
That
has
put
efforts
towards
education
might
be
resistant
around
the
idea
of
you
know.
I
know
there
can
be
semantics
around
pilots,
whatever
it
is,
but
I
think
that
you
know
I
don't.
L
Sure
I
can't
say
that
I've
had
any
conversations
with
any
of
these
people,
so
I
will
just
say
that
I've
not
been
the
gift
that
was
allocated
to
from
penn
to
the
city.
With
regards
to
the
school
district
penn
for
pilots
was
not
involved
in
those
negotiations.
I
can
say
that
and
when
our
attempts
to
meet
with
the
board
and
with
leadership,
I
will
say
that
we
did
not
get
response
in
response
to
the
media
in
general.
Was
that
you
know
penn
provides
this
economic
impact
right.
L
They
provide
through
other
forms
and
other
services
and
other
goods
to
this
issue
of
public
schools,
and
I
think
that
surely
that
is
a
good
response.
But,
like
you
said,
things
have
changed,
not
only
has
the
city's
needs
changed
and
the
school
districts
need
to
change,
but
penn's
position
has
also
changed
within
the
region
within
the
city
and
even
within
kind
of
universities.
L
And
so
when
thinking
about
pilots
and
thinking
about
how
we
frame
these
conversations,
we
want
to
also
think
about
what
the
university's
responses
could
be
or
what
the
sort
of
non-um
the
large
institutions
responses
could
be,
which
is
an
increasing
privatization
which
could
also
be
more
damaging,
and
so
just
being
aware
of
those
sort
of
trade-offs
and
dynamics.
I
think
is,
is
really
important.
But
I
can
I
can
say,
for
pen
for
pilots
we've
not
been
in
conversation
with
administrators
to
sort
of
talk
about
that.
Their
own
perspectives.
A
C
So
much
my
first
question
is
for
miss
lee.
I
want
to
thank
you
for
your
strong
background
in
organizing
to
change
your
school
and
our
city.
We
really
appreciate
that,
but
I
want
you
to
tell
me
based
on
your
own
experience,
what
would
you
like
to
see
leaders
do
to
make
sure
more
peers
in,
in
that
you
had
in
high
school,
are
equipped
with
the
tools
and
skills
to
join
you
next
year
and
at
the
university
level.
K
I
believe
that
definitely
a
lot
of
base
building
and
a
lot
of
bringing
awareness
to
this
issue,
because
it
definitely
has
impacted
my
peers,
but
I
feel
like
a
lot
of
them.
Don't
really
recognize
what's
going
on
in
the
city,
so
definitely
bringing
awareness
bringing
more
education
to
my
peers
so
that,
hopefully
they
can
join
in
to
this
very
important
issue
of
definitely
making
changes
in
our
cities
in
our
city
of
enforcing
pilots
right
and
also
encouraging
the
abolishment
of
the
tax
abatement.
The
phase
down
one
even
yes,.
C
L
Yes
and
no,
the
needs
are
so
expansive
in
that
they
are
not
just
needs
of
students
but
needs
of
households
and
communities
and
the
scale
at
which
we
attempt
to
address
these
problems.
I
think,
are
well
situated
coming
from
schools,
but
require
a
lot
more
resources
than
school
districts
are
able
to
provide
and
even
non-profits.
C
Thank
you,
you
answered
my
follow-up
question
as
well.
Yes,
thank
you
for
your
time
and
you
know
your
research
and
for
you
to
continue
to
stay
vigilant
on
pushing.
You
know
this
conversation,
because
I
agree
that
you
know
the
investments
that
we
put
in
our
young
people
today
will
affect
the
tomorrow
that
we
we
have
to
live
in
as
seniors,
which
is
a
scary
word
to
say,
but.
A
A
Wonderful,
thank
you
very
much
to
this
panel
for
your
time
and
your
expertise
today.
We
really
appreciate
it.
Thank
you.
So
this
concludes
the
panel
testimony
for
this
resolution
and
we
will
now
begin
hearing
from
individuals
who
have
registered
to
provide
public
comment.
We
have
about
three
dozen
members
of
the
public
who
have
signed
up
to
speak
on
this
issue.
A
E
E
Buildings
facing
poor
circulation
in
classrooms
in
the
face
of
covidira
reopening
were
crumbling
for
decades,
riddled
with
mold
asbestos
and
lead
educators,
attempting
to
serve
children
with
hugely
disparate
needs.
Passions
and
strengths
have
overcrowded
classrooms
and
monks
lost
to
standardized
testing.
E
At
a
time
when
we
faced
funding
deadlock
in
our
state
capital
and
no
promise
of
more
federal
stimulus.
After
this
year,
we
come
together
demand
that
the
mega
non-profits
of
philadelphia,
including
all
major
health
systems
and
universities,
contribute
payments
in
lieu
of
taxes
or
pilots
to
our
school
district.
On
top
of
any
other
contributions,
they
make
to
philadelphia
school
and
city
programs
this
year
and
every
year
until
we
have
well-funded
public
education
for
every
family
that
wants
it
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
E
We
support
the
push
that
any
pilots
that
our
major
health
systems
and
universities
provide
be
held
in
an
educational
equity
fund
made
available
for
public
school
needs.
We
look
forward
to
the
leadership
of
city
council
and
helping
to
hold
the
nonprofit
health
systems
and
universities
in
philadelphia
institutions
that
benefit
from
public
infrastructure,
funded
by
taxpayers,
accountable
to
the
education
and
thriving
of
the
next
generation
of
philadelphia.
A
M
We
lost
the
second
ap
two
of
our
three
deans.
We
lost
three
counselors,
we
lost
three
secretaries,
we
lost
the
librarian,
we
lost
a
full-time
nurse,
we
lost
the
lab
assistant,
the
classroom
sizes
started
to
balloon.
Teachers
started
wandering
the
halls
with
carts
because
we
didn't
have
enough
classroom
space
for
every
teacher.
See
student
numbers
are
everything
in
an
environment
of
scarcity
and
if
you're
not
packed
to
the
gills
with
kids,
you
lose
the
most
precious
resource
that
we
have
for
our
students,
our
staff,
the
ceilings
and
walls
started
to
flake
paint.
M
All
over
the
floor
due
to
water
damage,
I
have
stood
in
classrooms
where
old
light
bulbs
have
gone
up
in
flames
in
the
middle
of
class.
The
money
that
was
taken
from
us
never
really
came
back.
Even
when
the
stock
market
was
bumping.
Even
when
philly
was
touting
a
great
financial
comeback,
the
district
was
always
always
operating
at
a
deficit.
M
We
recouped
one
full-time
nurse
and
one
counselor
and
that's
it.
In
eight
years
we
haven't
even
halved
our
losses.
We
were
stretched
thin
with
too
few
people
doing
too
many
jobs
before
covid19
before
a
year
of
social
isolation
and
epic
levels
of
gun
violence.
In
just
the
past
four
months,
I
have
had
multiple
seniors
in
my
class
held
up
at
gunpoint.
M
My
students
are
working
more
hours
than
ever,
as
they
have
become
responsible
for
paying
a
larger
share
of
their
family's
household
bills.
They
are
under
an
incredible
amount
of
stress
and
even
if
conditions
improve
post
pandemic,
we
will
be
returning
to
school.
In
the
fall
to
students
who
have
experienced
the
most
epic
levels
of
trauma,
we
will
need
way
more
precious
staff
members,
not
less.
We
will
need
trained
and
licensed
professionals
to
help
our
students.
40
million
dollars
from
upenn
is
enough
to
put
two
more
counselors
a
librarian
and
a
school
psychologist
in
every
school.
M
In
the
district.
Speaking
as
a
teacher
in
the
school
district,
I
want
to
be
clear.
Our
relationship
with
academic
institutions
in
philadelphia
is
a
two-way
street.
I
have
personally
mentored
multiple
penn
students
from
the
nursing
school
in
my
classroom,
and
I
have
watched
my
co-workers
mentor
dozens
of
penn
students
in
our
classrooms
who
require
our
school
to
meet
their
graduation
requirements.
M
We
have
hosted
dozens
of
drexel
medical
students
and
ccp
nursing
students
in
our
classrooms,
and
this
required
our
uncons
uncompensated
time
in
order
to
meet
their
graduation
requirements
as
a
penn
nursing
student,
I
completed
all
of
my
community
health
clinical
time
with
the
school
nurse
from
the
former
pepper
middle
school.
It's
not
so
simple
to
portray
our
schools
as
charity
cases
requiring
attention
from
wealthy
benefactors
we're
giving
to
them
as
well,
and
they
have
a
stake
in
us
staying
open
and
thriving,
and
that
is
why
they
need
to
pay
pilot.
Thank
you.
B
D
Hi
good
afternoon
committee
on
children
and
youth,
my
name
is
ania
moore,
I'm
a
proud
southwest,
philadelphian
and
billy
public
school
alum.
I'm
also
an
alum
of
the
university
of
pennsylvania,
I'm
here
today
to
talk
about
penn's
relationship
with
philly
public
schools
in
particular,
and
to
stress
the
importance
of
conducting
a
full
investigation
on
penn
and
other
wealthy
non-profits
impact
on
public
schools
in
the
city.
During
my
time
at
penn,
I
spent
two
years
as
the
chair
of
the
student
advisory
board
of
the
netter
center
penn's
hub
of
university
school
partnerships.
D
The
nether
center
runs
over
40
programs
for
thousands
of
students
in
many
philadelphia
public
schools.
Typically,
when
questioned
why
the
university
does
not
pay
pilots,
penn
will
cite
these
programs
as
an
excuse
for
why
they
do
not.
I
worked
at
the
lee
school
through
penn
for
four
years
and
during
my
time
there
conducted
and
authored
two
studies
on
penn's
impact
on
the
school
through
these
partnership
programs.
Do
the
partnership
programs
have
some
benefit?
Yes,
of
course,
but
my
research
also
found
that
the
programs
were
paternalistic,
often
unorganized
and
disruptive,
to
the
school's
ecosystem.
D
They
were
certainly
not
enough
to
excuse
permanent
direct
payments
to
the
district.
During
my
first
year
working
at
lee,
I
met
a
student
by
the
name
of
muhammad
who
had
learned
how
to
play
the
cello
for
a
music
program
that
I
helped
to
lead.
I
didn't
know
him
well,
but
I
have
a
fond
memory
of
sitting
with
muhammad
and
my
mentor
eating
burritos
in
the
kudoba
on
40th
and
locust
during
his
life.
D
Muhammad
count
encountered
hundreds
of
penn
students,
including
myself,
and
his
late
mentor,
alex
and
went
through
many
of
the
university's
partnership
programs,
but
that
was
still
not
enough
to
elongate
his
life.
Last
may
I
received
a
phone
call
early
in
the
morning
and
it
was
my
mentor
crying
telling
me
that
muhammad
had
been
shot
and
killed
earlier
that
week
in
west
philly
over
tears.
We
thought
about
the
last
few
months
of
muhammad's
life.
How
had
he
how
he
had
become
disengaged
in
school
and
started
skipping
how
he
had
grown
distant?
D
We
wondered
if
we
had
done
enough.
What
could
we
have
done
better
me
coming
here
before
you
today
is
doing
that
better
for
him.
Perhaps
muhammad
would
be
here
if
his
school
building
was
a
proper
learning
environment.
Perhaps
he
would
be
here
today
if
he
had
access
to
schools
and
so
to
counselors
and
social
workers
in
his
school.
Perhaps
he
would
be
here
today
if
everyone
across
the
city,
including
the
mega
wealthy
non-profits,
did
their
part
in
ensuring
a
better
life
for
him.
