►
Description
The Joint Committees on Children and Youth & Finance of the Council of the City of Philadelphia held a Public Hearing on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at 2:00 PM to hear testimony on the following items:
210698 Resolution authorizing the City Council Committees on Children and Youth and Finance to hold joint hearings on a plan to fund a comprehensive remediation and modernization of Philadelphia’s public school buildings to address major facilities flaws, adapt to a changing climate, and ensure public school students have the safe and modern buildings they deserve.
A
A
D
A
B
Thank
you
so
much
before
we
begin
to
hear
testimony
from
the
witnesses
we
have
for
today.
Everyone
who
has
been
invited
to
the
meeting
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.
A
Thank
you
so
much,
mr
clerk
again,
this
is
the
public
hearing
of
the
committees
on
children
and
youth
and
finance
regarding
resolution
number
two:
one:
zero:
six,
nine
eight
we're
going
to
open.
I
know
my
colleague,
councilmember
green
and
the
co-chair
of
the
finance
committee
had
some
opening
remarks
and
then
I'll
follow
him
with
my
opening
remarks
as
well.
Councilmember
green.
F
Thank
you,
madam
cochair.
It's
a
pleasure
to
co-chair
this
hearing
regarding
schools
and
the
future
of
schools.
I'm
also
glad
that
our
education
committee,
chair
councilman
maria
keno
sanchez,
is
also
participating
attending,
and
I
want
to
thank
her
for
her
ongoing
leadership
in
this
regard,
and
this
is
an
issue
that
I
think
impacts
all
members
of
council.
F
Many
of
us
are
not
only
elected
officials,
but
also
parents
who
have
children
a
school
district.
I
have
a
son
who's
still
in
the
school
district,
and
many
people
know
that
my
mother
taught
in
a
district
for
over
30
years
and
over
those
three
decades.
A
lot
of
things
have
not
changed,
we're
still
dealing
with
asbestos
and
mold
which
I'm
addressing
through
other
legislation,
but
we
really
need
to
have
a
much
more
comprehensive
perspective
on
how
we
move
our
city
for
from
an
education
perspective,
the
type
of
facilities
that
we
have
for
education.
F
I
think
impact
not
just
some
of
the
issues
that
we
have
with
our
young
people
in
reference
to
violence
and
public
safety,
but
also
our
ability
to
attract
businesses
and
grow
our
city.
So
this
is
a
multi-faceted
issue.
We
have
to
be
creative
in
ways
that
we
finance
these
school
buildings,
but
it's
really
going
to
be
a
a
partnership
in
order
to
really
address
the
issue
that
we
need
to
address.
We,
I
don't
think
we
can
just
rely
on
the
school
district
of
philadelphia
to
solve
this
issue.
F
I
know
we
do
have
some
challenges
and
references
some
of
the
state
laws
and
how
those
laws
impact,
how
we
do
things
as
a
city,
but
we
need
to
be
more
creative.
Our
buildings
are
not
getting
younger.
This
is
not
some
reverse
or
benjamin
buttons
type
of
thing.
Many
of
our
school
buildings
are
getting
close
to
100
years
old
or
surely
thereof,
and
so
we
need
to
really
think
about
how
we
move
forward
in
a
collective
collaborative
way
and
how
we
address
these
issues.
F
So
look
forward
to
this
conversation
and
ongoing
conversations
as
we
go
into
the
new
year
and
prepare
for
a
new
head
of
our
school
district.
So
we
can
work
in
a
way
that's
going
to
move
in
a
fashion,
that's
going
to
really
help
provide
the
best
educational
facilities
for
the
children
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
A
Thank
you
so
much,
mr
co-chair.
I
also
want
to
follow
your
remarks.
Thank
you
so
much
to
everyone,
who's
joined
us
here
today.
I
absolutely
want
to
acknowledge
the
work
of
our
council
colleagues,
who
have
been
vocal
proponents
working
to
address
school
facility
issues
in
their
communities
many
for
years
on
end.
A
I
also
want
to
especially
thank
my
co-chair
today,
councilmember
greene,
who
has
been
a
tremendous
partner
on
the
school
facilities,
effort
on
an
effort
to
build
out
a
fund,
our
facilities
coalition
with
a
number
of
different
entities,
including
our
partners
at
the
philadelphia
federation
of
teachers,
and
pushing
for
a
strong,
proactive
and
publicly
engaged
vision
for
the
school
district.
We
both
need
and
deserve.
A
We
called
for
this
hearing
because
it's
clear
that
the
need
to
modernize
and
remediate
our
city's
public
schools
has
never
been
greater
we're
here
to
jumpstart
and
focus
this
conversation
on
what
a
comprehensive
plan
to
address.
Philadelphia's,
insufficient
school
facilities
looks
like
how
to
have
a
clear
timeline,
engage
the
public
and
hear
the
first-hand
experiences
of
those
who
walk
the
halls
of
our
schools.
Each
and
every
day,
councilmember
greene
said
that
this
issue
is
more
than
just
one
that
relates
to
our
specific
committees.
It's
deeply
personal.
A
These
things
are
critical
to
students
learning
they
establish
a
sense
of
climate.
They
help
us
retain
teachers
and
improve
our
students,
physical
health
and
development,
good
schools,
anchor
our
communities
and
help
our
entire
city
grow,
and
at
the
same
time,
we
understand
that
this
there
are
serious
risks
that
these
aging
buildings
pose
for
our
students
and
staff,
and
we're
going
to
hear
from
a
number
of
individuals
about
the
impacts
of
those
types
of
buildings
on
our
children's
learning.
A
Many
of
our
schools
are
in
need
of
major
repair
or
replacement.
80
of
philadelphia's
public
schools
are
over
70
years
old,
38
of
them.
Almost
1
in
5
are
more
than
100
years
old.
We've
got
schools
without
functioning
hvac
systems
lead
in
our
paint
bathrooms
that
flood
roofs,
that
leak
and
windows
that
cannot
open.
In
just
the
last
two
years
alone,
12
public
schools
have
shut
down
due
to
toxic
elements
such
as
damaged
asbestos,
flaking
lead
paint
and
mold
growth.
A
None
of
these
conditions
is
new.
We
all
know
the
urgency,
but
I
think
we
are
here
because
we
are
surprised
by
and
sometimes
disappointed
in,
the
lack
of
public
and
clear
action,
especially
when
resources
are
potentially
available.
Five
years
ago,
we
had
the
first
parsons
facility
conditions
assessment
report
detailing
over
5
billion
dollars
in
urgently
needed
repairs.
A
A
The
constant
that
must
continue
to
drive
this
process
forward
is
the
public,
a
public
that
is
engaged
with
the
facilities
master
planning
process,
a
public
that
is
invested
in
the
local
funding
of
that
facility's
master
plan
and
a
public
that
will
lobby
state
and
federal
entities
relentlessly,
because
this
is
about
our
children's
lives.
We
are
long
overdue
for
a
clear
vision
for
the
future,
one
that
is
created
with
and
driven
by,
our
school
communities,
students,
parents,
teachers,
principals
and
so
many
others.
A
Today,
we
will
hear
from
a
variety
of
stakeholders,
including
parents,
academics,
district
officials
advocates
and
leaders
from
other
cities,
as
well
as
leaders
here
at
home,
who
have
advised
other
cities.
We
will
hear
from
finance
and
facilities
experts,
all
of
whom
can
shed
light
on
the
process
and
timeline,
as
well
as
the
impact
of
action
and
inaction
both
on
planning
and
in
public
and
engagement.
A
A
A
G
B
D
And
I
know
we
will
probably
ask
this
question
of
people
to
testify,
but
one
question
that
I
would
want
to
know
is
there
a
cost
benefit
analysis
done
on
those
schools.
You
mentioned
that
were
100
years
old
versus
us
going
out
and
finding
space,
whether
it's
privately
owned
or
other
space
that
we
can
adapt
for
school
use
in
how
that
weighs
out
a
way
of
cost
benefit
analysis.
A
H
Thank
you
so
much
for
the
invitation
to
present
to
council.
Before
I
I
launch
into
my
prepared
comments.
I
want
to
say
how
gratified
I
am
by
the
opening
remarks
and
the
commitment
from
council
members
to
work
collaborate
collaboratively
on
this
issue,
think
out
of
the
box
and
address
not
just
school
facilities
in
isolation,
but
the
needs
to
plan
in
a
more
holistic
way
for
neighborhoods
in
philadelphia.
H
H
I
know
there's
been
talk
about
a
task
force
convening
that
could
could
really
focus
in
a
sustained
way
on
some
of
these
issues,
because
I
agree
that
the
time
has
come
that
we
can't
that
we
can't
have
in
action
any
longer
and
with
that
preliminary
comment
good
afternoon,
members
of
council
and
thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
testify
in
front
of
you
today
to
share
information
about
the
district's
work
to
create
welcoming
and
supportive
school
environments
for
every
child.
My
name
is
joyce.
H
Our
goals
focus
on
student
academic,
achievement.
Student
learning
is
and
must
be
our
priority.
Our
first
guardrail
is
focused
on
building
welcoming
and
supportive
schools
with
clean,
safe
environments
and
inclusive
climate
climates,
with
structures
in
place
to
provide
our
students
access
to
social,
emotional
and
mental
health,
supports
that
are
necessary
for
their
academic
success.
H
We
established
garwell
one
as
we
know,
and
understand
that
school
learning
does
not
happen
in
a
vacuum,
and
students
can
only
thrive
in
environments
built
to
support
their
academic
achievement.
However,
it's
important
that
we
not
focus
singularly
on
the
facilities
challenges
we
face
as
a
district.
We
must
develop
a
robust
and
comprehensive
process
that
identifies
the
educational
programs
we
need
for
our
students
and
school
communities.
H
H
The
board
has
approved
the
capital
budget
and
capital
improvement
plan
that
allows
the
district
to
address
both
immediate
needs
of
our
school
facilities
and
begin
to
focus
on
building
learning
environments
that
can
reimagine
spaces
around
educational
programs
that
support
student
learning.
This
past
october,
the
district
was
able
to
borrow
375
million
dollars
in
capital
dollars.
To
enhance
this
work,
the
approved
capital
plan
is
focused
on
dramatically
expanding
facility
improvements
to
provide
safe,
healthy
and
modernized
schools
over
the
next
four
years,
coupled
with
the
capital
borrowing
of
500
million
dollars
in
2019.
H
This
investment
represents
the
beginning
of
a
recovery
from
decades
of
deferred
maintenance
of
district
facilities
caused
by
inadequate
inequitable
and
unpressed
unpredictable
funding,
which
is
the
subject
of
fair
funding
trial
taking
place
in
the
commonwealth
court
further.
The
board
also
supports
the
district's
commitment
to
utilizing
alternative
arrangements
of
or
structures
to,
allow
the
district
to
spend
funds
responsibly
and
effectively
in
a
timely
manner.
Over
the
past
six
months,
the
district
has
been
working
with
bond
council
and
others
to
explore
alternative
structures
to
more
efficiently
address
districts.
Capital
needs.
H
This
could
include
using
an
authority
or
entering
into
intergovernmental
agreements
or
the
expanded
use
of
turnkey
structures.
These
strategies
allow
the
district
to
use
funds
more
effectively
and
no
less
importantly,
enable
the
district
to
focus
on
its
primary
responsibility:
the
education
of
our
children.