D
F
Good
afternoon,
thank
you
for
granting
this
time
to
talk
about
one
of
the
most
concerning
and
urgent
issues
facing
our
city's
youth
and
the
people
who
nurtured
them.
I'm
honored
to
be
speaking
in
solidarity
with
directly
impacted
community
members,
including
the
amazing
educators,
who
will
be
speaking
right
after
me.
My
name
is
jamie
song
and
I'm
a
master
of
public
health
student
at
penn.
I
grew
up
in
the
neighborhood
of
penn
when
right
across
the
city
line
from
overbrook,
and
I
was
lucky
enough
to
attend
lower
marion's
public
schools.
F
Although
my
family
didn't
have
much
in
my
childhood,
my
parents
at
least
had
faith
that
I
would
have
a
reasonably
safe
and
physically
healthy
environment
in
which
to
grow
and
learn.
In
contrast,
less
than
a
mile
away,
students
and
staff
had
to
suffer
under
toxic
environmental
conditions
on
a
daily
basis
in
their
schools
at
penn
I
sat
in
some
of
the
most
beautiful
spacious
and
well-maintained
classrooms
in
the
city.
F
While
my
classmates
and
professors
never
have
to
worry
about
whether
their
educational
settings
are
safe,
students
and
staff
in
philly
public
schools
face
significantly
heightened
risks
of
cognitive
impairment,
developmental
problems,
lung
disease
and
deadly
cancer.
Ken
is
investing
millions
of
dollars
into
shiny
new
dorms
for
underclassmen
and
an
ultra-modern
guesthouse
for
the
president.
Yet
philly
public
schools
continue
to
deteriorate
and
fall
apart
from
insufficient
infrastructure
funding.
We
can't
deny
that
these
disparities
enact
a
form
of
violence
and
even
dehumanization
on
philly's
public
school
students
and
staff.
F
It
speaks
volumes
telling
them
that
they
don't
even
deserve
basic
human
rights
when
a
school
building
cannot
provide
the
conditions
for
human
rights,
including
clean
air
and
water.
We
are
called
to
action
as
a
city
and
community
to
remedy
that
basic
need.
To
that
end,
I
joined
the
students
and
staff
to
ask
the
city
to
demand
payments
in
lieu
of
taxes
from
wealthy
nonprofits,
like
penn,
drexel
and
jefferson
to
finance
the
basic
needs
of
our
public
schools.
F
These
payments
in
lieu
of
taxes
or
pilots
would
cover
the
foregone
income
they
would
have
paid
to
the
city
if
their
massive
and
profitable
private
land
ownership
were
properly
taxed
in
ways
that
services
in
lieu
of
taxes
could
never
accomplish.
The
contribution
of
pilots
to
our
public
schools
would
help
remediate
the
extremely
hazardous
conditions
that
our
children
and
school
workers
must
face.
It's
been
evident
for
years
that
environmental
remediation
is
urgently
needed
and
it
will
only
become
more
urgent,
as
the
city
loses.
Money
to
cover
19
and
maintenance
falls
even
further.
F
A
Thank
you
so
much,
mr
song,
and
we
appreciate
your
testimony.
One
of
the
things
that
we
were
glad
to
be
able
to
do,
though,
was
to
bring
a
clean
water
campaign
to
every
philadelphia
public
school.
So
you
know
addressing
that
issue
of
water
and
drinking
water.
Safety
was
really
critical
for
us,
and
so
we
have.
We
have
more
work
to
do,
but
we're
glad
that
every
public
school
does
have
filtered
water
stations
that
remove
those
dangerous
and
we
mandate
blood
testing.
But
we
will
continue
to
be
vigilant.
Thank
you
very
much.
G
Afternoon,
good
afternoon,
city,
council
members,
thank
you
so
much
for
the
opportunity
to
speak
today.
My
name
is
angela
chan.
I
teach
grade
3
at
jackson
elementary
school
and
have
been
with
the
school
district
for
18
years.
I
am
here
to
ask
our
city
to
call
on
wealthy
non-profits
such
as
penn,
drexel
and
jefferson,
to
begin
to
make
pilots
in
the
amount
of
40
of
what
they
would
owe
in
annual
property
taxes
in
order
to
help
fund
our
public
schools
in
underfunded,
schools.
G
G
There
is
flaking
paint
in
the
school
building,
even
even
after
our
lead
stabilization
project.
Our
awesome
custodial
and
maintenance
staff
do
their
very
best,
but
they
are
short
staffed
and
work
orders
put
in
for
upkeeping
don't
get
fulfilled
in
a
timely
manner.
I
will
never
know
if
my
own
asthma
diagnosis
at
the
midpoint
of
my
teaching
career
was
due
to
building
conditions,
but
during
this
past
year
of
remote
learning,
my
asthma
has
not
been
triggered
at
all.
G
G
G
Funding
our
schools
to
help
us
build
back
trust
is
so
critical.
Penn
has
already
generously
committed
to
a
donation
of
100
million
dollars
over
10
years
to
the
district,
and
we
are
grateful.
However,
this
isn't
the
same
as
confronting,
let
alone
dismantling
the
systemic
inequities
that
they
help
to
perpetuate
a
system
that
exempts
wealthy
nonprofits
from
paying
property.
Taxes
exacerbates
the
starving
of
our
public
schools
by
withholding
money
that
should
be
going
to
fund
our
students.
G
The
rewards
and
joys
of
teaching
are
abundant
beyond
description
because
of
the
children
we
serve.
Our
students
are
brilliant,
talented,
creative
and
compassionate,
and
we
need
to
create
the
conditions
that
will
allow
them
to
thrive
in
all
the
ways
that
they
are
meant
to
do.
The
city
must
demand
that
wealthy
non-profits
pay
their
fair
share
of
contributing
pilots
to
fund
safe
and
healthy
schools.
B
M
M
B
N
Hi,
my
name
is
james
or
my
students
call
me,
mr
l.
This
is
my
fifth
year
working
within
the
schools
in
philadelphia,
as
both
a
student
teacher
and
full-time
classroom
teacher.
I
grew
up
in
a
suburb
of
philadelphia,
new
jersey,
attended
a
private
high
school
in
that
area
and
then
attended
the
university
of
pennsylvania.
N
The
severity
of
differences
between
the
buildings
and
resources
is
wrong.
Students
at
my
school
here
in
philadelphia
have
had
to
switch
to
learning
in
the
hallways
because
lead
paint
needed
to
be
covered
during
the
school
year.
They
have
had
to
deal
with
the
stairwell
and
art
rooms
being
closed
for
almost
a
month
during
the
school
year,
because
there
was
exposed
asbestos
which
we
were
then
told,
was
fixed
and
then
later
found
out.
It
was
not
so
it
had
to
be
closed
off
again.
N
I
watched
my
8th
grade
english
language
learning.
Students
have
to
try
and
test
out
of
the
program
by
taking
access,
testing
and
closets
and
watch
the
library
be
shared
by
three
classes
at
once,
where
special
education
students
are
supposed
to
have
a
chance
to
work
on
their
skills
and
focus,
and
so
many
other
building
issues,
that's
just
the
norm
to
forget
about
and
make
excuses
for
it
like
our
hard-working
cleaning
staff
not
being
given
enough
trash
bags
so
that
they
have
to
reuse
ones
that
are
covered
in
food
and
milk
products.
N
N
N
The
public
k8
school
in
the
suburbs
I
attended
did
not
have
these
issues.
There
were
two
gymnasiums
in
a
separate
cafeteria.
It
was
all
one
floor,
so
a
student
who
may
need
a
wheelchair
could
actually
attend
the
school.
The
university
of
pennsylvania
continues
to
add
newer
and
fancier
buildings.
By
the
day
I
don't
even
recognize
parts
of
the
campus
where
I
was
a
student
less
than
six
years
ago.
N
N
I
will
not
continue
to
work
in
philadelphia,
public
schools
because
I
do
not
want
to
get
sick
or
die
from
cancer.
I
know
too
many
long
time,
teachers,
educators
and
custodial
staff
members
that
have
spent
years
in
school
district
buildings
and
who
now
have
chronic
illnesses
or
cancer.
I
love
teaching
and
I
love
the
city
of
philadelphia,
but
no
one
should
have
to
choose
between
their
own
safety
and
working
in
school
district
buildings.
Thank
you.
B
M
Yes,
okay,
thank
you.
Rachel
levine,
I'm
speaking
today
at
this
hearing
as
a
former
teacher
in
philadelphia
schools,
a
university
of
pennsylvania,
gsa
alum
and
is
a
concerned
community
member
that
continues
to
serve
philadelphia
schools
as
a
literacy
coach,
I'm
here
to
call
on
wealthy
nonprofits
such
as
penn,
drexel
and
jefferson,
to
begin
to
make
pilots
in
the
amount
of
40
of
what
they
would
owe
in
annual
property
taxes
in
order
to
help
fund
our
public
schools.
M
M
Everyone
on
the
ground
from
principals
to
teachers,
building
engineers
and
families
does
everything
within
their
sphere
of
influence
to
mitigate
these
conditions
and
provide
children
with
safe
learning
conditions.
However,
it's
not
enough.
It
wasn't
enough
before
the
pandemic,
and
now
we
are
all
feeling
the
effects
of
this
chronic
underfunding.
M
O
G
Most
of
penn's
resources,
including
its
property
and
its
endowment,
do
not
benefit
the
wider
community,
but
only
serve
those
directly
affiliated
with
pen
people
without
a
pen
id
are
not
able
to
access
most
of
the
buildings
on
campus
and
pen
police
regularly
remove
people
who,
they
think
don't
belong
on.
Campus
penn
expands
its
area
of
control
by
buying
and
constructing
new
buildings
and
by
having
police
patrol
the
neighborhood.
G
As
we
saw
this
past
may,
pan
police
have
no
problem
going
into
west
philadelphia
with
military
gear.
To
stop
people
from
rightfully
protesting
penn
also
hoards
money,
penn's
endowment
is
nearly
15
billion.
With
a
b,
the
board
of
directors
chooses
to
spend
only
five
percent
of
that,
while
the
endowment
grows
at
a
higher
rate.
In
other
words,
the
university
spends
less
than
it
makes
and
takes
a
profit.
G
As
a
graduate
student
at
penn,
I
can
use
penn's
properties
and
get
paid
a
stipend
while
philadelphia,
public
school
teachers
and
students
face
decrepit
buildings
and
unsafe
conditions.
It
does
not
make
sense
that
penn
is
allowed
to
profit
from
these
resources
without
paying
taxes
into
the
philadelphia
school
system.
This
needs
to
change.
Penn
needs
to
be
held
accountable
and
make
amends
for
its
hoarding
of
wealth.
These
amends
must
be
in
the
form
of
pilots.
G
G
Second
penn
needs
to
commit
to
a
better
relationship
to
the
philadelphia
community
in
perpetuity,
not
just
for
the
next
10
years.
Third,
penn's
commitment
needs
to
be
proportional
to
its
resources,
not
a
fixed
amount.
That's
why
we
are
asking
for
40
percent
of
foregone
property
tax.
That
is
less
than
one
percent
of
the
endowment,
and
it
is
more
than
the
10
million
dollars
per
year.
That
pen
is
giving
now
paying.
Pilots
is
only
a
first
step
in
repairing
the
damage
that
the
university
of
pennsylvania
has
done
to
philadelphia
residents,
but
it
is
a
crucial
step.
H
Yes,
thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
comment
on
this
resolution.
I
am
employed
by
the
university
of
pennsylvania.
I
strongly
support
pilots.
For
me,
the
reason
is
simple:
philadelphia.
Schools
depend
on
property
taxes
if
rich
institutions
that
own
property
in
the
city
do
not
shoulder
their
fair
share
than
other
property
owners,
many
of
whom
are
poor
are
subsidizing.
Those
institutions
non-payment
without
pilots.
The
city
schools
cannot
make
up
the
difference
and
cannot
educate
young
people
in
philadelphia
effectively.
H
When
you
pen
and
other
non-profits
begin
paying
pilots,
they
will
begin
to
be
part
of
building
a
stronger
city
and
a
stronger
democracy
that
work
of
rebuilding
is
important.
Now,
pilots
cannot
be
postponed
any
longer.
Children
in
philadelphia
need
all
who
own
expensive
property
to
pay
into
school
budgets.
H
Individuals
and
for-profit
corporations
should,
of
course,
also
continue
to
pay
property
taxes.
I
know
I
pay
mine.
The
need
is
great,
however.
That
is
why
big
non-profits
also
need
to
step
up.
For
me,
this
is
not
an
abstraction.
My
three
children
have
attended
multiple
public
schools
in
philadelphia.
H
I
value
the
wonderful
work
done
by
their
teachers.
That
needs
to
be
said,
but
I
am
angry
that
over
years
my
children
went
without
the
music
and
arts
teachers
they
might
have
had
the
instructors
of
foreign
languages
they
might
have
had
and
the
kind
of
athletic
programming
that
is
taken
for
granted
in
suburban
schools.
The
work
of
fixing
philadelphia
schools
is
not
going
to
be
easy,
but
it
is
possible.
H
Parents
like
myself
need
to
know
that
institutions
that
are
wealthy
in
the
city
are
doing
their
part.
Also,
pilots
are
not
only
a
way
of
putting
money
where
it
is
needed.
They
are
also
a
vital
way
to
communicate
support
for
children
and
families
in
the
city.
I
cannot
see
the
city
going
forward
without
pilots.
Thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
comment
on
the
resolution.
I
appreciate
it.
H
Testimony
good
afternoon,
many
thanks
to
the
city
council
committee
on
children
and
youth
for
holding
this
important
hearing.
My
name
is
mary
summers.
I
am
a
lecturer
in
political
science
at
the
university
of
pennsylvania
and
I
have
taught
academically
based
community
service
courses
at
penn
for
almost
20
years.
H
Over
these
years,
both
my
students
and
I
have
learned
a
great
deal
from
service
learning
and
volunteer
programs
in
schools
where
experienced
administrators
and
teachers
have
had
the
time
to
play
a
key
role
in
developing
our
partnerships
in
desperately
underfunded,
understaffed
schools
with
constant
turnover.
However,
student
volunteers,
no
matter
how
well-meaning
often
only
contribute
to
the
chaos
as
a
result
of
this
experience,
I
know
all
too
well
that
service
learning
and
volunteer
programs
simply
cannot
substitute
for
the
many
millions
of
dollars
that
institutions
like
penn
would
pay
in
taxes
if
they
were
not
tax
exempt.
H
In
an
era,
an
economy
of
growing
inequality,
the
city
of
philadelphia
has
become
two
cities,
one
where
tax-exempt
institutions
like
penn
and
drexel
and
jefferson,
with
enormous
resources,
invest
in
deluxe,
high-rises
and
private
police
forces.
The
other
a
city
where
our
public
schools,
literally
crumble
and
the
jails
are
packed.
Even
in
the
time
of
covid.
H
The
results
of
the
inadequate
funding
of
our
city,
schools
have
been
tragic.
A
teacher
sickened
with
the
fatal
disease
of
mesothelioma
children
with
lead
poisoning
children
whose
asthma
is
exacerbated
by
the
air
in
the
buildings
where
they
are
supposed
to
learn
to
read
and,
as
we
have
heard,
the
staff
as
well.
H
H
B
B
P
I'm
aidan
gonzalez,
and
I
am
a
senior
at
masterman
high
school
and
I've
been
a
student
in
the
philadelphia
public
schools,
for
since
I
was
in
pre-k
at
beige,
martin
and
then
greenwood
charter
school
for
elementary
school
and
mastermind
from
5th
grade.
Until
where
I
am
now-
and
I
would
like
to
give
you
a
walk-through
of
what
a
day
at
school
looks
like
for
me.
P
So
I
get
to
school
at
7
30
an
hour
before
school
starts,
because
a
few
of
my
teachers
have
requested
help
for
a
few
of
their
students
who
are
failing
classes
that
they're
not
able
to
give
them
personalized
attention
because
they
have
six
classes
of
30
plus
students
each
after
math
tutoring.
I
rushed
to
the
library
to
print
out
a
paper
for
my
english
class.
There
are
only
10
computers
in
my
school's
library
for
a
thousand
school
for
a
thousand
plus
students.
P
P
P
There
was
soap
in
the
bathroom
today,
which
is
a
rare
occurrence
and
the
ceiling
on
the
fourth
floor.
Hallway
the
stairway,
didn't
crumble
and
debris
didn't
fall
on
students,
that's
happened,
and
these
are
the
realities
of
my
public
school
experience
and
and
mastermind
has
a
very,
very
extensive
and
supportive
home
and
school
association
that
is
able
to
financially
support
us
in
so
many
ways.
So
mastermind.
Has
it
relatively
well
off
compared
to
many
other
schools,
and
and
students
in
the
school
district
are
being
taught
that
we
weren't.
P
We
aren't
worthy
of
clean
buildings.
We
aren't
worthy
of
individualized
help
from
teachers
and,
worst
of
all,
we're
being
taught
that
big
institutions
like
penn,
like
drexel,
like
jefferson,
aren't,
are
untouchable
and,
and
we
can't
ask
them
to
contribute
their
fair
share
to
the
city
of
philadelphia
and
to
our
public
schools.
So
thank
you
for
your
time,
and
this
is
why
I
ask
that
philly's
megan
non-profits
pay
40
of
what
they
would
pay
in
property
taxes
in
pilots
more
than
the
10
million
dollars
a
year.
P
I
I
Dozens
of
schools
were
closed.
Teachers
were
laid
off
and
crucial
support
staff
were
cut.
These
were
the
years
when
full-time
nurses
were
no
longer
required
in
every
school.
Two
students
died
because
a
nurse
was
not
on
duty
in
the
school
during
a
health
crisis.
This
is
why
I
say
it's
a
matter
of
life
and
death.
I
I
Like
many
speakers
have
said,
it's
normal
to
have
to
put
out
buckets
to
catch
the
rain
right
in
falls
for
roofs
to
cave
in,
for
buildings
to
be
infested
with
mold
lead
rodents
and
asbestos,
given
how
many
of
our
students
suffer
from
chronic
asthma
again,
this
is
a
life
and
death
issue,
but
I
don't
need
to
tell
you
this.
We
all
know
it
and
we
have
all
allowed
it
to
continue.
I
Now
is
the
time
to
say
enough:
almost
all
of
us
have
sacrificed
during
this
pandemic,
and
almost
all
of
us
pay
taxes
to
maintain
the
city.
Pilots
will
make
it
so
that
truly
all
of
us
are
sacrificing
and
contributing
to
our
public
school
system
for
institutions
like
the
university
of
penn
sitting
on
a
14
billion
dollar
endowment
to
be
exempt
from
taxes
is
a
crime.
There's
all
this
talk
about
how
penn
can
give
back
to
the
community?
Well,
this
is
it
right
here
we
shouldn't
be
filling
budget
holes
by
taxing
working
people.
I
More
wealthy
institutions
need
to
pay
up
we're
at
a
crossroads.
The
mayor
is
claiming
we
have
a
450
million
dollar
budget
shortfall.
Are
we
going
to
keep
cutting
and
cutting
until
there's
nothing
left?
Are
we
going
to
keep
letting
the
wealthiest
institutions
get
away
with
avoiding
taxes?
Let
the
revenue
that's
right
in
front
of
our
face
slip
away
and
then
keep
complaining
about
the
state
of
our
schools,
roads
and
bridges.
I
Pilots
is
both
the
pragmatic
and
the
moral
thing
to
do
the
consequences.
If
we
don't
will
be
more
costly
than
half
a
percentage
pen
will
lose
from
its
endowment.
The
consequences
of
a
young
generation
completely
devoid
of
hope
and
opportunities
is
not
something
the
city
wants
to
face.
The
blowback
of
there's
no
better
opportunity
than
now
to
institute
pilots.
Thank.
B
G
Good
afternoon
my
name
is
linlin.
I
am
a
junior
at
central
high
school
and
a
youth
organizer
with
asian
americans,
united
as
a
student
who
went
to
philly's
public
schools,
my
entire
life,
I
supported
the.
I
support
the
resolution
that
is
being
discussed
today.
I
realized
how
desensitized
I
became
to
the
disinvestment
in
my
school
communities.
I
did
not
flinch
when
we
had
assemblies
in
elementary
school
when
our
principal
told
us
that
we
are
losing
funding.
G
It
was
normal
that
nine-year-olds
supported
the
whole
economy
of
tissues,
copy
paper
and
hand
sanitizers,
because
the
school
did
not
have
the
money
to
afford
it.
It
was
normal
to
not
find
the
bathroom
sinks
working
or
if
we
are
lucky
a
full
roll
of
toilet
paper.
I
did
not
take
adequate
science,
music
language
classes,
because
my
school
simply
couldn't
afford
it.
It
was
normal
to
make
goodbye
cards
for
beloved
teachers
when
they
had
to
leave
because
the
administration
had
to
cut
faculty
numbers.
G
It
was
normal
to
be
in
an
overcrowded
room,
full
of
35
kids
with
thermometers,
reading
90
degrees.
We
did
not
have
air
conditioning
by
the
way,
so
we
spent
the
entire
day
learning,
while
fanning
ourselves
with
our
own
notebooks.
We
open
every
possible
working
window
to
even
cast
or
breathe,
so
we
don't
suffer
a
heat
stroke.
G
If
you
think
this
is
a
normal
learning
environment,
please
come
to
our
schools
and
tell
it
to
our
face.
These
were
the
conditions
of
what
school
meant
to
me
ever
since
I
was
seven,
I
am
17.
Now
a
decade
has
passed,
not
much
has
changed
as
a
student
of
color
in
philly's
public
education
system.
It
has
failed
to
recognize
the
humanity
of
myself
and
my
peers.
G
These
extreme
problems
won't
go
away
without
proper
funding
from
the
city
and
the
school
district
billy
loses
285
million
dollars
every
year
in
property
taxes
just
from
the
major
nonprofits.
Let's
do
the
simple
math
here
this
would
more
than
cover
the
38
million
projected
school
budget
deficit.
Stop
using
excuses
when
solutions
are
right
there.
As
a
student,
I
support
this
resolution
to
better
understand
how
property
tax
exemptions
are
harming
us.
As
students,
we
will
continue
to
stand
with
our
school
communities.
G
Now
I
am
asking
you
to
stand
with
us
and
require
wealthy
nonprofits
to
pay
their
fair
share
to
the
city
in
the
form
of
pilots,
because
that
is
the
right
thing
to
do.
Young
people
here
today
are
not
begging
you
to
do
this.
They
are
demanding
you
too.
It
is
because
we
deserve
better
than
the
crumbs
that
are
being
handed
to
us
for
decades.
G
The
mayoral
election
is
coming
up,
and
I
want
to
remind
folks
here
that
the
generation
that
the
city
council
left
behind
has
grown
up,
and
we
will
not
forget
what
side
you
decide
to
stand
on
during
your
time
here
in
city
council.
I
hope
we
can
move
forward
in
healing
the
lack
of
trust
between
the
people
and
the
structures
of
power
where
we
will
vote
people
in
who
will
support
us.