H
As
I
said,
every
child
deserves
a
safe
and
nurturing
school
community
for
their
valued,
respected
and
encouraged
to
do
this.
Well,
we
know
we
must
engage
in
a
robust
and
comprehensive
community
engagement
process
to
create
a
vision
for
21st
century
learning,
environments
in
philadelphia
that
support
the
needs
of
all
children.
H
H
Finally,
we
must
work
together
in
partnership
to
make
this
vision
a
reality
for
all
children
in
philadelphia.
We
need
your
support
in
that
of
our
state
and
federal
legislators
to
make
a
firm
commitment
to
advocating
for
funding.
We
need
to
do
to
see
that
our
most
vulnerable
children
have
educational
programs
and
school
facilities
in
which
our
children
can
feel
valued
and
know
that
their
community
supports
them
in
it
and
their
educational
goals.
H
I
H
Yeah,
the
district
has
provided
right
about
a
week
or
two
after
we
met
with
with
council
and
the
administration
the
district
got
access
to.
I
don't
know
if
it's
the
final
parsons
report,
but
a
person's
report
that
is
updated
from
the
one
that
was
released
in
2017
and
those
are
being
used
to
help
develop
the
capital
plan
on
the
capital
budget
that
that
the
district
will
be
employing
as
a
as
it
works
to
build
out
this
work.
So,
yes,
the
answer
is
yes.
We
perceive
that.
G
Afternoon,
alicia,
prince
chief
of
staff
to
superintendent
height
as
related
to
the
parsons
report.
At
this
time
we
have
as
board
president
wilkerson
has
shared.
We
have
shared
that
information
over
we
contracted
with
parsons
in
2020
for
a
follow-up
study
to
inform
our
internal
strategy
to
develop
capital
budgets
and
capital
projects
right
now.
H
No,
I
don't.
We
haven't
gotten
that
I
think
one
of
the
one
of
the
challenges
we're
working
with
is
how
you
how
you
frame
this
conversation
appropriately.
Let
me
take
a
a
a
long
run
at
this.
When
we
look
at
what
we
have
going
on
in
philadelphia,
we
have
any
number
of
facilities
that
that
that
are
very
different
in
terms
of
the
quality
of
the
education.
We
can
provide
our
students.
H
The
district
recently
completed
work
on
propel
school,
that
enrolls
about
1200
students,
and
one
of
the
things
we've
learned
is
that
when
you
have
a
student
population,
a
sufficient
student
population,
you
can
have
much
more
robust
programming
for
students.
It's
that
kind
of
learning
that
helps
that
has
led
us
to
take
a
step
back
to
rethink
how
it
is
that
we're
approaching
what
has
essentially
been
characterized
as
a
facilities
conversation,
and
so
when
we
look
at
it,
we're
beginning
to
ask
what
kind
of
education
do
we
want
for
our
children?
H
What
kind
of
programming
do
we
want
for
our
children
and
then
what
kind
of
facilities
do
we
need
to
support
that?
We
currently
have
high
schools
with
200
students.
300
students
we
have,
we
have
schools
at
every
level
that
has
a
small
percentage
of
the
enrollment.
They
need
for
the
district
to
be
able
to
roster
the
kind
to
begin
to
provide
the
kind
of
programming
that
that
families
ask
for
when
we
go
out
into
communities.
H
People
are
asking
about
things
like
you
know:
what
kind
of
programming
are
there
music
lessons?
Are
there
clubs
and
those
those
issues
need
to
be
a
primary
component
of
what
we
think
about
and
then
attach
the
buildings
to
those
that
kind
of
programming?
So
when
you
ask
about,
what's
the
cost
it?
The
question
is
the
cost
to
support
the
kind
of
programming
that
we
want,
and-
and
so
you
know,
I
have
not
seen
that
figure.
The
board
has
not
been
provided
with
that
figure.
H
A
You
know
I
want
to
be
acknowledging
that
you
know
the
sort
of
conversation
about
the
kinds
of
schools
our
children
need
have
been
going
on
for
20
years.
I
certainly
know
it
was
the
initial
conversation
that
happened
when
we
were
first
taken
over
by
the
state
back
in
2000,
and
I
just
want
us
to
be
thoughtful
that
I
understand
that
this
will
continue
to
be
an
ongoing
conversation.
The
types
of
schools
that
our
children
need
is
a
constant.
A
I
think
what
we're
trying
to
drill
down
on
is
not
to
get
so
lost
in
that
conversation,
that
we
don't
embark
on
a
clear
and
hard
plan
and
have
some
cognizance
about
numbers,
timelines
and
the
kind
of
partnerships
that
are
absolutely
necessary
to
that.
So
you're
saying
that
there's
no
cost
estimate
to
the
updated
fca
reports
that
you
have
currently
seen.
H
No,
I
I
haven't
seen
it,
but
I
want
to
make
clear
also
that
the
district
is
not
doing
nothing,
and
so
you
know
the
the
board
has
approved
a
capital
plan.
There's
construction
underway.
The
district
is
looking
at.
You
know
novel
approaches
to
how
we
do
that
work,
so
we
can
do
it
more
efficiently
than
in
the
past,
but
you
can't
ignore
the
other,
the
rest
of
the
conversation
that
has
to
happen.
You
know
we're
also
cautioned
that
it.
H
You
know
that
it
does
not
make
sense
to
to
invest
money
in
facilities
that
we
may
not
want
to
keep
online
for
the
long
term.
So
I
think
we
have
to
do
both.
We
have
to
both
tackle
some
of
the
short-term
needs
medium-term
needs,
as
we
try
to
figure
out
what
the
you
know.
The
long-term
strategy
is
going
to
be.
I
understand
I'll
pivot
to
miss
princeton
and
mr
mcneil.
They
may
have
dollar
figures
that.
G
Yes,
I
think
board
president
wilkerson
said
it
correctly
again
when
we
did
the
study
this
year.
This
was
to
inform
an
internal
strategy,
so
the
goal
was
not
to
come
up
with
numbers
directly
in
that
way,
because
we
wanted
to
do
more
of
a
robust
community
engagement
process
as
part
of
this.
So
that
is
a
critical
part
of
it.
A
All
right,
okay,
so
I
think
one
of
the
questions
is,
is
that
you
know
we.
We
spend
capital
spending
every
year,
it's
just
something:
the
district
does
every
single
year,
the
proposed
capital
budget
for
fy22
was
422
million,
which
is
a
significant
increase
from
the
previous
year
and
some
other
recent
years.
But
the
point
is
my
question:
isn't
about
a
whole,
steady
point
and
whether
the
district
does
capital
spending?
G
So,
in
response
to
that,
I
would
say
that,
as
you
know,
we
the
reason
we
did.
The
original
assessment
was
so
that
we
could
continue
to
address
work
and,
as
for
president
wilkerson
said,
we've
been
conducting
work
on
our
buildings.
That
is
something
we
continue
to
do:
daily:
maintenance,
upkeep
of
systems
investing
in
hvac
investing
in
ventilation.
G
We
have
giza
projects
that
we've
been
doing
so
that
work
has
been
continuing
to
happen
and
has
been
taken
into
account
with
the
new
parsons
assessments
that
have
been
done
around
the
building
facility
assessments,
as
well
as
educational
suitability
of
those
assessments.
So
work
that
has
been
done
has
been
assessed
and
is
a
part
of
what
we
ex
parsons
to
do,
as
we
were
able
to
gather
data
in
order
for
us
to
again
engage
in
a
larger
process
for
a
larger
facilities
plan.
A
You
know
issues
that
we
constantly
hear
for
from
the
public.
Is
transparency,
people
don't
know
what
repairs
we
are
doing.
What
the
timeline
for
these
repairs
are,
how
it's
being
prioritized
amongst
different
competing
needs
where
schools
are
in
the
lineup
in
terms
of
getting
things
done,
and
so
you
know
this
is
partly.
A
Why
we're
talking
about
the
importance
of
the
clarity
about
these
updated
reports,
how
they're
being
understood
and
why
it
feels
difficult
when
the
district
doesn't
like
make
that
those
reports
public
or
nor
does
it
have
a
sense
of
whether
our
investment
costs
are
meeting
the
needs
of
what
the
updated
reports
are
saying.
You
know
again,
I
appreciate
the
uptick
in
the
work
and
acknowledge
that
the
district
has
done
more
than
it's
than
has
been
before,
but
you
know
the
district.
G
Overall
costs
will
always
continue
to
increase
until
we
have
a
more
long-term,
sustained
funding
for
our
facilities
work,
and
I
think
that's
one
of
the
things
that
you
emphasize
and
we
truly
appreciate
your
advocacy
for
that.
I
do
think
until
we
have
long-term
sustained
funding
for
our
facilities,
that
this
will
be
something
that
will
always
increase
in
what
is
necessary.
G
I
do
want
to
just
clarify,
though,
that
the
capital
plan
is
detailed
and
approved
at
a
public
meeting,
and
then
that
is
a
public
document
and
that
details
the
process
and
the
works
and
the
work
that
is
done
and
approved
over
each
time
frame
of
that
capital
plan.
So
I
do
want
to
make
sure
that
is
noted.
A
Understood
but
I
don't
know
that
any
school
community,
including
school
principals,
is
familiar
enough,
even
if
the
capital
plan
may
be
online,
we've
even
looked
at
it
and
we
have
no
clue
whether
robeson
high
school
is
getting
its
urgent
facilities
needs
repaired.
You
know
whether
other
schools,
you
know
whether
ethel
allen
is
ever
gonna,
get
a
new
set
of
bathrooms.
You
know
to
be
addressed
within
their
building,
so
I
find
it
hard
to
believe
that
anybody
thinks
that
the
capital
plan,
despite
it
being
online,
is
actually
a
publicly
accessible
document.
A
Nor
is
it
clear
enough
to
do
that,
so
I
think
one
of
the
things
you
know-
and
I
do
appreciate
you're
being
clear
about,
but
do
you
have
a
number
for
the
amount
of
annual
investment?
That's
needed
to
stop
the
expansion
of
the
facilities
deficiencies,
so
you
said
that
you
know
in
part
you.
You
need
steady
spending,
you
need
more
spending,
but
do
you
have
a
sense
of
what
that
annual
investment
would
be
needed
in
order
to
ensure
that
we're
not
falling
further
behind.
D
A
D
My
name
is
reggie
mcneill,
I'm
the
chief
operating
officer
of
the
school
district
of
philadelphia
and
thank
you
for
and
having
the
ability
to
share
out
some
of
the
things
that
we're
doing
that's
and
as
it
relates
to
our
facility.
So
the
question
that
you
asked
was
about:
how
much
do
we
have
any
idea
on
how
much
of
a
need
that
we
have
to
try
to
reduce
the
amount
of
deficiencies
within
our
school
district's
buildings?
D
So
we
use
the
facility
condition
assessment
to
give
us
a
snapshot
in
time
of
where
we
are
with
our
deferred
maintenance
and
the
funding
needs
that
we
have
for
those
towards
those
facilities
and
then
within
the
fca.
If
you
look
at
it
from
2017,
it
also
speaks
to
if
we
do
not,
if
we
do
not
have
a
response
for
a
facility
in
that
given
year
how
the
by
not
replacing
that
system,
how
it's
going
to
continue
to
have
a
more
of
an
increase
in
cost
for
replacement
as
as
time
moves
on.