Thank
you
for
this
opportunity
and
thank
you
for
your
time
here.
B
G
I'm
currently
a
sophomore
at
central
high
school
and
a
youth
organizer
with
asian
americans,
united
as
a
student
attending
philadelphia
public
schools.
I
support
this
resolution
to
understand
how
the
exemption
of
property
taxes
is
harming
us
students,
for
as
long
as
I
can
remember,
attending
a
public
school
meant
dirty
bathrooms,
broken
doors
and
chairs,
never
having
enough
textbooks
and
was
always
lacking
supplies,
whether
that
mean
not
enough
textbooks
or
simply
textbooks
that
were
outdated
and
old.
Our
bathrooms
are
always
lacking.
Toilet
paper
flooded
and
sometimes
the
toilet
seats
are
broken.
G
Doors
are
generally
missing
a
glass
or
two,
perhaps
even
a
doorknob.
Each
year
we
are
required
to
bring
in
supplies
so
that
teachers
do
not
have
to
pay
out
of
their
own
pockets.
I
had
to
bring
in
dry
erase
markers
and
white
boards
for
class.
My
classmate
got
extra
credit
for
bringing
copy
paper
for
the
teachers
lounge
because
they
ran
out.
G
I
remember
having
to
run
to
the
running
room
in
hopes
of
being
able
to
receive
a
hot
lunch.
What
greeted
me
was
always
a
massive
line
of
students
waiting
to
be
served.
Each
plate
handed
out
had
barely
enough
food
to
last
the
rest
of
the
school
day.
If
funding
was
supplemented
by
pilots,
our
school's
learning
environments
will
be
cleaner
and
safer
students
will
be
able
to
learn
without
having
to
worry
about
having
an
empty
stomach.
There
will
be
enough
supplies,
educational
and
sanitary
for
each
student
today.
G
I
am
here
to
say
that
city,
council
and
city
hall
must
be
involved
in
collecting
pilots
for
our
schools.
Our
schools
are
extremely
underfunded
and
my
peers-
and
I
are
suffering
because
of
it-
wealthy
nonprofits,
wealthy
nonprofits
tax
exemptions
impact
how
much
money
is
going
to
our
already
underfunded
schools.
The
bare
minimum
can
be
for
wealthy
nonprofits,
like
penn,
drexel
and
jefferson,
to
pay
just
40
percent
of
foreign
property
taxes
to
our
schools
to
ensure
safe
and
healthy
conditions.
G
F
Hi
good
afternoon,
thank
you,
council
members,
panelists
and
speakers
from
the
public.
My
name
is
chris
kinito,
I'm
a
member
of
penn
community
for
justice,
resident
of
west
philadelphia,
as
well
as
a
recent
msw
and
mpl
graduate
from
the
school
of
social
policy
and
practice
at
penn.
I'm
also
formerly
involved
in
education
within
philadelphia,
and
my
partner
is
currently
a
special
educator.
I'm
here
to
advocate
that
penn
makes
the
long-term
commitment
towards
paying
pilots.
Much
of
my
work
as
a
social
worker
has
been
focused
on
public
health
and
education,
justice
issues
for
different
communities.
F
We
are
proud
many
of
them
participating
in
this
testimony
process.
Today,
two
major
themes
came
out
of
our
series
that
echoed
much
as
much
of
what
has
been
said
today.
First,
that
our
school
district
is
operating
in
an
environment
of
resource
scarcity
that
hinders
much
of
its
capacity
to
provide
safe,
adequate
and
effective
public
education.
F
During
a
chaotic
period
of
school
budget,
austerity
measures,
the
district's,
then
cfo,
matthew
stansky,
told
why
almost
half
of
its
then
2
budget
comes
from
the
city
a
little
over.
A
third
comes
from
the
state.
Most
of
the
rest
comes
from
the
federal
government.
This
means
that
when
there's
a
shift
in
attitudes
and
leadership
in
harris
berg,
let
alone
nationally,
it
comes
at
the
cost
of
those
most
at
risk.
In
the
case
of
pennsylvania,
it
hurts
its
cities
and
it's
most
marginalized
within
them.
F
This
makes
it
unfertile
ground
to
meet
the
needs
of
students
and
the
district
during
the
best
of
times,
let
alone
during
a
once
in
a
generation
pandemic
in
2017
daniel
floyd.
The
district's
current
director
of
capital
programs
also
told
why
no
one
wants
to
be
in
the
position
of
deciding
between
funding
school
nurses
and
making
necessary
repairs.
The
education
programs
come
first
we're
going
to
need
more
money
from
the
outside
we're
going
to
be
vocal
about
our
needs.
Yet
this
is
where
we
find
ourselves
today.
F
Our
city
has
consistently
been
the
recipient
damage,
damaging
budget
austerity
measures
and
outright
discriminatory
policies
from
the
hatchetting
of
school
budgets
to
the
generational
effects
of
racial
redlining
funding
is
only
an
innovation
one
intervention,
but
it
often
equates
to
focus
and
provides
flexibility
to
meet
ever-changing
needs.
If
we
were
not
operating
with
it.
With
funding
scarcity,
we
can
employ
more
more
robust
measures
to
remediate
our
buildings,
provide
adequate
resources
for
teachers
as
well
as
experiment
and
try
more
student
and
community
centered
approaches.
F
We
can
invest
in
actively
building
trust
between
the
city
and
the
school
district
and
the
population.
We
cannot
meet
the
needs
of
our
students
with
half
affected
film
films
that
skim
the
surface
of
long-standing
ills.
Recycling,
ineffective
methods
will
only
continue
to
harm
our
students,
families
and
educators.
We
need
a
diversity
of
methods
and
tactics
to
meet
the
district's
need,
needs
and
root
out
the
effects
of
white
supremacy
within
our
city.
Pilots
is
honestly
a
simple
and
accessible
resource.
F
We
are
not
fully
utilizing
from
a
massive
public
entity
that
is
directly
connected
to
how
the
city
rises
and
falls.
I
would
like
to
finish
as
someone
who
owes
a
lot
to
pen,
both
in
experience
and
student
loans.
It's
hypocritical
that
there's
so
much
institutional
pushback
from
a
school
that
frames
itself
as
the
fourth
most
innovative
in
the
world.
It
would
be
hypocritical
of
myself
to
fail
to
use
the
lenses,
experiences,
privilege
and
perspective
fostered
by
the
institution
to
not
look
within
myself
as
the
school
itself
and
how
we
are
connected
to
systems
of
oppression.
F
Therefore,
it
is
necessary
to
put
pen
to
task
to
make
a
sustainable
investment
in
our
city's
future
through
pilots.
I
am
saddened
that
it
is
more
tenable
for
me
to
organize
being
tear
gas
by
the
ppb
on
I-676
to
navigate
the
bureaucratic
and
closed-circuited
hierarchical
jungle
of
my
alma
mater
to
advocate
for
innovative
changes
that
could
be
implemented
rapidly.
I
hope
philadelphia
leadership
has
the
willpower
to
demand.
Penn
follows
through
with
its
statements
on
innovation
and
ethics
for
the
betterment
of
our
students
and
city.
Thank
you.
So
much
for
your
time.
O
Hi,
my
name
is
kate
ratner
good
afternoon.
Everyone,
I'm
really
happy
to
be
speaking
with
you
all
today.
Like
I
said,
my
name
is
kate
ratner.
I
use
she
her
pronouns
and
I'm
a
senior
at
central
high
school
in
north
philly.
I
figured
I
wouldn't
come
here
today
to
repeat
familiar
statistics.
The
overwhelming
endowments
of
our
local
mega
non-profits,
our
school
district's
fairly
sustainable
budget
were
the
absolute
necessity
for
the
university
of
pennsylvania,
drexel
university
and
thomas
jefferson
university
to
pay
annual
property
taxes
to
the
city
of
philadelphia.
O
The
raw
numbers
have
not
been
convincing
enough,
which
I
find
embarrassing
and
unfortunate.
I'm
a
pretty
lucky
kid.
I've
spent
eight
years
in
philadelphia
student
philadelphia
schools
with
strong
alumni
and
home
home
and
school
associations,
auctions
and
dedicatory
libraries
and
playground
structures.
I
go
to
central
now
and
before
I
went
to
albert
and
greenfield
school.
O
This
is
not
the
norm
for
philadelphia,
school
district
students,
and
you
know
the
privilege
I've
had
in
the
district.
This
is
not
to
say
that
I've
haven't
had
to
make
a
meeting
with
my
counselor
a
week
in
advance
because
she's
responsible
for
the
entire
counseling
department,
as
well
as
her
bracket
of
200
students
between
the
five
counselors
taking
care
of
2
600
students
at
our
school.
This
is
also
not
to
say
that
I
haven't
ever
sat
in
class
sweating,
even
in
the
depths
of
the
winter,
but
I'm
pretty
lucky
after
high
school.
O
I
will
now
go
on
to
study
at
the
university
of
pennsylvania,
where
I
will
see
the
same
privilege
that
is
unfairly
inaccessible
to
children.
In
my
neighborhood,
my
school
district
and
my
city,
I
promise
that
during
my
time
at
penn
I
will
advocate
for
those
who
haven't
been
designated
as
the
lucky
kids
with
the
home
and
school
associations
and
the
alumni
associations
and
the
nice
library
by
this
corrupt
system
of
deal
making
exchange
and
placing
business
over
education,
equity
and
inequality.
O
The
hundred
million
dollar
donation
from
the
university
of
pennsylvania
to
the
school
district
this
year
was
long
overdue
and
an
attempt
to
distract
from
years
of
little
fiscal
support
to
the
city
in
which
their
students
live
and
learn.
Today,
yet
again
I
confront
my
future
penn
community
and
demand
that
they
replenish
the
community
that
made
me
that
shaped
me
and
made
me
the
person
I
am
today.
Thank
you
very
much
for
having
me.
G
Hello,
my
name
is
yuma
diabeera.
I
am
a
senior
at
central
high
school
and
community
organizer
for
herb
ed.
I've
been
in
the
philadelphia
school
district
for
13
years.
I
spend
most
of
my
time
on
zoom
calls
planning
events
with
my
peers.
I
spend
most
of
my
time
prepping
statements
to
have
my
voice
heard
about
things
that
you
would
think
would
simply
just
be
done.
Yes,
I
am
a
student
and
my
main
focus
should
be
school,
but
oftentimes.
It
cannot
be
not
with
the
conditions
of
our
public
schools.
G
G
I
remember
trying
to
choose
a
high
school
as
a
14
year
old
and
having
to
think
about
which
schools
had
just
lost
their
counselors
or
their
librarians
or
their
secretaries
due
to
lack
of
funds.
There
should
never
be
a
lack
of
funds
in
education,
because
a
great
education
is
priceless,
especially
in
philadelphia,
which
is
home
to
several
wealthy
non-profits
going
to
a
philadelphia.
G
Public
school
is
going
into
bathrooms
that
have
12
stalls,
but
only
five
have
tissue
or
soap
dispensers
that
haven't
been
filled
since
freshman
year,
I'm
now
a
senior
or
having
to
bring
in
tissue
during
the
winter
for
extra
credit,
because
we
simply
can't
afford
it
for
every
single
classroom.
That's
the
sacrifice
we
have
to
make
to
get
an
education.
G
G
Kids
shouldn't
have
to
sacrifice
like
that
to
get
a
good
education,
our
biggest
worry
should
be
our
next
test
or
what
dress
we're
wearing
to
prom,
not
our
schools
being
underfunded.
The
consequences
of
underfunded.
Schools
have
fallen
on
the
shoulders
of
our
educators,
our
parents
and
us
as
students.