D
So
I
heard
you
say
that
earlier
and
you're
absolutely
right.
If
we,
if
we
don't
address
these
needs
with
the
additional
funding
that
we
all
know
that
we
need,
then
we're
going
to
continue
to
have
a
rate
of
of
cost
that
are
in
that's
increasing
and
it's
going
to
outpace
what
we're
doing
as
far
as
our
spending.
But
the
other
point
I
wanted
to
make
about
spending
it's
not
just
so
much
about
the
spending,
the
additional
funding.
D
We
also
need
the
capacity
to
address
the
the
facilities
conditions,
improvements
that
we
need
to
make,
and
so,
as
president
wilkerson
was
saying
earlier,
we're
looking
at
targeted
opportunities
for
other
vehicles
that
we
can
use
in
order
to
expedite
the
work.
So
it's
not
so
much
just
about
the
funding.
D
We
do
not
have
a
number
right
now,
so
what
we
do
have-
and
you
asked
about
this-
the
parsons
study
before
and
I
wanted
to.
I
was
trying
to
get
in
there,
then
the
the
parsons
as
part
of
the
2017
report
that
came
out.
They
were
required
to
come
back
and
do
another
assessment
based
on
the
capital
improvements
that
we
made
over
between
that
time
and
now
and
they
are
in
the
process
of
doing
that,
and
we
expect
the
end
result
to
be
another
dollar
figure.
D
D
A
G
A
A
D
I
would
like
to
repeat
which
was
asked
earlier
was:
has
there
been
a
cost
benefit
analysis
to
look
at
aging
schools
100
year
old
schools
to
say?
Is
it
better
to
a
look
at
privately
held
properties
to
replace
those
schools
or
to
do
new
construction
like
they're?
Doing?
Thank
you
very
much
for
cassidy
elementary
in
west
philly.
Is
that
kind
of
thought
out
process
as
to
which
is
more
beneficial,
been
done?
D
So,
yes,
I
would
say
that
we
have
done
the
cost
analysis,
but
it
wasn't
for
privately
owned
buildings.
It
was
more
for
we
did
a
what
we
call
a
facility
condition
index
and
it's
a
part
of
the
facility
condition
assessment
to
where
you
look
at
the
the
cost
of
the
building
to
repair
it
versus
the
the
actual
value
of
the
building
and
depending
on
the
fci
score.
D
No,
I
love
gompers,
it's
fine,
but
if
there's
goppers
and
then
there's
a
saint
joe's
dormitory,
that's
right
near
there
or
facility
right
near
there.
That
might
be
parting
with
is
those
kinds
of
decisions,
whether
it's
lasalle,
whether
it's
temple,
whether
it's
drexel
in
the
case
of
sla,
we
were
able
to
take
a
look
at
a
drexel
facility
to
temporarily
house
students
that
were
going
through
that
extensive
renovation
at
the
bieber
sla,
so
that
kind
of
analysis
might
come
in
handy
both
for
temporary
lodgings.
A
K
D
It
be
better
just
to
have
certain
people
concentrating
just
on
the
facilities.
Part
reggie,
and
I
know
you're
involved
in
that
part
of
it
and
not
so
much
time
from
the
superintendent
and
others
that
are
really
geared
toward
the
education
part
of
this.
And
is
it
possible
to
be
able
to
get
a
committee
together
to
just
do
just
that
and
have
outside
help
and
why
we
do
that.
G
Councilman
squilla,
I'm
glad
you
said
that
that
is
actually
directly
aligned
with
what
we
are
playing.
We
have
already
started
to
do.
We
again
believe
that
our
robust
partnerships
from
those
who
are
specialists
are
critical
through
this
process.
Additionally,
we
do
have
a
office
dedicated
strictly
to
this
process,
who
it's
not
them
being
pulled
in
other
directions.
Their
work
is
strictly
related
to
school
and
facilities
planning
and
this
work,
and
that
includes
educational
programming,
which,
as
board
president
wilkerson
emphasized,
is
really
critical
to
this
process
as
well.
H
I
want
to
chime
in
there.
I
I
think
that
it's
an
enormous
frustration
for
all
of
us
that
we
end
up
spending
so
much
time
focused
on
facilities,
it's
important,
but
I
think
we
all
agree
that
it
would
serve
us
serve
the
children
if
we
had
more
specialists
focusing
on
on
facilities
and
we've
taken
a
look
at
what's
going
on
in
washington,
the
way
they
address
facilities.
G
I
would
call
them
community
hubs
in
a
sense
to
really
make
sure
that
we
are
engaging
in
that
process
with
those
folks
and
looking
at
what
is
critically
important
to
through
this
process
is
the
the
data
that
drives
enrollment
right
and
that's
looking
at
data,
not
just
census
data,
but
really
where
people
the
neighborhoods
they're
moving
into
the
communities
they're
moving
into
the
demographic
of
those
individuals.
What
they're?
Looking
for
how
why
they're?
You
know
why
you're
seeing
certain
communities
and
the
robust
level
so
we've
spent
a
lot
of
time.
D
A
G
Acknowledge
some
of
the
work
the
school
district
has
done,
and
just
thank
them.
I
know
that
this
summer,
having
the
access
to
100
schools
and
neighborhoods
made
a
a
big
difference,
and
I
know
part
of
this
bigger
picture
planning
is
how
do
these
schools
really
become
hubs
for
the
neighborhoods
that
we
need,
but
I
really
wanted
to
quickly
ask
reggie
if
he
could
speak
to.
D
G
D
So
I
don't
have
a
there's,
no
specific
time
frame
for
all
of
the
work
orders
as
they're
categorized
by
their
priority,
our
priority
ones.
Of
course
we
respond
to
those
very
rapidly,
but
one
thing
that
we
can't
ever
lose
sight
of
is
the
all
the
work
orders
can't
do
not
have
the
same
response
time.
We
can
go
and
address
the
situation,
but
sometimes
we
have
a
a
wait,
because
we
are
waiting
on
materials
to
be
delivered
before
we
actually
complete
a
work
order.
D
D
The
new
protocols
we
are
looking
at
a
work
order,
management
system
right
now
we're
looking
at
the
one
that
we
use
right
now
and
we've
been
assessing
it
for
any
deficiencies
on
what
we
would
like
to
see
when
it
comes
to
the
management
and
reporting
out
of
our
work
orders.
But
in
the
interim
before
we
we
go
any
further
and
try
to
do
a
deeper
dive
into
a
response
for
that
work,
order
management
system,
things
that
we
have
done
in-house
with
our
facilities
team
as
we
create
a
facilities
management
plan.
D
That
facility
management
plan
is
accountability,
tool
for
all
of
our
facilities,
support
team
members
inside
of
school
buildings,
in
partnership
with
the
school
leaders.
So
every
week
we
have
our
building
engineers
staff
walking
a
building
with
the
principal
or
their
designee,
to
identify
deficiencies
and
also
record
any
work
orders.
D
What
we've
seen
is
we've
seen
that,
because
there's
more
engagement
now
and
because
both
the
facility,
the
facility
support
team
and
the
school
leader
have
identified
a
common
issue
within
the
school
and
then
there's
follow
through
with
the
facility
area
manager,
we're
starting
to
see
more
attention
being
paid
and
more
planning
being
done
for
that
school's
work
order
backlog.
So
that's
what
we've
done
here
recently
to
try
and
make
sure
that
we
are
keenly
aware
of
some
of
the
issues
that
are
going
on
in
our
schools
and
how
we're
addressing
them.
D
A
That's
okay!
Thank
you!
So
much
council
member
sentence,
so
I
think
you
know
continuing
on
with
with
a
few
more
questions.
You
know
we
want
to
understand
a
little
bit
about
the
district's
internal
capacity
to
to
address
some
of
the
questions
that
have
been
raised.
So
how
has
the
district
strengthened
and
expanded
its
internal
capacity
to
oversee
maintenance
and
new
construction
work
in
recent
years?
A
D
So
it's
looking
for
vehicles
such
as
those
to
help
expedite
the
work
that
is
much
needed
and-
and
so
and
you
talk,
if
you
look
at
it
from
a
maintenance
perspective,
you
know
what
we
are
challenged
with
right
now
and
that
what
you're
bringing
to
the
forefront
is
the
school
funding
that
we
need.
We
need
school
funding
to
address
some
a
lot
of
the
staff
shortages
that
we
have
specifically
in
our
facilities
and
maintenance
organization.
H
I
also
want
to
back
up
a
little
bit.
The
district
has
learned
a
lot
of
lessons
after
sla
ben
franklin,
so
you
know,
after
sla
ben
franklin,
which
happened
about
the
same
time,
that
the
district,
because
of
improvements
in
his
financial
situation,
had
the
opportunity
to
borrow
more
more
funds
than
than
it
had
had
the
ability
to
access.
H
As
you
know,
the
board
adopted
new
policies,
new
procedures,
to
make
sure
that,
as
we
do
the
work,
we
do
it
without
with
a
really
laser
focus
on
making
sure
that
that
the
students
and
other
employees
in
the
buildings
are
safe.
So
we've
had
a
lot.
That's
changed
since
sla
ben
franklin
that
both
increases
our
capacity.
H
A
D
Absolutely
so
they
came
in
after
ben
franklin
and
finished
up
the
bringing
that
project
into
completion,
and
the
group
has
a
contract
with
us
to
take
on
mostly
the
new
construction
and
major
expansion
work
that
we
have
going
on
in
the
district
they're
responsible
for
the
project
management
of
the
solace
coin.
Building
that
just
opened
up
they're
going
to
oversee
the
site,
construction
for
pier
t
and
pierce
that
we've
just
done
a
groundbreaking
on
not
less
than
just
a
week
ago,
or
so.
D
They
are
also
looking
at
they're
doing
the
ethan
allen
they're
doing
richmond.
So
some
of
our
large-scale
projects,
such
as
what
we've
experienced
over
ben
franklin,
they
have
the
capacity
in-house
and
the
controls
and
structures
to
deal
with
the
types
of
complexities
that
you
that
you
will
encounter
when
you're
dealing
with
these
types
of
projects.
A
As
we
kind
of
wrap
up
this
conversation
about
capacity,
is
it
possible
for
you
to
send
over
the
organizational
charts
with
names
from
from
your
office?
It's
basically
the
folks
who
are
under
the
co
so
that
we
have
a
better
understanding
that
would
be
like
the
office
of
capital
projects,
environmental
facilities,
maintenance,
etc.
A
I
understand
that
you
know,
I
think
what
we
want
is
to
understand
who's
in
charge
of
those
different
ones.
I
don't
think
we
need
every
single
position
detailed,
but
you
know
we
also
want
a
sense
of
whether
those
positions
are
actually
filled
and
not
just
whether
they
exist
in
the
budget,
so
it
helped
to
know,
what's
actually
been
filled
and
then,
secondly,
just
to
follow
up
a
little
bit
on
the
large-scale
project
management.
Could
you
just
identify
the
group
and
is
that
contract
going
to
continue?
A
G
Yeah,
I'm
happy
to
respond
to
that,
so
the
group
that
we
have
brought
in
is
literally
meant
to
again
build
out
our
capacity
as
part
of
this
work
and
also
again
as
board.
President
wilkerson
talked
about
as
I
spoke
about
earlier
as
well.
We
are
looking
for
new
ways
to
continue
to
do
this
work
to
expand
the
work.
I
think
we
all
have
the
same
interest
in
mind
to
really
address
our
facilities
and
the
needs
to
address
our
maintenance
needs,
and
so
that's
why
we
brought
the
group
in.
H
H
A
Right,
yeah
yeah.
We
just
wanted
to
make
sure
I
mean
you
know
effectively
what
we.
What
what
I
think
is
being
stated
here
is
that
no
matter
how
much
we
outsource
to
another
entity
we're
still
going
to
given
the
amount
of
work
that
needs
to
go
on
in
the
district
and
the
amount
of
money
that
the
district
is
investing,
we
still
need
an
internal
process
to
robustly
oversee
contractors,
even
if
the
large-scale
stuff
is
going
external.
A
So
that's
partly
why
you
know
we're
asking
about
the
organizational
charts
you
know
names
I
think
are
appropriate
in
in
in
that
area
and
then
understanding
whether
these
positions
are
actually
filled
and
how
to
be
supportive
of
the
district.
Fundamentally
we're
looking
to
be
supportive
of
the
district
in
a
modernization
effort,
but
we
need
a
partnership
that
shows
that
there's
a
public
process
and
that
work
you
know
council's
part
of
it,
because
fundamentally,
the
district
cannot
raise
its
own
revenues.
H
That's
why
I
think
that
you
know
I
know
that
there's
been
proposed
a
task
force
and
that's
one
way
of
getting
everybody
on
the
same
page,
that
you
know
that,
if
we're
looking
at
doing
an
outside
authority,
different
jurisdictions
handle
it
differently.
You
know
the
cut-off
point
between
what's
a
major
project.
What's
day-to-day
maintenance
varies
and
it's
the
kind
of
thing
that
you
know
that
we
need
to
think
about
to
figure
out
how
we're
going
to
move
forward
more
aggressively
expanding.
You
know
the
district's
capacity,
so
I.
M
H
Look
forward
to
having
other
people
at
the
table
trying
to
get
on
the
same
page
with
these
issues,
taking
a
look
at
how
it's
done
in
other
jurisdictions,
where
it
works
well,
where
it
hasn't
so
that
we
can
get
beyond
the
point
where
we
are
now.
You
know,
having
hearings
and
and
and
and
not
making
the
kind
of
progress.
I
think
we
all
want
to
have
so
we
welcome
this
conversation
and
look
forward
to
you
know
having
partners.
A
Yes-
and
you
know
part
of
this-
is
that
you
know
you
don't
there's
some
elements
of
this
where
again
just
underscoring
the
amount
of
money
and
the
amount
of
willpower
to
see
a
project
you
know
to
see
a
full-scale
modernization
of
the
district
through
is
again
going
to
be
greater
than
what
we
currently
have,
and
it's
going
to
outlast
every
single
one
of
us
who
is
on
this
call.
Today
it
is
going
to
be
a
long-term
effort
for
the
district
and
again
the
constant
here
is
not
us.
It's
not
a
task
force.
A
It's
actually
that
public
engagement
process
that
we've
been
really
pushing
on,
and
so
in
order
to
have
part
of
that
public
engagement
process.
Clarity
about
the
public
engagement
process,
timelines
and
public
engagement
are
critically
important.
Those
are
things
that
are
within
the
district's
control
right
now
they
don't
have
to
wait
for
a
task
force.
They
don't
have
to
wait,
for
you
know
money
to
come
through
their
everyday
work.
H
H
You
know,
so
I
think
it's
worthwhile
to
spend
the
time
defining
a
process
that
that
can
move
that
that
moves
and
meets
the
expectations
of
all
parties,
and
so
we're
fully
committed
to
having
an
engagement
process
so
that
we
can
move
forward
in
a
collaborative
way
with
the
public
understanding
where
you
know
what
it
is
that
we're
looking
at.
You
know
what
ideas
come
out
of
the
public
engagement
process.
You
know
we
value
that
as
well
and
understand
how
important
that
is.
A
Right
yeah,
I
think
all
of
us
like,
if
we
don't
want
to
repeat
it
part
of
what
we
don't
want
to
do
is
again
be
private.
You
know
like
we
want
to
engage
publicly
around
it.
You
know
the
last
thing
I'll
say
is
that
I
just
you
know,
want
to
caution
the
district,
because
I
know
it's
been
brought
up
a
couple
of
times.
A
Is
you
know
it
is
there's
a
lot
of
temptation
to
talk
about
closing
schools
and
we
did
close
dozens
of
schools
in
the
early
2010s
and
we
never
built
out
a
process
for
capacity.
It
did
not
strengthen
our
capacity,
it
didn't
clarify
things
for
us.
It
was
just
a
disinvestment
and
so
again
encouraging
the
district
that
you
need
an
investment
oriented
approach
towards
modernization,
a
public
engagement
around
that
process.
A
But
if
the
process
begins
with
school
closures
and
alleged
right
sizing,
you
are
going
to
see
justified
pushback,
because
we
did
it
already,
and
we
are
here
more
than
a
decade
later,
without
a
clear
plan
on
where
to
go.
All
we
did
was
just
close
down
30
public
schools
and
did
not
leave
with
a
clear
plan
on
on
on
what
the
future
could
look
like
you
know.
A
So
you
know
this
is
a
critically
important
thing
about
making
sure
we
don't
take
assets
out
of
neighborhoods
and
then
find
ourselves.
A
decade
later,
with
growing
neighborhoods
now
in
demand
of
new
school
buildings,
modern
school
buildings
and
the
future
that
the
city
can
really
see
as
its
own
laying
down
roots
having
families
anchored
here
is
truly
the
path
to
sustainability,
not
just
for
the
school
district
of
philadelphia,
but
for
the
city.
H
That's
we
agree
with
you
and
I
think
that's
why,
how
we
frame
this
you
know
so
that
it
it
can't
just
be
a
facilities
decision.
It
can't
just
be
a
right-sizing
decision.
We've
got
to
ask
more.
We
have
to
ask
different
kinds
of
questions
that
that
go
to
the
things
you're
talking
about
what
kind
of
education
would
make
somebody
stay.
H
You
know
in
a
neighborhood.
What
kind
of
programming
are
they
looking
for
that?
That
has
to
be
where
we,
where
those
have
to
be
the
first
questions
we
asked,
but
I
I
think
we're
on
the
same
page.
Nobody
wants
to
go
back
to
to
you
know
what
happened
in
the
past.
I
think
that
the
conditions
are
completely
different.
Now
you
know
that
you
know,
because
of
you
know,
state
state
control.
H
It
was
impossible
for
the
city
to
support
the
district,
and
so
the
district
started
selling
off
buildings
simply
because
it
was
going
to
generate
revenue
because
of
the
hard
work
that
the
district's
done.
We're
in
a
different
position.
Now
we're
you
know
we're
in
a
position
to
be
able
to
borrow
money,
we're
in
a
position
to
be
able
to
plan
long
term.
So
I
just.
A
A
A
O
O
My
biggest
takeaway
over
the
years
is
that
a
little
transparency
goes
a
long
way.
Three
years
ago,
I
testified
to
the
board
of
education
facilities
committee
about
custodial
staffing
shortages
and
the
poor
condition
of
our
roof.
If
we
really
want
to
keep
our
buildings
in
quality
shape,
we
need
the
staff
to
do
it.
Facilities
and
the
staff
to
maintain
them
cannot
be
uncoupled.
O
In
this
testimony,
I
noted
that
the
2015
facilities
report
said
that
our
roof
was
beginning
to
fail
and
beyond
repair,
but
yet
wasn't
on
the
five-year
plan
to
be
replaced
at
the
time
the
roof
was
actively
leaking
and
causing
mold
issues.
Two
years
after
my
testimony
and
five
years
after
it
was
declared
failing,
we
got
a
new
roof
in
2020.
O
I
want
to
acknowledge
that
I
am
again
disheartened
to
have
to
wonder
if
prioritization
is
being
based
on
who
publicly
complains
the
most
ventilation
is
another
key
facilities
issue
for
covet
reopening
the
old
mechanical
whole
building
fan
that
was
off
for
years
in
our
school
was
finally
turned
back
on
for
years,
there
was
essentially
no
mechanical
ventilation
going
on
in
the
building.
As
an
environmental
engineer,
light
bulbs
went
off
in
my
head
about
all
the
people
in
our
community
who
complained
that
the
building
was
exacerbating
their
breathing
issues.
O
O
We
started
losing
power
in
the
building
on
a
regular
basis
in
the
beginning
of
the
year.
The
only
true
solution
to
this
is
yet
another
costly
electrical
upgrade
and
again
it's
unclear
when
that
will
happen
when
I
think
of
modernization
in
addition
to
addressing
these
deferred
maintenance
issues.
I
also
think
about
the
overcrowding
that
is
going
on
in
our
pocket
of
south
philly,
again
after
much
complaining
in
2019,
the
school
district
developed
the
comprehensive
school
planning
review
cspr
and
began
evaluating
our
neighborhood
to
come
up
with
ways
to
tackle
this
issue.
O
O
A
P
Thank
you.
My
name
is
ria
powell
am
the
parent
of
two
children
who
attend
meredith
school
here
in
philadelphia
like
many
other
school
buildings
in
the
district,
the
building
at
meredith
has
been
plagued
with
lead
paint,
residue
damaged,
asbestos
and
asthma
triggers
like
mold
and
dust,
and
also
like
many
other
schools.
P
Meredith's
ventilation
system
is
outdated
and
has
limited
our
ability
to
implement
best
practices
for
ensuring
adequate
ventilation
during
the
pandemic,
like
ours,
schools
across
the
district
deal
with
non-functioning
bathrooms,
outdated
heating
systems
that
make
classrooms
excessively
hot
or
excessively
cold,
and
a
lack
of
basic
room
materials.
One
teacher
I
know
purchased
ikea
shower
curtains,
because
her
class
classroom
did
not
even
have
functioning
shades.
P
Nearly
a
hundred
years
ago,
the
crisis
of
the
great
depression
tested
this
country
and
philadelphia
responded
by
building
some
of
the
very
school
buildings
that
we
still
use.
Today.
We
need
to
meet
our
present
crisis
with
action
and
build
a
better
future.
Parents
like
me,
are
aware
that
this
work
will
require
a
serious
investment
in
our
schools
and
we
can
learn
from
other
cities
that
have
figured
out
how
to
secure
funding
needed
to
support
school
modernization.
P
Our
schools
are
the
keystones
of
our
communities
they
educate,
nourish
and
care
for
our
children,
and
especially
since
the
pandemic.
We
have
seen
how
important
our
schools
are
as
community
hubs
providing
food
health
services
like
covid
testing
and
vaccines,
and
connecting
families
to
resources
by
investing
in
our
school
infrastructure,
with
parents
and
school
communities
as
partners.
We
are
investing
in
our
children's
education
in
our
city's
future
and
our
students
deserve
absolutely
nothing
less.
Thank
you.
A
L
B
A
A
Good
afternoon
everybody,
thank
you
so
much
for
your
patience.