So
I
place
it
back
on
these
nonprofits.
G
I'm
asking
you
to
support
pilots
to
support
our
public
schools
to
publicly
declare
that
equitable
education
is
your
priority.
The
city's
priority
by
supporting
pilots,
you
show
that
students
and
teachers
and
the
parents
of
philadelphia
are
the
priority
that
fully
funded
public
schools
are
the
priority
that
education
is
the
priority.
Thank
you
for
your
time.
B
O
Hello,
my
name
is
samantha
sesson
good
afternoon
city
council
members.
Thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
speak
today.
I
am
here
as
a
concerned
philadelphia
community
member
and
jefferson
alumna.
The
statement
I
am
about
to
read,
gathered
123
signatures
from
jefferson
students,
staff
faculty
and
alumni
working
in
healthcare-related
fields.
O
We
are
dedicated
to
ensuring
that
jefferson
takes
on
the
responsibility
of
ensuring
a
safe,
healthy
and
equitable
future
for
the
most
vulnerable
members
of
our
community.
Our
children
in
recent
years
jefferson,
has
been
expanding
its
presence
in
philadelphia
healthcare
by
acquiring
major
health
systems
in
the
area,
including
the
einstein
system
in
north
philadelphia.
O
O
In
spite
of
these
losses,
jefferson
is
not
only
continuing
with
its
plans
to
merge
with
einstein
an
acquisition
valued
at
599
million
dollars,
but
also
building
a
new
outpatient
medical
building
in
center
city,
valued
at
762
million
dollars.
Jefferson's
growth
will
eventually
yield
more
revenue
as
it
continues
to
expand.
We
advocate
for
the
inclusion
of
pilots
in
its
budget
and
a
commitment
to
philadelphia
public
schools.
O
The
educational
environment
has
a
significant
impact
on
children's
ability
to
learn
and
succeed.
We
know
that
educational
achievement
and
resources
are
crucial
to
current
and
future
health
outcomes.
We
know
that
this
is
not
jefferson's
responsibility
alone,
but
if
jefferson
is
truly
committed
to
the
public
health
of
philadelphia,
it
must
consider
the
consequences
of
continued
inaction.
O
School
children
in
philadelphia
are
three
times
more
likely
than
that
than
the
national
average
to
have
asthma
and
children
in
our
most
underserved
communities
have
an
average
like
life
expectancy,
20
years
shorter
than
children
and
other
zip
codes
by
committing
40
percent
of
its
foreground
property
taxes,
a
small
percentage
of
its
operating
budget
to
school
repairs
rather
to
new
buildings
and
acquisitions.
Jefferson
could
address
this
mounting
public
health
crisis,
a
crisis
that
only
stands
to
get
worse
as
schools
face
an
increasing
budget
deficit
and
necessary
repairs
become
more
and
more
delayed.
O
If
jefferson
can
commit
44.2
million
dollars
to
renovate
its
executive
offices
in
2020,
it
can
certainly
evaluate
whether
it
can
make
a
more
substantial
contribution
to
the
health
of
philadelphia's
children.
Paying
pilots
would
go
a
long
way
towards
fulfilling
jefferson's
mission
to
improve
lives
and
reduce
health
disparities,
health
disparities
in
its
home
city.
Thank
you.
Q
Okay,
thank
you
good
afternoon.
My
name
is
lola
milder,
I'm
a
senior
at
mastermind
high
school
and
I'm
speaking
today,
because
our
schools
are
in
crisis
and
now
reality
becomes
much
more
painful
in
the
context
of
the
wealthy
non-profits
that
inhabit
our
city,
but
do
not
contribute
to
it,
including
universities
like
upenn,
drexel
and
jefferson.
Q
It's
so
frustrating
how
these
institutions
claim
philadelphia
and
its
people
and
its
problems
when
it
is
convenient
to
them.
Philadelphians
fill
their
brochures
and
their
websites
and
their
advertisements
and
faculty
and
student
bodies,
but
they
refuse
to
support
philadelphians
when
it
matters,
and
this
is
not
the
precedent.
The
nation's
other
wealthiest
universities
are
engaged
in
pilots,
in
addition
to
contributing
civically.
So
when
philadelphia's
mega
non-profits
point
to
redevelopment
and
university
police
forces
and
other
civic
contributions,
we
have
to
push
them
further.
Q
Q
We
don't
have
enough
counselors
at
my
school
to
protect
the
mental
health
of
all
of
our
students.
The
three
counselors
are
each
responsible
for
the
mental
well-being
and
academic
guidance
of
400
students.
There
are
days
where
I
visited
their
office
three
times
and
been
continually
unable
to
speak
with
them,
not
because
they
don't
care,
but
because
they're
stretched
so
thinly.
Nor
do
we
have
enough
support
to
support
to
protect
our
teachers
from
exhaustion.
Q
Each
year
my
teachers
are
contributing
more
out
of
their
pocket
for
school
supplies
and
juggling
larger
classes
and
more
students
and
tracking
the
impacts
of
funding
on
mental
health
can
be
abstract,
but
the
same
can't
be
said
for
physical
health
and
the
safety
of
our
students.
Can
we
know
that
continued
exposure
to
asbestos,
lead
and
mold
spores
are
a
daily
threat
to
our
school
communities.
These
hazardous
materials
don't
belong
in
our
classrooms
and
neither
do
rodents
or
leaking
pipes
or
crumbling
ceilings
or
overflowing
toilets
all
which
exist
in
my
school
and
have
for
years.
Q
In
addition
to
health
risks,
poor
building
conditions
keep
our
students
out
of
school
and
out
of
classes.
Last
year,
teachers
at
my
school
conducted
class
in
the
lunchroom
and
in
the
hallways,
because
their
classrooms
were
exposed
to
asbestos
and
other
classrooms
had
pipes
leaking
hot
air
and
hot
water
that
same
year,
asbestos
closed
six
district
buildings
entirely
displacing
hundreds
of
students
and
what
I'm
saying
comes
after
a
long
string
of
upsetting
testimonies.
It's
a
really
vivid
picture
of
the
deplorable
condition
our
schools
are
in
and
have
been
for
decades.
Q
Our
schools
are
producing
activists
out
of
necessity.
Looking
at
the
crowd
of
speakers
today,
that's
so
apparent
the
energy
of
students
and
teachers
and
community
members
has
been
diverted
towards
fighting
for
the
right
to
breathe,
clean
air
and
to
work
and
study
in
clean
spaces
and
to
have
access
to
textbooks
and
counseling.
That's
what
we're
all
doing
here
today
and
I
I
would
know
that
pen's
commitment
to
contributing
10
million
dollars
over
the
next
10
years
is
a
victory,
but
it
shouldn't
satisfy
or
end
the
conversations
we're
having
about
pilots.
Q
If
these
mega
non-profits
will
not
step
up
themselves,
it
is
the
responsibility
of
our
elected
officials
to
reconsider
their
tax-exempt
status.
We
need
your
diligence
and
your
action
and
your
bravery
now.
The
fight
for
pilots
is
the
fight
for
the
safety
of
our
students,
and
I
urge
you
to
fight
for
us.
Thank
you
so
much
for
your
time.
O
O
Nonprofits
in
this
city
should
make
payments
in
lieu
of
taxes
at
an
amount
equivalent
to
the
property
tax.
They
would
owe
for
many
many
reasons,
but
I'll
focus
on
two
specifically
number
one,
because
they
can
afford
to
and
number
two
because
it
is
immoral
not
for
them
not
to
where
I
live
in.
West
philly
is
walking
distance
from
the
new
building
that
the
university
of
pennsylvania
just
put
up
on
40th
and
walnut
this
gigantic
building.
All
brick
and
glass
cost
163
million
dollars
to
build
with
that
money.
O
Penn
could
have
covered
what
it
would
take
to
remediate
the
lead
asbestos
in
philadelphia,
public
schools
and
still
had
money
left
over
with
all
its
new
construction,
billions
of
dollars
in
investments
and
an
endowment
that
grows
every
year.
Penn
can
clearly
afford
much
more
than
the
measly
10
million
dollars
a
year.
They
recently
committed
to
the
school
district
and
they
only
committed
it
for
10
for
the
next
10
years.
The
100
million
made
for
good
media
coverage
for
penn,
but
it
doesn't
do
nearly
enough
for
our
communities
or
for
our
schools.
O
Beyond
the
fact
that
these
large
non-profits
can
more
than
afford
to
make
these
payments,
it
is
wrong
for
non-profits
that
provide
health
care
such
as
the
children's
hospital
pennsylvania,
thomas
jefferson,
university
hospital
and
health
partners
plans
to
avoid
stepping
up
to
make
the
payments
that
would
help
ensure
safe,
healthy,
green
school
facilities
by
not
contributing
their
fair
share
to
our
city.
They
let
our
school
facilities
continue
to
crumble
and
poison,
our
children
and
our
educators.
They
are
essentially
ensuring
that
people
continue
to
get
sick
and
require
their
health
services.
O
They
also,
if
I'm
not
mistaken,
still
expect
everyone
to
pay
their
medical
bills.
These
non-profits,
whether
they
like
it
or
not,
are
part
of
a
system
that
prioritizes
saving
money
for
organizations
and
businesses
over
fully
funding
what
communities
and
families
need.
It
is
past
time
for
large
nonprofits
to
grapple
with
their
complicity
in
this
capitalist
system
and
start
contributing
pilots.
Thank
you.
Q
Thank
you
good
afternoon,
I'm
zoe
tua
graduate
of
class
of
2019,
a
team
member
in
erbed
and
a
west
philly
native,
now
known
as
a
university
city
native,
a
neighborhood
overtaken
with
penn's
assistance.
We've
had
a
lot
of
the
wrong
assistance
coming
from
the
untaxed
institutions
in
this
city.
In
the
new
flourishing
neighborhood
I
grew
up
in
I
had
I
got
to
attend
what
used
to
be
one
of
the
foremost
up
up-and-coming
diverse
elementary
schools
in
the
city.
Penn
alexander
penn
alexander,
was
a
great
experience.
For
me.
Q
It
was
full
of
kids
from
a
range
of
ethnicities.
We
had
passionate
teachers
and
a
well-resourced,
well-funded
well-looked
after
school.
When
I
attended
it
was
run
by
ms
sheila
sydnor,
a
black
woman
who
built
up
the
school
from
its
silver
platter,
platter
beginnings
with
all
the
hope
and
promise
in
the
name:
sadie
tanner
mossel
alexander
penn
partnership
school
named
after
sadie
tanner,
the
first
african-american
to
earn
a
phd
in
economics
in
the
country
and
the
first
black
woman
to
receive
a
law
degree
from
u
penn
law
school.
Q
It's
not
an
accident
that
some
teachers
at
pas
used
to
remind
us
that
if
we
didn't
do
well,
we'd
go
to
the
neighborhood
high
school
west,
philly
high,
those
kinds
of
threats
shouldn't
exist.
My
former
classmates
shouldn't
have
to
travel
damn
near
an
hour
and
a
half
to
get
to
school
every
morning,
because
the
schools
down
the
street
from
them
are
either
getting
shut
down
for
lack
of
funds
or
are
barely
keeping
their
heads
above
water.
Q
The
teachers
and
parents
in
this
city
have
been
making
do
the
best
they
can
with
what
little
resources
we
have
in
our
leaking
budget.
While
these
untaxed
institutions
have
gone
on
expanding
leeching
and
repainting
our
city,
how
they
see
fit,
I'm
curious
who
this
city
belongs
to?
What
does
it
take
to
not
have
to
abide
by
the
rules?
The
people
most
equipped
to
contribute,
who
are
all
who
are
so
called
in
the
business
of
education,
who
are
so
called
about?
Innovation
and
forward
movement,
have
decided
who
gets
to
be
a
part
of
that
future.
Q
They
decided
some
had
to
come
out
on
top
and
show
us
just
what
group
what
that
will
be,
and
our
city
has
not
demanded
the
respect
and
contribution.
They
are
quick
to
take
from
the
people
who
cannot
afford
it
and
who
are
already
given
giving
everything
they
have
to
be
active
members
of
their
communities.
I'm
curious
who
the
city
council
serves
where
you
voted
in
to
serve
the
current
neighbors
living
here
or
are
you
done
with
us?
Have
you
given
up
on
who
we
are
and
invested
in
the
new
philadelphia?
Q
These
institutions
are
set
on
building
a
sanctuary
city
painted
white,
affluent
private
and
privileged
I'm
here
to
remind
you
that,
as
the
saying
goes,
this
is
our
city,
and
these
are
our
schools.
If
you
live
here
with
us,
then
you
pay.
Just
like
we
pay
you'll,
be
a
part
of
the
right
side
of
history.
We've
already
seen
what
graduates
of
u-pen
can
do
in
oval
office.
We
are
very
clear
about
what
these
institutions
stand
for.
So
this
is
not
about
a
dream
of
them:
caring
about
the
well-being
of
the
community.
Q
B
E
E
If
pilots
are
going
to
be
left,
unpaid,
district-wide
students
and
schools
will
continue
to
decline
in
education
and
health.
My
middle
school,
which
had
opened
in
2000,
is
a
school
that
stands
underfunded.
Although
being
a
new
building,
the
departments
have
to
reuse
books
that
are
torn
and
undone
the
music.
E
Is
partly
filled
with
views
and
broken
instruments,
there
are
not
many
extracurriculars
that
are
available,
because
there
are
miniscule
amounts
of
resources
to
allow
students
to
have
and
options.
As
usual,
the
school
is
literally
crippling
in
areas
of
the
halls,
as
well
as
the
rooms
and
school
lunches
are
dissatisfying
and
militaristic-like
even
back
to
elementary
school.
I
faced
these
same
environments
and
problems
hoping
to
see
a
difference
in
high
school.
I
would
come
to
realize
that
I
was
entering
a
similar
environment.
O
E
E
E
On
the
other
hand,
staff
and
students
won't
have
to
worry
about
endangering
themselves
if
they
have
to
step
foot
into
shambles
shambled
intoxicating
buildings
again,
because,
through
the
money
given
by
pilots,
we
can
initiate
changes
to
mend
those
factors
from
improving
the
school
environment
and
even
getting
the
necessary
staff
that
schools
need
through
pilots
that
should
have
been
achieved.
Thank
you
for
giving
me
this
opportunity
to
speak.
B
B
G
G
I
wanted
to
say
that
I
would
like
to
implore
the
university
of
pennsylvania,
jefferson
and
drexel
universities
to
do
the
right
thing
in
terms
of
from
from
a
base
level
education,
which
is
what
the
universities
are
involved
in
and
being
such
the
foundations
of
education
should
be
protected
and
upheld
so
in
our
philadelphia
public
schools.
The
right
thing
to
do
is
to
give
what
you
have
the
best
education
is
to
educate
by
example,
so
these
universities,
with
high
level
degrees
and
people
and
systems
to
include
investors
with
great
amounts
of
money.
G
The
examples
should
be
much
better
in
terms
of
what's
given
what's
expected
and
just
producing
in
our
communities,
health,
education
and
support
systems
that
show
value
for
human
life
and
humanity
at
large.
My
again
idea
is
that,
if
the
highest
levels
of
institutions
of
education
in
america
cannot
at
lea
at
the
very
least,
express
or
show
humanity
to
the
masses,
then
what
are
they
there
for?
Thank
you
so
much
for
for
your
time,.
B
R
Advocating
for
our
communities
and
the
opportunity
to
speak?
Thank
you
also
to
all
of
our
youth,
organizers
and
educators.
Who've
shown
up
on
this
call
for
themselves
and
for
the
students
that
come
after
them
and
to
all
of
the
teachers,
educators,
paraprofessionals,
etc,
who
have
become
organizers
in
their
best
interest.
R
I'm
here
to
amplify
the
demands:
you've
already
heard
from
philly's
students
and
teachers
and
community
organizers,
as
well
as
my
neighbors,
including
next-door,
long-time
philly
residents,
products
of
the
philly
school
systems
themselves
and
penn's
essential
workers,
because
it's
past
time,
wealthy
nonprofits
reconcile
the
debts.
They
owe
this
community
with
permanent
direct
payments
to
the
district.
So
I'm
encouraging
any
kind
of
investigation
or
process
necessary
to
green
light
that
process
and
to
enforce
it.
R
Chronic
underfunding
creates
a
landscape
of
lack
and
a
quality
of
scarcity
and
incarceration
in
our
school
buildings
and
for
all
of
the
belt
tightening
and
the
gas
lighting
of
our
educators
and
students
that
they're
subjected
to
all
the
focus
we
place
on
gun
violence
and
on
poverty.
In
our
city.
We
overlook
wealthy
nonprofits
who
promise
service
and
value
added
contributions,
while
siphoning
generational
wealth
and
unraveling
the
most
vibrant
cultural
fabrics
in
our
cities.
R
And
those
with
the
most
potential
young
people
are
organizing
right
now
to
demand
the
support
that
they're
owed
by
these
institutions
and
by
the
city.
These
institutions
have
four
decades
and
centuries
benefited
from
literally
living
rent-free
in
our
communities,
but
they
have
the
means
to
remediate
lead
and
asbestos
to
provide
internet
and
technology
to
prioritize
access
and
resources
to
local
students
and
yet
year
after
year
they
demonstrate
who
and
what
they
prioritize.
They
choose
profit
over
philly.
R
These
institutions
can't
be
bastions
of
innovation
and
education
if
they
refuse
to
address
with
direct
support
the
vital
need
of
those
folks
who
are
in
the
shadow
of
your
ever-growing
institutions,
because
overlooking
and
undervaluing
philadelphia,
students,
staff
and
facilities
is
not
an
accident.
It's
strategic
pens,
siphoning
labor
from
black
and
brown
communities,
while
gentrifying
neighborhoods
and
double
dipping
land
grabs,
while
they
increase
property
values
and
prioritizing
out-of-state
students
and
wooing
out-of-state
wealth,
while
their
own
student
populations
struggle
excuse,
me
is
absolutely
appalling.
R
100
million
dollars
per
university
per
year
is
a
reasonable
annual
contribution,
annual
contribution
to
our
city's
education
system,
not
a
one-time,
get
in
2020.
In
the
midst
of
a
global
pandemic,
private,
wealthy
or
private
companies
and
wealthy
for
profits
and
non-profits
have
revealed
their
extractive
and
predatory
agendas
within
philly
communities
and
as
a
direct
result
of
tireless
efforts
by
community
and
council
members
to
balance
the
books
we're
starting
to
see
a
shift.
Still,
it's
literally
pennies
on
the
dollar
to
the
amount
that
penn
rates
in
over
the
labor
of
philadelphia's,
essential
workers,
students
and
educators.
R
100
million
dollars
over
ten
years
is
a
strategy
to
absolve
themselves
from
guilt
and
responsibility.
And
I
know
many
on
this
call
will
speak
to
the
further
injustice
of
penn
and
drexel's
willingness
to
invest
in
policing
over
the
heads
of
students,
in
literal
life-threatening
conditions.
You've
heard
from
them
what
they
experience
on
the
daily.
R
Our
city
habitually
undervalues
those
essential
community
members
that
engine
a
truly
sustainable
path
forward
and
wealthy
nonprofits
encourage
that
model
because
they
benefit
from
it
to
the
surprise
of
no
one.
The
folks,
most
impacted
by
the
utter
disregard
and
extracted
practices
of
these
wealthy
nonprofits
are
also
the
community
members
who
have
imagined,
co-designed
and
prepared
the
solutions
that
will
rebalance
the
toxicity
between
wealthy
nonprofits
in
this
city
and
our
communities.
R
So
I'm
grateful
to
the
council
members
who
have
done
the
work,
been
doing
the
work
and
will
do
the
work
on
this
council
and
the
city
mayor's
office
to
initiate
both
an
investigation
and
take
immediate
action.
Our
students
don't
need
another
task
force.
They
need
swift,
decisive
action
in
such
a
moment,
as
this
pen
shouldn't
feel
entitled
to
our
continuous
investment
in
their
mission,
their
vision
or
their
values
if
they
don't
first
invest
in
ours.
Pilots
are
non-negotiable:
they're,
not
an
occasional
gesture
of
goodwill.
R
They
are
their
responsibility
to
the
communities
that
penn
drexel
jefferson
occupy
our
students
deserve
the
world
and
the
time
has
come
for
them
to
loosen
their
on
the
resources,
our
hearts
homes
and
minds
furnish.
We
don't
need
another
program
in
lieu
of
taxes,
another
project
in
lieu
of
taxes,
another
process
in
lieu
of
taxes,
another
service
in
lieu
of
taxes,
another
excuse
in
lieu
of
taxes,
penn
and
drexel
no
longer
live
rent
free
in
our
neighborhoods,
thanks
always
to
students,
organizers
to
you,
council
members.
Thank
you
for
your
time.
B
O
Good
afternoon,
council
and
thank
you
for
taking
the
time
to
hear
from
our
community
about
this
important
issue,
it
is
so
wonderful
to
see
true
advocates
of
our
schools
in
positions
of
power
in
our
city
today,
while
many
of
us
have
long
been
pushing
for
payments
in
lieu
of
taxes
from
our
wealthiest
non-profit
institutions
in
philadelphia.
As
simply
the
right
thing
to
do,
this
year
is
different
as
we
struggle
to
recover
from
the
pandemic.
The
city
faces
over
half
a
billion
dollar
budget
shortfall,
with
no
real
relief
in
sight.
O
O
Fifteen
to
twenty
percent
of
the
city's
total
real
estate
value
is
owned
by
nonprofits
who
benefit
from
city
services,
but
pay
nothing
to
support
our
city.
The
city
depends
primarily
on
property
taxes
to
fund
our
city
services
and
when
so
much
land
is
exempt
from
paying
it
makes
funding
those
services
even
more
difficult.
The
university
of
pennsylvania
alone
owns
over
3.2
billion
dollars
in
property,
for
which
no
property
taxes
are
collected.
O
O
They
are
the
future
of
this
great
city
and
without
priority
and
investment
institutional
racism
will
continue
to
hold
back
our
best
and
brightest
from
achieving
all
that.
We
know
they
can
given
proper
resources.
Please
go
out
and
fight
for
this
and
any
funding
sources
that
can
uplift
our
children
and
our
schools.
Thank.
A
A
S
Perfect
well,
thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
speak
today.
I'm
a
current
draxler
alum
and
a
hormone
drexel
student
and
those
are
the
experiences
that
I'll
be
speaking
from
today.
So
during
my
time
as
a
drexel
student,
I
observed
a
lot
of
divestment
from
the
surrounding
community
and
displacement
of
lifelong
residents
in
the
name
of
bettering
the
neighborhood
making
life
better,
investing
in
local
communities
and
famously
being
the
most
civically
engaged
university
in
the
country
as
an
incoming
freshman
in
fall
of
2016.
I
loved
hearing
this
in
my
civic
101
class.
S
My
students
were
scared
to
walk
into
the
surrounding
palace
and
manchester
neighborhoods
at
night,
falsely
under
the
impression
that
everyone
that
lived
there
was
the
other,
not
them
lifelong
residents
and,
of
course,
must
pose
to
them
a
great
threat.