I
think
we
will
have
president
jordan
speak
first
and
then,
if
professor
drake
rodriguez
is
able
to
get
on,
we
will
be
able
to
move
to
her
testimony
and
then
move
through
the
other
members
of
the
panel.
Thank
you
so
much
everybody
for
joining
us
president.
Jerry
jordan,
welcome.
Thank
you
so
much
if
you
could
just
please
state
your
name
formally
for
the
record,
and
then
you
may
proceed
with
your
testimony.
E
E
E
E
An
overview
in
our
may
scope
and
solutions
report,
which
is
included
in
your
attachments.
We
examine
through
photos,
data
and
analysis,
the
various
unconscionable
conditions
that
are
permitted
to
exist
in
our
schools.
Each
day.
Conditions
outlined
in
the
report
include
the
following:
lead
in
water
and
in
paint
asbestos
ventilation,
roofing
issues.
E
E
E
This
negligence
has
led
to
very
real
consequences
in
our
school
buildings.
In
the
letters
we
highlighted
absolutely
crazy
situations
that
languished
for
far
too
long
and
are
emblematic
of
issues
that
we
are
seeing
district-wide
to
say.
The
response
the
coalition
we
see
is
inadequate
is
an
understatement
funding.
E
Let
me
repeat:
we
have
the
funding
now
to
get
us
to
this
very,
very
baseline
point,
but
let
me
also
be
clear
to
get
us
to
the
point
that
our
children
deserve
and
in
fact
to
which
they
are
constitutionally
entitled.
We
need
a
massive
influx
of
federal
dollars
to
build
back
better
bill
sets
the
stage
for
this
influx,
but
does
not
provide
sufficient
funding.
E
A
Thank
you
so
much,
president
jordan,
we
have
donna
cooper
joining
us
who
is
formally
on
the
earlier
panel,
so
we'll
invite
her
and
then
dr
robin
cooper
to
testify,
and
then
we
may
have
some
questions
for
this
group
and
then
proceed
with
the
rest
of
the
panel
donna.
Thank
you
so
much
for
joining
us
today.
If
you
could
just
say
state
your
name
for
the
record,
you
may
proceed
with
your
testimony.
Q
Thank
you
very
much.
Councilwoman
kim
and
it
sounds
like
you
have
a
sore
throat,
I
hope
you're,
okay,
not
good,
and
also
it's
a
honor
to
be
here
with
the
head
of
the
teachers
union,
who
has
made
such
a
strong
case
for
why
we
need
to
improve
the
schools.
I
I
just
have
three
short
comments
that
I
wanted
to
offer.
First
of
all,
I
want
all
the
members
of
council
who
were
gathered
for
this
hearing
and
my
fellow
citizens
to
understand
that
we
are
not
in
this
alone.
Q
That
working
plumbing
would
be
a
dream
for
him
that
they
have
75
kindergarteners,
who
have
one
toilet
to
use,
and
so
most
of
the
day
is
spent
orchestrating
bathroom
break
rather
than
educating
it.
Their
children
following
the
superintendent
from
panther
valley,
the
first
grade
teacher
from
greater
johnstown,
mrs
cobell
testified
in
the
state
court
that
she
has
one
working
sink
and
one
working
toilet
for
125,
first
grade
students,
and
so
the
situation
that
we
find
ourselves
in
here
in
philadelphia
today
is
symptomatic
of
the
state's
failure
to
fund
our
schools.
Q
And
it
is
a
common
cause
among
the
low
wealth,
low
spending
school
districts.
And
I
urge
us
all
to
think
about
how
we
work
with
the
rural,
suburban
and
urban
school
districts.
Just
like
us
to
cause
the
state
to
come
to
the
table.
Put
real
capital
money
on
the
table,
and
I
caution
us
not
to
fall
for
the
reopening
of
plancon.
Q
Supported
with
that
program-
and
I
should
say
very
few-
maintenance
repairs
qualify
so
that
plan
con
project
plancon
system,
which
was
run
by
the
pennsylvania
department
of
education,
really
was
a
transfer
or
a
subsidy
to
the
districts
that
have
means,
and
what
we
need
is
a
fully
funded
capital
program
for
the
districts
that
have
less
means
like
us,
like
panther
valley,
like
greater
johnstown.
So
that's
the
first
thing.
Q
We
need
to
look
no
further
than
the
new
jersey
and
new
york
school
construction
authorities
for
the
creation
of
separate
organizations
outside
the
school
district
that
have
become
scandal-ridden,
corrupt
patronage
operations.
Moreover,
to
create
an
independent
authority
costs
money
so,
for
instance,
pica,
which
is
the
pennsylvania
intergovernmental
cooperation
agency,
does
no
school
over
no
construction
oversight.
It
is
an
800
000
operating
budget.
Q
The
pennsylvania
intergovernmental
cooperation
agency
is
sunsetting
in
2023.
The
debt
that
they
were
created
to
float
will
be
paid
off.
The
city
is
collecting
about
400,
not
the
city.
The
pica
is
getting
460
million
dollars
in
wage
taxes
that
are
used
to
pay
off
the
pika
bond
that
have
been
used
to
pay
off
the
pika
bonds,
but
there
will
be
no
bonds
to
pay
after
2023,
and
there
are
many
people
who
are
saying
great.
Q
Q
It
doesn't
really
need
to
be
topica,
because
that
would
require
change
in
state
legislation,
but
it
would
not
require
change
in
state
legislation
to
re-detect
part
of
the
wage
tax
to
another
authority
that
already
exists
to
do
float
some
debt
so
that
we
can
get
some
substantial
projects
done,
and
so
we
need
to
think
out
of
the
box.
We
need
to
think
about
design
build
operate.
F
Yes,
thank
you,
madam
coach.
This
very
briefly,
I
just
want
to
thank
president
jordan,
and
I
also
see
author
steinberg
here
as
well.
I
want
to
thank
donna
cooper
for
her
comments
and
the
reason
why
I've
raised
this
point
of
information
is
that
so
often
we
think
these
issues
are
just
city
of
philadelphia
issues.
I
just
wrapped
up
my
term
as
president
of
the
pennsylvania,
municipal
league
and
cities
around
the
commonwealth
are
saying
all
the
same
things
that
we're
hearing
here,
but,
as
my
co-chair
and
others
have
stated,
we
need
a
plan.
F
So
even
if
we
get
additional
funding
based
on
the
william
penn
lawsuit,
even
if
we
look
at
the
ideas
coming
out
of
pika
that
I'm
also
exploring
as
well
as
others,
we
don't
have
a
plan,
and
I
I
chose
not
to
ask
questions
earlier,
because
I
continue
to
hear
the
same
language
over
and
over
again.
So
that's
why
it's
incumbent
upon
this
committee
and
others
and
education
committee
to
obviously
help
direct
the
school
district
with
a
plan.
Thank
you,
madam
cochain.
A
Thank
you
for
that
point
of
information,
chair
green.
We
have
robin
cooper
and
then
we
can
open
up
for
a
few
questions
and
then
we'll
continue
on
with
the
rest
of
the
panel.
So
president
cooper,
if
you
are
on,
if
you
could
just
please
unmute
state
your
name
for
the
record,
and
you
may
proceed
with
your
testimony
and
welcome.
N
A
N
N
A
N
Our
union,
in
partnership
with
other
unions,
parent
groups
and
community
entities,
have
been
working
for
the
past
five
years
to
call
for
the
school
district
and
the
city
to
address
issues
of
mold,
lead
paint
and
asbestos
in
our
school
buildings.
For
many
of
these
years,
the
response
has
only
been
when
environmental
hazards
are
publicly
uncovered.
N
We
need
to
change
this
culture
from
veiled
secrecy,
to
a
culture
of
complete
transparency,
one
that
is
warm
and
welcoming
to
stakeholders,
inclusive
of
parent
groups,
unions
and
business
partners.
It
is
well
timed
past
the
time
to
demand
the
following
plan
number
one:
it
is
crucial
to
develop
a
comprehensive
facilities,
master
plan
for
our
schools,
a
plan
to
prioritize
the
health
and
safety
of
our
school
buildings.
We
know
daily
as
school
administrators
that
there
is
no
plan
presently
number
two
central
to
developing.
A
master
plan
is
to
establish
a
public
process.
N
This
process
needs
to
create
a
public
task
force
in
which
our
school
unions
and
the
leaders
of
our
school
unions,
not
where
the
school
district
can
choose
members
from,
but
the
leaders
of
our
school
unions
who
were
elected
to
represent
all
of
our
members
and
community
stakeholders.
We
will
provide
input
and
environmental
recommendations
for
the
master
plan.
N
Number
three
also
key
to
both
a
public
process
in
creation
of
a
master
facilities
plan
is
the
establishment
of
transparency
as
the
public's
right
to
know.
Presently
neither
administrators
nor
parents
or
teachers
have
access
to
environmental
health
data
number
four.
Finally,
we
know
these
changes
will
need
an
increase
in
funding
to
finance
the
school
building.
Environmental
challenges.
N
N
One
way
this
can
be
accomplished
is
by
hiring
an
independent
auditor
to
monitor
district
spending
to
ensure
that
monies
are
being
spent
appropriately
with
the
appropriate
accountability
measures.
We
question
what
the
plan
is
for
addressing
the
most
critical
environmental
health
threats
in
our
schools.
With
these
funds
rap
group,
public
enemy,
wrapped,
it
takes
a
nation
of
millions
to
hold
us
back
in
this
situation.
It
took
one
central
office
that
had
held
us
back.
N
We
must
take
a
proactive
stand
by
involving
stakeholders
in
a
productive
dialogue
to
resolve
these
issues
once
and
for
all,
not
whom
the
district
sees
fit
to
include,
but
authentic
leadership
groups
that
will
work
to
ensure
that
our
schools
are
safe
schools
for
all
students.
Thank
you
for
your
time
today
to
allow
me
to
address
this
very
important
issue.
We
can
all
agree
that
all
of
our
schools
should
be
healthy
and
safe
environments
for
our
children,
teachers
and
school
workers.
A
A
A
Actually,
sarah
kloss
is
that
this
question
of
the
district,
having
a
sense
of
public
engagement
process
or
embarking
on
one,
was,
is
not
being
felt
at
any
level
amongst
our
educators
and
teachers
who
are
actually
in
the
buildings
amongst
our
principals,
who
are
leading
our
school
buildings,
amongst
advocates,
like
donna
cooper,
who
are
relentlessly
advocating
for
resources
at
the
state,
local
and
federal
level,
but
especially
at
the
state
level
and
by
our
parents.
And
so
you
know
one
of
the
questions.
A
I
think
we've
laid
out
a
number
of
recommendations,
some
of
the
requests
that
have
been
made,
certainly
by
president
robin
cooper
and
president
jerry,
jordan
and
by
others.
But
if
there
is
an
area
where
you
would
like
us
to
start
and
I'll,
throw
that
question
first
to
president
jerry,
jordan
and
then
to
robin
cooper,
where
would
you
think
that,
like
the
most
urgent
thing
is
for
us
to
combine
a
real,
focused
attention
on
for
right
now?
That
would
immediately
assist
us
in
moving
some
of
these
things
forward.
A
I
know
you've
supported
this
for
a
really
long
time,
including
you
know,
tremendous
work
that
you've
done
on
the
lead,
paint
advisory
committee,
for
example,
and
really
wanting
to
see
an
environmental
advisory
committee
have
some
teeth.
But
if
you
have,
you
know
one
area
that
you
really
want
to
see
us
focus
in
on
right
now,
where
would
you
recommend
that
we
focus
our
attentions?
E
I
would
suggest
that
it
be
in
the
area
of
transparency.
If
we
don't
know
what
the
problem
is,
if
we
don't
identify
the
problem
and
then
talk
about
the
solutions
necessary
to
resolve
it
honestly
and
give
everyone
the
opportunity
to
weigh
in
on
how
to
resolve
the
problem,
we're
never
ever
going
to
solve
it.
N
I
I
agree
with
president
jordan.
I
think
the
transparency
that
is
the
biggest
issue.
There
is
a
lack
of
transparency
and
if
we
continue
to
spend
the
story
as
opposed
to
really
working
together
in
a
collaborative
manner
and
making
sure
that
is,
it's
productive
and
welcoming
dialogue
to
to
want
to
bring
stakeholders
in.
I
think
when
then
you'll
really
get
a
a
great
community
engagement,
but
the
spin
of
of
what
is
actually
going
on
is
it
takes
on
several
different
meanings
and
so
pretty
much
for
I
know
for
casa.
A
F
A
I
would
double
down
on
that,
and
I
think
this
hearing
kind
of
reinforced
from
the
district's
choice
to
testify
with
no
additional
information,
no
willingness
to
share
in
an
almost
dismissive
level
about
their
approach
towards
public
engagement,
which
again,
we
believe,
is
critical
to
this
process.
We
won't
get
more
resources
unless
we
have
a
dedicated
and
engaged
public.
A
A
We
got
the
facilities
conditions
assessment
report
years
ago
and
we
are
here
years
later,
conceivably
at
a
square
one
with
very
little
alignment
between
whether
the
board
is
where
the
district
is
and
where
the
public
is,
and
that
should
be
a
seriously
disconcerting
issue
for
all
of
us
who
are
deeply
invested
in
seeing
the
school
system
come
forward.
So
you
know
I
agree
with
you
on
the
transparency.
E
Madam
chair,
I
would
also
suggest
that
if
we
are
able
to
have
transparency
and
identify
the
problem
that
there
we
have
to
agree
on
the
protocol
to
fo
protocols
to
follow
in
order
to
solve
the
problem
as
well,
because
we
can't
decide
that
we're
going
to
use
one
two
or
three
methods
in
order
to
remove
mold
or
asbestos
today
and
then
have
a
different
protocol
next
week
at
a
different
location.
For
doing
it.
We
have
to
have
an
assist,
a
consistent
set
of
protocols
that
we
follow.
Q
Thank
you
so
much
councilwoman
and
again
I
really
empathize
with
the
situation
that
the
members
of
the
pft
and
the
principals
union
are
in.
I
do
think
that
the
the
sort
of
challenge
by
councilman
greene
is
so
prescient,
and
I
think
currently,
under
the
current
structure
of
the
facilities
office
and
the
way
in
which
maintenance
and
facilities
are
structured
and
interact,
we're
not
going
to
end
up
with
consistency
or
a
plan
like.
Q
I
think
I
I
would
hope
that
between
now
and
the
period,
obviously,
the
screening
bill
is
important
and
creating
a
way
to
get
led
out
of
schools
is
important.
But
that's
this
big.
The
issues
that
we're
talking
about
are
much
bigger,
and
I
would
hope
that
we
could
collectively
work
to
build
the
will
to
have
a
professional
office
that
could
work
with
the
teachers
union
and
the
principals
union
in
a
way
that
would
enable
people
to
engage-
and
you
know
I
feel
like
we
a
little
bit.
Q
I
mean
I
feel
like
we
don't
have
the
individuals
yet
at
the
school
district
who
can
be
a
partner,
a
transparent
partner,
and
so
I
would
just
say,
I
think
we
have
to
talk
to
our
fellow
citizens
about
it,
elevating
our
aspirations
for
what
that
office
does
and
looks
like
and
attracts.
So
there
is,
there
are
actual
people
who
have.
This
is
their
life
to
work,
to
improve
our
schools.
Q
A
A
As
you
can
see
from
the
hearing
today,
we
have
a
long
road
ahead.
It's
clearly
worth
it,
but
we
are
gonna
need
all
of
us
to
do
this,
lift
because
it's
it's
enormous,
but
I
think
our
city's
future,
not
just
our
school
district's
future
relies
on
it.
Thank
you
so
much
for
your
testimony.
It's
deeply
appreciated.
A
M
For
the
last
three
or
four
years,
I
studied
the
role
of
public
schools
in
neighborhoods
in
philadelphia
attempting
to
understand
the
political
and
social
role
these
institutions
play
in
our
city's
many
neighborhoods
from
researching
the
role
of
the
friends
of
neighborhood
education
to
those
of
our
many
dedicated
educational
advocates,
including
apps
parents,
united,
the
west
philadelphia
coalition
for
neighborhood
schools
and
others.
It's
clear
that
many
of
the
problems
and
opportunities
in
the
city
are
intimately
linked
to
the
quality
and
condition
of
our
school
facilities.
M
What
these
premise
of
these
courses
were
was
to
understand
the
context
and
political
economy
of
planning
public
school
facilities
to
not
only
enhance
the
assets
of
the
local
community,
but
also
address
that
community's
needs.
These
courses
were
also
conceived
over
the
summer
when
the
potential
of
federal
funding
via
the
infrastructure
bill
created
new
possibilities
for
addressing
the
scale
and
scope
of
philadelphia's
facilities
needs
over
5
billion
in
deferred
maintenance
and
an
annual
gap
of
about
200
million
in
the
district's
budget
that
is
recommended
to
maintain
the
215
facilities.
M
There
are
two
major
takeaways
from
these
courses.
One
is
that
we
must
conceive
design
fund
and
maintain
schools
as
social
and
physical
infrastructure
in
the
communities
they
serve
and
two.
We
must
radically
reimagine
the
tools
and
processes
that
support
this
planning.
Endeavor
in
my
course,
students,
design,
infrastructure
trading
cards
to
compare
the
history's
uses
and
funding
of
philadelphia's
many
bridges
once
considered
like
local
roads
and
three
ways
to
be
local
and
state
responsibilities
to
that
of
its
many
school
facilities.
M
State
and
federal
funding
support
the
maintenance
and
capital
needs
of
the
city's
bridges,
while
school
facilities
disease
virtually
nothing
from
these
governmental
budgets.
Although
the
hundred
thousand
publicated
12
school
facilities
across
the
nation
serve
over
56
million
people
daily,
there
is
still
a
46
billion
dollar
annual
deficit
for
their
maintenance
and
capital
needs.
The
failure
to
invest
in
this
public
school
infrastructure
is
a
failure
to
invest
in
the
people
of
this
city
and
with
the
over-representation
of
black
latinx
and
asian
children
in
these
schools.
M
This
failure
becomes
one
of
the
many
ways
that
racism
is
systematized
and
institutionalized
in
our
city.
The
asthma
rates
of
our
district's
children,
combined
with
the
known
environmental
hazards
and
triggers
in
these
school
facilities,
also
make
this
failure
a
public
health
crisis
and
with
cobit
19
an
airborne
virus
becoming
endemic.
We
can
no
longer
continue
to
ignore
the
problem
of
disinvested
community
infrastructure
that
are
our
public
school
facilities.
M
We
realize
the
issues
of
public
school
facilities
are
large
and
seemingly
unsurmable.
Solving
them
is
not
sexy,
nor
will
it
yield
electoral
victories
for
city
leaders,
but
the
health
and
viability
of
the
overall
city
depends
on
taking
action
in
an
inclusive,
transparent
and
sustainable
way.
Thank
you.
A
M
My
name
is
david
backer,
I'm
a
former
high
school
teacher,
professor
of
education
policy
at
westchester,
university's
college
of
education
and
social
work
and
the
parent
of
a
toddler
in
west
philadelphia.
Our
zoned
elementary
school
is
comages
school
in
the
concessing
area
and
as
of
2017
comages
needed
11.3
million
dollars
of
repairs.
M
Dollars
to
its
air
distribution
systems,
which
analysts
found
inadequate
to
my
knowledge,
this
work
has
not
happened
yet
we're
still
in
the
pandemic.
I'm
angry
and
sad
and
I
stand
with
thousands
of
parents,
teachers
and
students
and
other
commit
community
members
impacted
by
sick
school
structures
in
this
city,
both
physical
and
social,
and
support
the
modernization
legislation
you're
considering
I
research,
transformative,
school
finance
policies,
specifically
the
financing
of
school
building,
maintenance
and
construction.
M
Here
are
a
few
ideas
from
that
work.
Regarding
funding,
school
monitors,
modernization
in
philadelphia,
school
districts
rely
on
grants
from
taxes
and
capital
from
loans
for
revenue
in
philadelphia.
These
two
routes
are
fraught
tax
grants
come
from
city
and
state,
with
minimal
help
from
the
federal
government.
Increasing
taxes
at
any
level
is
never
popular,
and
while
recent
federal
spending
packages
provide
a
much
needed
breather,
they
are
not
sustainable
policies,
as
they
have
a
four
year
shelf
life
and
are
doled
out
by
sadistic
conservatives
at
the
state
level.
M
Thus,
districts
must
look
down
the
lonesome
road
of
loans
and
in
our
special
brand
of
american
capitalism,
public
school
construction
finance
is
privatized.
Bonds
are
products
for
sale
in
a
competitive
market
whose
primary
aim
is
to
generate
profitable,
tax-free
investment
for
ruling
class
investors.
This
is
a
sixth
system
that
creates
six
schools.
The
public
finance
network
reports
that
more
than
a
third
of
all
non-taxable
bonds
go
to
educational
purposes,
and
meanwhile,
the
american
society
of
civil
engineers
gives
the
united
states
a
d
plus
rating
for
its
school
building
infrastructure.
M
M
M
Building
facility
that
would
issue
no-cost
long-term
loans
for
public
school
buildings
in
the
philadelphia
region.
Creating
such
a
facility
as
fully
legal
within
the
fed's
mandate
now
has
precedent
in
the
municipal
liquidity
facility.
This
financing
plan
is
independent
of
many
state
and
federal
government
restrictions.
M
Last
year,
organizers
with
the
group
lilac
and
the
action
center
for
race
in
the
economy
led
in
action
to
flood
philly
fed
president
patrick
harker's
email
box.
With
this
demand,
the
office
was
responsive,
showing
interest,
but
the
meetings
never
happened.
Perhaps
a
word
from
council
could
move
the
ball
forward.
M
Two
make
sure
the
nascent
public
bank
of
philadelphia
is
able
to
issue
bonds
to
the
school
district,
three
approach
surrounding
school
districts
with
high
property
values
and
propose
issuing
solidarity
bonds
with
them
for
our
school
buildings.
Pennsylvania
has
an
inspiring
history
of
school
districts,
coming
together
across
race
class
and
regional
lines
to
improve
school
facilities.
I'm
thinking
specifically
of
treadrock
and
easttown's
construction
of
an
integrated
public
high
school
in
1907
through
jointly
issued
debt.
Perhaps
our
fellow
pennsylvanians
in
nearby
districts
would
be
open
to
sharing
the
burden
of
school
modernization
with
us.