In
reality,
mainly
older
students
live
off
campus
because
they
can
afford
to
pay
rising.
S
Out
of
their
community,
I
say
that
lack
of
recognition
of
one
person's
pain
of
what
they
have
been
through
in
their
life
of
the
systemic
inequities
that
contribute
to
their
current
place
in
society
and
an
inability
on
drexel's
part
to
recognize
that
they
are
part
of
the
problem.
Infects
the
wound
and
makes
it
faster.
Drexel
is
so
good
at
saying
what
they
will
do
saying
they
will
do
better,
saying
sorry
after
the
damage
has
already
been
done,
but
they
never
give
the
people.
S
But
they
never
give
the
people
of
color
the
black
folks,
the
philadelphia
residents
that
they
have
bought
out
a
seat
at
the
table,
and
if
they
did,
they
wouldn't
listen
to
what
that
person
had
to
say
because
at
the
end
of
the
day,
they
have
the
money
and
therefore
they
have
the
power.
They
have
shown
time
and
again,
they
aren't
interested
in
building
true
community
drexel
is
a
business
and
they
have
never
shown
that
they
cared
about
the
well-being
of
those
they
claim
to
be
in
relation
with.
It
is
beyond
time
to
give
philadelphia.
S
S
I
urge
the
city
council
to
take
part
in
having
drexel
and
every
mega
non-profit
in
philadelphia
pay
40
of
their
foregone
property
taxes
and
pilots
to
repair
our
loan
neglected
schools
so
that
they
can
take
just
the
first
step
in
repairing
this
long
damage
relationship.
Thank
you
for
your
time
today.
Thank.
O
Nonprofit
hospitals
earn
their
nonprofit
status
by
investing
in
activities
to
improve
the
health
of
their
communities,
collectively
known
as
community
benefits.
These
community
benefits
can
include
things
like
providing
uncompensated,
uncompensated
or
subsidized
health
care
for
the
uninsured
health
professionals,
education,
research
and
community
health
improvement
activities.
O
Historically,
a
large
portion
of
the
hospital
community
benefit
spending
has
gone
to
uncompensated
care,
but,
as
more
people
have
gained
health
insurance
in
the
last
decade,
hospital
costs
for
uncompensated
care
have
decreased,
creating
an
opportunity
for
non-profit
hospitals
to
invest
in
communities
in
other
ways,
currently
community
health
improvement
activities
that
hospitals
engage
in
often
include
things
like
blood
pressure.
Screening
programs
providing
patient
navigators
and
programs
to
reduce
smoking
and
as
a
primary
care
physician,
I
recognize
that
these
services
are
very
important
and
can
improve
the
health
of
the
individuals
that
they
reach.
O
Yet,
while
these
existing
community
benefit
activities
can
be
valuable
on
an
individual
level,
analyses
of
community
benefit
investments
show
that
there
is
little
coordination
across
hospitals
that
serve
a
region
like
ours.
Nor
is
there
accountability
to
address
highest
priority
areas
as
determined
by
the
community
or
accountability,
to
even
demonstrate
that
these
activities
improve
health
health
outcomes.
O
O
O
The
pilot
program
in
the
city
of
boston,
for
example,
allows
eligible
institutions
to
receive
a
community
benefits
credit
for
a
proportion
of
their
pilot
contribution
by
contributing
to
pilots.
Nonprofit
hospitals
in
philadelphia
have
an
opportunity
to
improve
the
health,
not
only
of
the
patients
that
they
see
within
their
hospital
walls,
but
also
the
health
of
philadelphians
for
generations
to
come.
Thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
speak.
B
N
N
The
need
is
tremendous
in
our
schools
and
in
our
neighborhoods,
and
the
resources
at
hand
are
not
sufficient.
We've
asked
for
pilots
before
in
philadelphia
and
institutions
gave,
and
I
believe
that
now
is
the
time
to
ask
again.
I
understand
that
environmental
conditions
and
schools
are
part
of
this
conversation
as
well.
The
school
my
children
attend,
while
100
years
old
and
showing
its
age
is
far
from
the
worst.
N
Our
house
fan
is
relatively
new
works.
Well,
the
roof
was
just
replaced
and
families
community
members
and
teachers
have
advocated
and
fundraised
over
the
years
to
improve
conditions
for
students,
everything
from
air
conditioners
and
third
floor
windows
to
new
playground
equipment
in
the
schoolyard.
N
Penn's.
Recent
commitment
to
funding
environmental
improvements
is
much
needed
and
greatly
appreciated,
but
the
need
in
our
schools
is
is
much
greater.
It's
more
immediate
and
I
believe
it
will
require
more
of
everyone.
A
steady,
reliable
and
more
significant
source
of
income
for
our
public
schools
is
critical
to
addressing
current
needs
and
to
plan
for
the
future.
N
Our
institutions
are
a
great
benefit
to
our
city,
but
they
also
benefit
greatly
from
it.
A
handful
of
our
public
school
graduates
will
have
the
privilege
of
attending
penn,
maybe
at
little
or
no
cost
more
will
go
to
temple.
Many
more
will
work
at
our
hospitals
and
universities
and
in
the
service
industries
that
support
them.
I
believe
the
pilots
are
a
reasonable
ask,
a
fair
ask,
but
also
a
good
investment
on
the
part
of
institutions
and
investment
in
the
citizens
of
the
city.
N
N
Lastly,
the
public
health
situation.
We
find
ourselves
in
at
the
present
is
an
obvious
crisis.
It's
huge
it's
easy
to
recognize
as
such,
but
what
we've
seen
since
last
march
is
that
the
pandemic
has
unearthed
and
shed
fresh
light
on
multiple
crises
beneath
the
surface.
Racial
inequity
is
a
crisis
gun.
Violence
in
the
city
is
a
crisis.
N
Our
dropout
rate
is
a
crisis,
a
number
of
students
without
basic
skills
in
math
and
reading
after
13
years
in
our
public
schools
is
a
crisis,
though
it's
one,
we've
accepted
as
normal
penn's
commitment
to
environmental
improvements
is
important,
but
it's
basic,
a
safe
classroom
and
a
safe
building
for
our
kids.
We
must
do
that
and
we
must
provide
that
across
the
board,
but
I
believe
that
we
can
do
more.
N
B
H
Hi
good
afternoon
my
name
is
stephanie
king
and
I'm
the
president
of
kearny
friends,
a
part
of
general
philip
kearney
elementary
school
in
northern
liberty's,
where
my
son
is
a
first
grader.
While
my
daughter
is
a
student
at
mastermint.
I
want
to
thank
councilmember,
jim
and
brooks
for
this
hearing
and
the
opportunity
to
speak.
I
am
here
to
testify
in
favor
of
wealthy
nonprofits,
paying
their
fair
share
through
pilots.
H
That's
all
they
think
the
200
000
philadelphia
school
district
students
are
worth.
We
should
not
have
to
depend
on
charity,
to
educate
our
children
and
not
to
pick
on
pen.
According
to
the
inquirer,
the
value
of
all
exempt
properties
is
29.6
billion
dollars
and
accounts
for
17
of
the
city's
total
real
estate
value.
There
are
combined
tax
breaks
equal
about
414
million
dollars
annually.
H
What
about
all
the
rest
of
the
schools
in
the
city?
We
just
sit
around
and
hope
that
we're
like
little
orph
and
annie
waiting
for
daddy
warbucks
our
children
should
not
have
to
be
kept
like
pets.
It's
not
my
children's
fault.
They
weren't
born
in
the
shadow
of
some
shiny
new
tower
that
these
universities
keep
building
with
their
millions
of
dollars.
H
H
A
B
E
I
believe
that
wealthy
nonprofits,
like
drexel
university,
must
pay
pilots
as
a
way
to
begin
to
heal
their
structural
relationship
to
the
neighborhoods,
where
they
themselves
grow
and
thrive.
As
institutions
like
drexel
have
expanded,
they
have
created,
maintained
and
perpetuated.
Nothing
short
of
systemic
inequity
in
west
philadelphia
and
in
the
city
at
large.
E
Systemic
inequity
and
structural
violence
may
sound
like
abstract
terms,
but
the
deep,
corrosive
and
generational
impact
that
school
under
funding
has
on
public
school
students,
teachers
and
staff
is
anything
but
abstract.
As
you
hear
today,
I
got
a
taste
of
this
myself
when
my
son
idris
a
kindergartner
at
south
fork
elementary
at
the
time
internalized.
E
This
deep
prioritization
and
divestment
represented
so
clearly
in
chronic
school
underfunding
is
not
the
only
example
of
how
the
means
through
which
wealthy
nonprofits
grow
also
create
and
exacerbate
conditions
of
scarcity,
which
is
to
say
a
violence
for
black
brown
and
poor
philadelphians
in
particular.
Growth
without
equity
is
cancerous.
E
Systemic
inequity
cannot
be
fixed
through
the
university's
services,
which
can
be
defunded
or
forgotten
as
administration's
change
or
individual's
burnouts.
The
root
of
this
issue
is
structural,
and
so
must
the
remedy
be
a
pilot's
agreement
to
pay
40
percent
of
their
foregone
property
taxes
to
address
unsafe
and
toxic
school
conditions
in
philly's.
Public
schools
represents
a
way
for
wealthy
nonprofits,
like
drexel,
to
begin
to
enter
into
an
accountable
relationship
with
philadelphia
and
its
citizenry,
and
I
urge
you
to
hold
them
accountable.
B
T
I
am
the
vice
president
of
healthcare,
finance
and
insurance
for
the
hospital
and
health
association.
Penns
of
pennsylvania
or
hap
hap
is
a
statewide
association
that
represents
240
member
organizations
across
the
commonwealth,
advocating
for
health
care
policy
that
best
serves
the
health
and
well-being
of
the
patients
and
communities
of
our
members.
T
T
First
we'd
like
to
acknowledge
that
removing
environmental
hazards
in
philadelphia
schools
is
a
laudable
and
important
goal
and
that
the
hospital
community
is
committed
to
pursuing
health
equity
for
all
of
our
patients.
However,
looking
to
the
hospital
community
to
address
the
financial
shortfall
the
schools
are
facing
is
not
the
answer.
T
T
They
are
committed
to
care
inside
and
outside
of
hospital
walls
and
have
been
active
partners
in
keeping
people
safe
and
healthy
and
alive.
Quite
frankly,
through
this
pandemic,
a
mandatory
pilot
diverts
funds
away
from
many
clinical
services
that
hospitals
operate
at
a
financial
loss
which
would
otherwise
become
the
responsibility
of
government
or
another
tax-exempt
entity.
T
Each
year
tax-exempt
hospitals
are
required
to
demonstrate
accountability
to
the
communities
they
serve
by
reporting
to
the
irs
on
the
benefits
that
they
provide
using
the
form
990,
and
they
must
make
it
publicly
available.
Based
on
those
filings
in
2017,
hospitals
provided
approximately
one
billion
dollars
in
community
benefit
to
philadelphia
residents.
T
Hospitals
are
also
economic
drivers
in
their
community.
In
fiscal
year,
2019
philadelphia,
hospitals,
directly
employed
51,
948
people
and
indirectly
supported
another
60
867
city
jobs.
They
also
contributed
25.8
billion
dollars
in
spending
on
the
local
economy,
despite
varying
degrees
of
financial
challenges.
Hospitals
are
committed
to
being
anchor
institutions
in
philadelphia
communities
and,
through
the
years
they've
demonstrated
support
for
the
city
by
fulfilling
community
needs.
In
numerous
ways.
The
covet
19
pandemic
has
had
a
disproportionate
impact
on
economically
disadvantaged
and
minority
communities
in
philadelphia.
T
In
an
effort
to
address
this
disparity
in
care,
hospitals
are
working
to
expand,
testing
and
vaccination
efforts.
In
philadelphia's,
hardest
hit
communities
they're
collaborating
with
community
stakeholders
to
vaccinate
local
residents
throughout
the
city.
As
we
speak
right
now,
hospitals
are
setting
up
and
staffing
community
vaccine
clinics
on
a
volunteer
basis
in
places
of
worship,
recreation,
centers,
schools
and
other
locations
to
ensure
that
the
most
vulnerable
philadelphians
have
access
to
the
covid19
vaccine.
T
In
addition
to
that,
highly
visible
support,
I'd
like
to
take
a
moment
just
to
highlight
two
other
projects
that
you
might
not
be
aware
of,
these
projects
are
part
of
what
is
called
the
coach
initiative.
Coach
stands
for
collaborative
opportunities
to
advance
community
health.
This
initiative
launched
in
2015
and
is
funded
by
the
hospital
community.
It
brings
18
hospitals
and
16
public
health,
community
and
insurer
partners
together
to
identify
and
address
specific
local
community
health
needs.
Two
current
areas
of
focus
are
on
food
insecurity
and
trauma-informed
care.
T
T
Improving
access
to
healthy
food
is
an
effective
way
to
help
at-risk
patients
and
families
prevent
or
better
manage
chronic
disease
and
improve
their
overall
quality
of
life.
With
the
economic
downturn
resulting
from
the
coronavirus
that
we've
talked
a
lot
about
today,
more
and
more
people
in
philadelphia
are
relying
on
this
help
to
meet
one
of
their
most
basic
needs.
T
The
second
project
focuses
on
treating
trauma.
We've
also
heard
about
that
today.
Trauma
results
from
experience,
events
that
are
harmful
or
life-threatening
and
overwhelm
a
person's
ability
to
cope
over
time.
These
experiences
cause
lasting
negative
effects
on
the
physical,
mental
and
developmental
well-being
of
the
people
involved.
T
A
large
body
of
research
shows
that
the
early
trauma
can
affect
people's
health
and
welfare
in
later
life.
A
significant
number
of
children
and
residents
in
philadelphia
experience
some
form
of
trauma
in
their
daily
lives.
Coach
participants
focus
on
creating
a
culture
of
culture
of
healing,
starting
with
specific
supports
within
the
hospital
walls
and
extending
into
philadelphia
communities
to
meet
people
where
they
are,
in
addition
to
the
focus
on
trauma.
Hospitals
are
active
in
the
issue
of
gun
violence
from
offering
preventive
services
to
provide
to
providing
supports
for
victims
and
their
families.
T
T
Sure
I'll
I'll
send
you
my
full
testimony,
but
I
would
also
point
out
that
local
hospitals
are
treating
a
large
number
of
medicare
and
medicaid
patients
and,
in
effect,
that
reimbursement
falls
short
of
what
it
actually
costs
to
care
for
those
patients.
So
some
of
the
funding
that
we're
talking
about
is
really
contributing
to
the
care
of
those
people
in
philadelphia.
T
There's
also
been
an
impact
on
of
the
pandemic,
and
then
certainly
we
can
talk
about
the
other
reasons
and
contributions
that
hospitals
make
that
are
beyond
clinical,
that
they
serve
day
to
day.
So,
for
all
the
reasons
previously
mentioned
and
on
behalf
of
pennsylvania
hospitals,
we
strongly
imposed
the
imposition
of
mandatory
violence.
Thank.
A
You
thank
you
very
much,
ms
keller,
and
I
appreciate
your
taking
the
time
to
testify.
I
do
you
know
understand
that
you're
representing
the
hospitals
association,
I
mean
you
know.
One
of
the
things
I
would
just
take
issue
with
a
little
bit
is
that
pilots
have
to
be
in
some
way
perceived
as
being
in
opposition
to
faded
hospital
laws,
and
if
you
could
just
mute,
it's
we're
hearing
a
a
back
and
forth
miss
calla.
A
So
I
think,
or
to
have
been
reported
rather
and
confirmed.
So
I
think
you
know
in
part
this
discussion
should
be
one
in
which
we
should
seek
an
overall
investment
in
the
public
health
and
recognize
that
pilots
are
not
necessarily
antithetical
to
that.
They
can
double
down
on
investments
that
have
been
made.
We
recognize
your
concerns
on
behalf
of
your
association
and
hope
that
we
can
still
continue
to
keep
the
dialogue
going,
but
thank
you
very
much
for
your
testimony
and
if
the
clerk
could
please
call
the
next
public
testifier.
N
N
Of
course,
they
do
not
play
up
the
atrocious
conditions
inflicted
upon
philadelphia,
public
schools
and
students
and
teachers,
as
many
speakers
today
have
detailed
drexel
has
been
buying
up
more
land
building
new
buildings,
creating
more
institutions
and
initiatives,
and
so
on.
There's
a
lot
of
money
flowing
in
and
around
drexel
that
enables
this
and
a
lot
of
related
companies
and
a
lot
of
individuals
within
drexel
as
an
institution
are
making
a
lot
of
money
from,
and
you
know
with
all
this
buying
of
real
estate
building
new
buildings
and
expanding.
N
N
Philadelphia
public
schools,
especially
and
social
services
in
general,
have
been
systematically
underfunded
for
decades,
resulting
in
toxic
toxic
school
buildings
that,
even
before
the
pandemic,
were
damaging
students
and
teachers,
health
and
abilities
to
learn
and
teach
which
again
many
people
who
have
testified
today
have
spoken
about
in
great
detail,
and
it's
really
just
awful
to
hear
about
when
city
government
and
institutions
claim
that
there's
no
money
to
give
children
an
adequate,
let
alone
a
high
quality
education.
That's
simply
not
true.
N
Institutions
like
drexel
in
the
city
as
well
as
penn
other
mega
non-profits,
have
lots
of
money
and
they
have
a
financial
obligation
to
the
city
that
they
depend
on
and
they
should
absolutely
not
be
exempt
from
it.
So,
especially
now
that
there's
a
budget
shortfall,
it's
unacceptable
to
make
the
disproportionately
black
and
brown
working
class
and
poor
of
the
city.
N
That
people
depend
on,
but
of
course,
this
problem
goes
way
deeper
and
further
than
the
pandemic
and
the
current
economic
recession
that
we're
in
is
a
structural
issue
and
it
requires
a
structural
solution.
City
officials
should
work
for
the
population
of
the
city
to
ensure
equitable
and
quality
public
services.
The
alternative
to
this,
which
we've
been
seeing
for
decades
and
as
everyone
on
here
knows,
is
massive
entrenched
poverty
and
equality
and
adverse
impacts.
N
The
mental
and
physical
health
of
youth
and
adults-
and
you
know
I
want
to
thank-
I
want
to
thank
the
you
know
jobs
of
justice
for
putting
this
on,
and
I
just
want
to
reiterate:
we
need
a
green
jobs
program
to
overhaul
philly
school
infrastructure
and
make
buildings
healthy
and
safe
without
risk
of
exposure
to
asbestos
and
lead
with
proper
heating,
cooling
and
ventilation.
You
know
water
fountains,
so
please
keep
in.
N
Sure
yeah
outlets
and
cockroaches,
I'm
almost
done.
We
need
to
vaccinate
teachers,
workers,
students
and
at-risk
family
members.
We
need
democratically
elected
school
boards,
so
the
teachers,
students,
parents,
broader
community,
can
have
a
say
teachers
deserve.
Students
deserve
this.
The
city
deserves
this
and
anything
less.
N
B
P
They
claim
that
they
are
training
the
best
educators
to
be
effective
teachers
through
their
graduate
programs.
Yet
they
send
these
teachers
into
under
resources
and
underfunded.
Schools
with
no
support
in
philadelphia,
the
united
states
and
globally.
That
pandemic
has
laid
bare
the
inequalities
of
the
capitalist
system,
while
comcast
gets
tax
break
on
their
1.2
billion
dollar
technology
center
in
center
city.
Until
2027,
the
school
district
has
proposed
that
students
who
can't
afford
wi-fi
in
their
homes
use
hot
spots
in
parking
lots
to
log
into
their
classes.
P
Pilots
are
a
demand
that
students
and
working
class
communities
in
north
and
west
philly
have
had
for
years,
and
this
renewed
push
to
get
penn
and
other
universities
to
pay.
Pilots
comes
after
resurgence
of
the
black
lives
matter
movement.
For
obvious
reasons.
It
is
clear
that
pen
and
other
huge,
wealthy
influential
institutions
in
the
city
perpetuate
more
harm
to
communities
of
color
than
good
penn.
Drexel
temple
comcast
aramark
are
all
hugely
wealthy
institutions
that
have
made
their
money,
taking
advantage
of.
P
P
Both
the
democrats
and
republicans
have
not
stepped
up
to
support
schools
over
the
needs
of
big
business.
We
cannot
depend
on
either
political
party
to
save
our
schools.
The
ruling
class
is
trying
to
divide
families
and
educators
around
the
issue
of
reopening
in
order
to
protect
themselves
from
criticism
over
the
current
state
of
our
public
school
system
throughout
the
last
year.
The
city,
as
well
as
these
hugely
wealthy
institutions
that
control
our
city
have
done
nothing
to
repair
our
crumbling
school
buildings.
P
In
the
midst
of
an
economic
crisis
where
millions
of
people
could
have
benefited
from
a
green
new
deals,
job
program
that
have
been
created,
high
quality,
good,
paying
jobs
to
refurbish
our
broken
school
buildings
on
tops
of
taxing
the
rich
educators.
Parents
and
students
should
be
determining
how
and
when
to
return
to
in-person
learning
by
building
hate,
health
and
safety
committees,
families
and
educators.
Both
want
a
safe
reopening
and
both
of
these
groups
should
be
making
decisions
for
their
schools.
P
Health
and
safety
committees
should
be
established
that
are
made
up
of
educators,
parents
and
community
members,
together
with
health
experts,
to
decide
what
is
needed
to
make
their
schools
safe
for
reopening
those
who
work
and
learn
in
these
schools
know
best
what
their
needs
are
in
order
to
fix
our
collapsing
infrastructure
and
ensure
that
every
student
has
a
school
to
go
to.
It
will
require
a
tremendous,
coordinated
effort
with
these
school
committees
coming
together
and
demanding
to
tax
the
rich
to
fully
fund
our
schools.
When
we
fight
together,
we
win.
A
A
G
G
Important
to
listen
to
people's
perspective
and,
most
importantly,
lived
experience.
I
think
what
we
heard
today
was
a
lot
of
testimony
from
students
who
are
essentially
impacted
by
the
decisions
that
are
made
by
these,
the
the
not
just
the
institutions,
but
as
well
as
us
as
elected
officials.
So
a
lot
of
the
testimony
really
resonated
with
me.
I
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
listen
to
the
public
and
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
your
team
for
facilitating
this
conversation
and,
of
course
thank
you.
G
C
C
We
need
you
to
continue
to
invest
in
our
young
people
and
giving
them
the
drive
and
passion
to
do
this
work,
and
I
just
want
to
thank
you
all
for
the
sacrifice
and
coming
into
philadelphia
those
that
live
here
or
those
that
don't
live
here,
investing
in
our
children
in
the
long
term.
Education.
For
that-
and
you
know-
I
just
want
you
to
know-
that's
important
to
me-
and
it's
important
to
my
colleagues
and
the
last.
Thank
you.
I
want
to
give
to
miss
cala.