A
R
Thank
you.
I
wasn't
sure
what
my
turn
was.
I
am
arthur
steinberg
and
I'd
like
from
the
chief
trustee
of
the
pft
health
and
welfare
fund.
Excuse
me
losing
my
voice
catching
up
to
council
member
again,
thank
you,
chairperson,
green
chairperson,
gim
and
distinguished
members
of
this
committee
for
allowing
me
the
opportunity
to
testify
today.
As
I
said
before,
I
am
arthur
steinberg,
the
chief
trustee
of
the
pft
health
and
welfare
fund,
in
addition
to
providing
pft
members
and
their
beneficiaries
with
collectively
bargained
benefits
like
prescription,
dental
vision
and
long-term
disability
insurance.
R
The
fund
employs
one
of
only
two
environmental
scientists
on
staff
at
the
teachers
union
in
the
nation,
one
jerry
roseman,
who
you're
all
familiar
with,
and
as
jerry
mentioned
before
in
the
35
plus
years
that
the
pft
has
been
active
in
ensuring
the
safety
of
our
school's
physical
plane.
Much
of
the
work
we
have
engaged
in
has
been
akin
to
playing
whack-a-mole.
R
Our
union
created
the
pft
healthy
schools,
tracker
app
to
allow
educators,
paraprofessionals
and
community
members
to
identify
and
report
specific
problems
with
building
conditions
in
schools.
We
are
also
the
founding
members
of
the
funder
facilities
coalition,
which
we're
encouraged
to
count
as
members.
The
chairs
of
both
committees
represented
here,
as
well
as
several
members
of
council
state
legislature
and
community
and
labor
organization,
and
we're
proud
of
the
progress
we
have
won
for
philadelphia's
school
communities.
R
While
it
is
true
that
school
facility
infrastructure
is
not
the
single
most
important
element
in
ensuring
equitable
high
quality
education
and
academic
opportunity
for
all
that,
pride
of
place
belongs
to
the
work
and
support
of
school
educational
and
support
staff
and
the
parents
of
families
at
least
adequate
facility
conditions.
Something
we
do
not
currently
have
in
many
of
our
buildings
is
a
fundamental
and
foundational
need
in
which
all
else
is
built.
R
We
know
that
the
scale
and
scope
of
the
deficient
and
damaged
state
of
our
district
buildings,
as
described
in
the
work
conducted
by
parsons
teams
in
2015-16,
was
extreme,
with
immediate
repair.
Upgrade
and
modernization
needs
of
4.5
billion
dollars,
almost
a
third
of
the
cost,
to
rebuild
all
of
our
schools
and
another
3.2
billion
in
ongoing
modernization
and
improvement
over
a
10-year
time
period.
Moving
forward.
R
We
also
know,
based
on
an
analysis
of
information
in
the
process
in
the
parsons
report.
I'm
sorry
that
sustainable
capital
renewal
on
annual
funding
for
district
schools
would
have
to
have
been
more
than
400
million
dollars
per
year,
just
for
capital
improvements,
not
including
maintenance
and
operation
dollars,
needed
to
at
least
start
to
reduce
and
reverse
the
overall
deteriorating
conditions
of
our
buildings.
R
Whatever
else
we
might
say
about
the
current
facility
condition
problems
in
our
public
schools.
It's
clear
that
the
school
district
of
philadelphia
under
the
control
of
the
src
and
the
current
board
of
education
has
not
developed
and
still
does
not
have
a
comprehensive
facilities.
Minister
plan,
this
is
a
major
problem
for
many
reasons,
but
importantly,
the
lack
of
planning,
combined
with
the
severely
limited
transparency,
independent,
ongoing
access
to
buildings
for
evaluation
of
purposes
very
little
substantive
public
engagements.
R
That's
played
a
significant
role
in
why
we're
facing
the
situation
we're
now
dealing
with
and
has
contributed
greatly
to
the
lack
of
trust.
There
is
a
critical
and
urgent
need
to
immediately
begin
the
process
of
upgrading,
modernizing
and
renovating
our
city's
public
schools.
If
we
are
to
be
successful,
ensuring
all
students
and
staff
have
safe,
healthy,
comfortable
and
equitable
spaces
and
buildings
in
which
to
learn
a
comprehensive
education
facilities.
Master
plan
process
needs
to
be
implemented
as
soon
as
possible
and
requires
two
separate
and
interlocking
facility
specific
components.
R
A
school
safety
and
building
advisory
group
should
be
established
and
tasked
with
responsibility
for
directing
and
overseeing
the
development
of
a
master
plan
to
guide
the
21st
century
school
building,
program,
effort,
direct
public
engagement
oversight
and
input
into
the
planning
priority.
Setting
solution,
funding
and
improvement
of
school
conditions
must
be
insured.
R
Finally,
the
district
should
work
with
the
pft
and
other
direct
and
near
stakeholders
to
amend
the
best
practices,
approaches
and
procedures
that
have
been
jointly
developed
and
best
practice
should
be
included
as
a
major
element
of
the
master
plan,
planning,
process
and
effort.
These
past
two
years
during
the
covet
19
pandemic
have
illuminated
so
many
issues
with
our
schools,
especially
related
to
ventilation.
R
A
K
K
Thanks
hi,
my
name
is:
dennis
devine,
I'm
testifying
today
as
a
parent
of
two
students
at
alexander,
adair
elementary
in
middle
school,
that's
k-8
and
as
a
founder
and
still
a
board
member
of
the
friends
of
adair.
We
raise
money
to
support
and
build
community
around
this
great
little
public
school
in
our
fishtown
neighborhood
and
I'm
proud
of
what
I've
been
able
to
do
for
a
dare
it's
great
students.
It's
great
teachers
in
our
community,
but
I'm
here
today
because
of
what
I've
been
unable
to
do,
I
haven't
been
able
to
fix
the
bathrooms.
K
Not
a
week
goes
by
without
some
a
dare
parent
asking
me
or
begging
me
to
find
out
what
can
be
done
about
the
bathrooms.
Last
week
it
was
the
parent
of
a
third
grader
at
drop-off,
telling
me
about
the
bathroom
accident
his
child
had
at
aftercare
because
the
student
held
it
in
throughout
the
school
day.
This
is
the
most
common
story.
I
hear
the
kids
are
terrified
of
using
the
bathrooms,
so
they
hold
it
in
causing
gastrointestinal
pain
and
distress
and
accidents
either
at
school
or
aftercare.
K
We
all
know
this,
but
kids
can't
learn
when
all
they're
thinking
about
is
not
using
the
bathroom.
Let
me
take
care
of
a
few
points.
First,
I
don't
need
bathrooms
to
be
luxury
level.
I
don't
believe
even
a
brand
new
public
school
bathroom
is
going
to
appeal
to
some
students
and
what's
more
a
dare
students
like
students
around
the
district
and
around
the
world,
make
matters
worse.
Their
vandalism
and
mischief
has
long
made
and
is
making
the
condition
of
the
bathroom
worse.
K
I
readily
concede
that
there
are
supervisory
challenges
in
this
most
private
area
of
the
school
building
that
are
really
hard
to
address,
but
it
dares
bathrooms
are
in
such
a
condition
that
many
possibly
most
actually
definitely
most
of
their
students.
Consider
them
too
disgusting
to
use
toilets
are
often
clogged
and
left
that
way,
stuffed
with
feces
and
paper
for
weeks
with
a
plastic
bag
placed
on
top
hand,
towels
that
should
be
available
for
drying
hands
are
missing
toilet
paper.
Some
toilet
seats
are
broken.
K
K
That's
when
this
parent
revealed
to
me
that
she
herself
still
has
nightmares
about
using
a
dare's
nasty
bathrooms
about
30
years
ago,
will
we
let
another
generation
grow
up
and
deal
with
trauma
from
the
biological
necessity
of
using
the
bathroom
during
the
school
day?
I
hope
not.
I
will
work
to
avoid
that,
but
I
need
your
help.
Thank
you.
A
Thank
you
so
much,
mr
jovan,
and
you
know
thank
you
for
your
tremendous
work.
At
adair,
we've
been
pushing
the
district
on
a
bathroom
standard
to
the
point
where
the
superintendent
responded
on
it
and
we
have
not
seen
the
kind
of
level
of
attention
to
this
fundamental
human
decency
and
human
dignity
issue
for
every
child,
and
just
you
know
your
focus
in
on
this
issue
and
all
of
us
getting
on
board
is
a
matter
of
us
simply
recognizing
that
the
day-to-day
activities
in
a
child's
life
are
part
of
the
conversation.
A
This
isn't
just
about
20
years
into
the
future,
it's
literally
about
friday
at
11
a.m
and
the
need
for
a
child
to
feel
clean
and
decent
and
loved.
So
thank
you
very
much
for
that.
Ms
rothwell.
I
think
you
are
our
next
witness
and
if
you
could
just
introduce
yourself
state
your
name
for
the
record
and
you
may
proceed
with
your
testimony.
O
Afternoon
my
name
is
lizzy
rothwell,
I'm
an
architect,
a
parent
and
a
resident
of
west
philadelphia.
My
son,
who
has
joined
me
just
a
couple
minutes
ago,
is
a
third
grader
at
lee
elementary
and
my
younger
child
will
start
kindergarten
at
lee
next
fall
in
prior
years.
My
son
was
enrolled
at
south
park
elementary
and
at
both
schools.
He
has
found
wonderful
teachers,
a
supportive
staff
and
a
warm
community
of
fellow
students.
O
I
cannot
say
enough
about
the
incredible
people
who
work
and
learn
in
philadelphia's
public
schools,
but
our
buildings
are
a
different
matter,
but
rather
than
catalog
more
examples
of
the
ongoing
horrors
of
exposed
asbestos
leaking
flaking
lead,
paint,
collapsing,
roofs,
rodent
infestations,
defunct
bathrooms
and
rampant
mold
growth
that
we've
talked
about
for
years.
I'm
here
today
to
talk
specifically
about
indoor
air
quality
in
our
school
buildings
and
the
urgent
need
for
improved
ventilation
to
safeguard
the
health
of
our
teachers,
staff
students
and
their
families
between
2011
and
2016.
O
A
cdc
niosh
team
took
measurements
of
temperature,
humidity
and
carbon
dioxide
in
50
of
our
buildings.
They
collected
dust
samples
carried
out
mold
and
moisture
assessments
conducted
surveys
of
the
health
of
the
teachers
who
taught
these
buildings
and
concluded
that
their
health
was
being
adversely
affected
by
the
building
conditions.
O
Last
year
in
response
to
public
pressure,
the
district
released
air
balance
tests
for
most
classrooms
in
the
district.
The
testing
showed
that
many
classrooms
have
no
mechanical
ventilation
at
all
and
rely
on
opening
windows
for
air
exchange.
This
fall.
I've
worked
with
a
group
of
other
concerned
parents
to
take
measurements
of
the
carbon
dioxide
concentration
in
our
children's
classrooms
as
a
proxy
measurement
for
the
air
exchange
in
these
rooms.
O
Right
now
we
don't
know
if
philadelphia's
covet
rate
will
continue
to
burn
along
at
four
to
five
hundred
new
cases
per
day
through
this
winter
or
whether
we're
again
facing
something
much
worse.
If
our
limited
herd,
immunity
acquired
through
vaccine
or
prior
infection,
can't
control
spread
of
the
omicron
variant,
but
unlike
vaccinations,
an
investment
in
filtered
ventilation
and
updated
training
for
school
maintenance
staff
would
help
protect
us
from
any
new
coven
variant.
O
In
the
short
term,
we
could
put
a
diy
air
cleaner,
sometimes
called
a
corsey
rosenthal
box
filled
for
approximately
100,
using
hepa
filters,
duct
tape
and
a
box
fan
in
every
classroom
in
the
city,
but
ultimately
we
need
full
building
ventilation
overhauls.
We
need
the
school
district
to
develop
a
transparent
and
comprehensive
master
plan
for
monitoring
air
quality,
prioritizing
repairs
and
getting
it
done
everywhere,
and
we
need
the
city
to
have
a
plan
to
fund
it.
O
We
will
be
living
with
covid
for
the
foreseeable
future
and
it
takes
just
one
visit
to
a
restaurant
where
the
wait
staff
are
wearing
masks
and
the
patrons
are
not
to
see
who
bears
the
burden
of
responsibility
for
keeping
it
contained
if
we
neglect
to
fix
our
school
buildings.
Yet
again,
if
we
do
not
annually
allocate
enough
funds
for
the
maintenance
and
operation
of
these
buildings
and
the
price
of
the
long
deferred
capital
improvements
to
them,
then
long
after
their
peers
in
well-funded
districts
have
safely
taken
off
their
masks.
O
A
Thank
you
so
much
ms
rothwell,
and
thank
you
to
you
and
your
son
for
joining
I'm
delighted
to
see
him
at
the
third
grade
at
a
new
school,
and
you
know
we
are
doing
all
this
work,
certainly
for
him
every
day,
as
well
as
for
the
other
thousands
of
kids
in
our
school
system.
So
thank
you
so
much
for
testifying
and
especially
about
the
urgent
issue
of
hvac
and
breathability
and
air.
Thank
you.
A
A
Almost
never
any
paper
towels.
Thank
you
so
much
thank
you
for
being
on
and
for
saying
how
important
it
is
to
have
a
decent
bathroom.
I
don't
think
any
of
us
would
tolerate
that.
You
know
in
our
own
place
homes
and
we
shouldn't
tolerate
it
in
a
public
school
ever,
but
thank
you
so
much
miss
rothwell.
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
A
M
A
Thank
you
so
much
for
your
tremendous
work.
I
know
here
in
philadelphia.
We
know
you
for
the
work
that
you've
been
doing
talking
about
work
on
public
engagement,
particularly
within
the
school
system.
I
wanted
to
ask
if
you
could
speak
a
little
bit
to
how
lessons
learned
from
your
research
and
work
on
the
green
new
deal
for
schools,
which
I
know
you've
done
nationally,
could
apply
to
the
challenges
and
opportunities
we
have
here
in
philadelphia
as
we
try
to
develop
a
plan
to
modernize
our
schools.
A
M
You
know
high
school
cte
courses
around
some
of
these
issues
around
hvac,
around
green
retrofits
and
really
thinking
about
sustainable,
healthy
schools.
Thinking
about
building
out
capacity
having
I
know
a
few
people
spoke
about
having
sort
of
like
dedicated
facilities,
building
out
that
capacity
within
the
school
district,
so
that
we're
not
relying
on
people
who
also
have
to
pay
attention
to
day-to-day
operations
and
also
have
to
pay
attention
to
educational
outcomes
that
there
are
people
who
are
trained
in
facilities.
M
M
You
know
parents
shouldn't
have
to
go
down
to
440
and
make
a
right
to
know
request
to
get
the
asbestos
data
from
two
years
ago.
That
should
have
been
online
lots
of
things,
the
fcas
that
were
done
a
year
ago.
Those
should
be
available
to
parents.
Parents
should
be
able
to
make
informed
decisions,
teachers,
students
should
be
able
to
make
informed
decisions
and
shouldn't
have
to
carry
around
their
own
co2
monitors
just
to
feel
safe
at
school.
M
We
know
we
have
these
large
structural
comprehensive
problems,
but
we
also
have
a
really
really
big
maintenance
issue,
and
so
we
need
to
build
out
that
maintenance
capacity
and
that
custodial
capacity
so
that
we
can
preserve
the
buildings
that
we
do
have
without
hiring
custodial
staff.
Like
sarah
claus
said
we're
not
going
to
make
this
problem
better,
we
cannot
build
our
way
out
of
this
problem.
A
Thank
you
so
much
professor
rodriguez
and
thank
you
so
much
for
your
work.
You
know
we
look
forward
to
continuing
to
work
with
you
on
this.
I
think,
as
you
heard
or
may
have
heard
earlier,
we
have
quite
a
ways
to
go,
but
the
need
is
tremendous
and
I
think,
there's
huge
amounts
of
public
engagement
on
this
issue.
A
A
C
The
21st
century
school
fund
is
a
small
non-profit
that
I
started
in
1994
to
build
the
public
will
and
the
government
capacity
to
modernize
the
public
schools
in
the
district
of
columbia,
where
my
three
children
were
in
school.
We,
the
21st
century
school
fund,
does
research
and
advocacy
on
education
infrastructure.
C
C
The
initiative
to
modernize
all
of
dc
public
schools
started
in
2000,
as
of
2021.
All
of
the
buildings
have
been
upgraded
and
nearly
70
percent
of
all
square
footage
has
been
fully
modernized
or
new.
The
program
has
not
been
without
problems,
but
it
has
been
sustained
through
major
changes
in
governance,
administrations
and
many
election
cycles.
The
modernization
program
has
sustained
because
there's
statutory
language
that
keeps
the
vision
from
modern
public
school
infrastructure
a
lot
there's
not
a
fast
fix
for
the
accumulated
deficiencies
in
your
public
school
buildings.
C
So
this
philadelphia
council
and
this
mayor
need
to
be
brave
now
and
put
into
law
the
requirements
for
the
modernization
of
public
philadelphia,
public
schools
and-
and
I
would
just
say
that
that
so
many
of
the
things
that
people
have
talked
about
in
terms
of
transparency
in
terms
of
planning
in
terms
of
accountability
in
terms
of
engagement,
those
things
can
be
in
statute
and
the
reality
is.
Is
that
what
we
can
see
is
the
school
districts?
Don't
do
it?
They
don't
volunteer
to
do
those
things
they
actually
have
to
be
required
to
do
them.
C
P
I
can't
well
good
evening.
My
name
is
carol
kalimnik,
I'm
a
retired
teacher
and
a
co-founder
of
the
alliance
from
philadelphia
public
school.
We
are
grassroots
education
advocacy
in
philadelphia.
We
basically
are
the
watchdogs
of
the
board,
so
this
hearing
has
been
so
tremendous
because
you
have
basically
allowed
parents
and
community
members
to
talk
about
the
realities
of
what
is
happening
of
conditions
in
schools.
P
We
attend
every
board
meeting
and
when
we
hear
this
district
staff
come
in
and
do
the
reports
somehow
this
reality
is
left
out
and
you
have
a
completely
different
picture
of
what's
going
on
in
the
district.
So
this
city
council
hearing
is
just
critical
to
allow
people
to
have
a
chance
to
talk
about
the
realities
of
what
is
really
happening.
It's
essential
to
provide
this
place,
so
you
basically
put
the
light
all
the
speakers
here
and
the
lack
of
authentic
community
engagement
and
transparent,
basically
present
in
the
district
and
the
board.
P
I
have
had
to
totally
revamp
my
testimony
just
based
on
listening
to
people
talk.
My
hope
is
that
city
council
will
demand
the
same
of
the
school
board
that
basically
limits.
The
number
of
speakers
and
the
time
allotted
this
is
such
respects
respectful
place
where
you
are
not
cutting
people
off
mid-cent
mid-sentence
and
you
allow
people
to
express
themselves.
So
I
really
encourage
you,
as
the
overseers
of
the
board
in
the
district
to
basically
enforce
this
policy
at
the
board
as
well.
P
Other
school
districts
routinely
have
like
libraries
with
certified
teacher
librarians.
So
these
are
my
three
recommendations.
There
should
be
built
in
school
libraries
with
certified
teacher
librarians,
school
playgrounds
and
green
areas,
including
gardens
right
now.
There
are
four
certified
teacher
librarians
in
the
district
with
over
200
school
buildings.
P
These
four
librarians
do
not
work
full
time
as
librarians
a
school
library
staffed
with
a
full-time
ctl.
A
certified
teacher
librarian
is
the
heart
of
a
school
and
should
be
included
in
every
facility's
plan.
There's
been
a
steady
erosion
of
school
libraries
staffed
with
ctls.
The
focus
has
shifted
to
providing
classroom
libraries,
particularly
in
elementary
schools.
As
a
retired
teacher,
I
love
books
and
readings,
but
I
am
not
qualified
to
be
a
librarian.
Ctls
have
a
multitude
of
duties.
P
Impact
studies
has
consistently
shown
positive
correlations
between
high
quality
library,
programs
and
student
achievement.
Since
student
achievement
is
part
of
the
board's
goals
and
guardrails,
they
really
should
be
looking
at
insisting
that
school
libraries
be
part
of
school
budgets,
not
something
that's
left
up
to
a
principal
whether
they
get
a
librarian
or
a
nurse.
At
almost
every
board
meeting
there's
an
agenda
item
concerning
a
school
playground.
Every
school
needs
a
playground.
If
equity
is
a
major
district
goal,
then
a
survey
of
the
condition
of
every
playground
should
be
created
and
posted.
P
P
A
safe
playground
enhances
emotional
development
as
well
as
academic
achievement,
along
with
the
school
playground,
should
be
a
commitment
to
green
spaces,
including
gardens
last
thursday
at
4
40,
a
rally
was
held
by
students,
parents
and
advocates
calling
for
the
school
district
of
philadelphia
and
elected
officials
to
rebuild
public
school
facilities
by
creating
an
open
participating
plan
for
fixing
environmental,
health
and
safety
issues.
I
urge
you
to
actively
support
this
plan.
P
A
Thank
you
so
much
miss
clinic
and,
as
you
know,
we
share
a
mutual
importance
and
love
for
school
libraries.
It
is
shocking
that
the
district
is
down
to
so
few
school
libraries,
especially
when
our
city
libraries
are
not
currently
in
full
operation.
Children
at
young
ages
need
a
school
library.
They
need
a
librarian
there
who
is
teaching
them
about
media
literacy
and
reminding
them
about
the
joy
of
learning.
So
I
appreciate
it
and,
of
course,
our
commitment
to
play.
Thank
you
very
much
for
your
testimony.
A
N
There
were
times
when
we
didn't
have
heat
and
kids
had
to
walk
around
with
coats
on
all
day.
I
feel
like
the
district
really
needs
to
focus
on
the
utilities
within
the
school.
You
know,
they're,
you
know,
there's
a
court
case.
You
know
they're
they're,
taking
the
state
to
court
now
some
of
the
districts
are,
for
you
know,
trying
to
meet
the
needs
of
the
schools
and
they're
saying
oh
well.
They
have
the
basics,
they
have
the
basics
of
what
they
need.
No,
some
of
our
schools
have
issues
with
heating.
N
They
don't
have
drinkable
water.
So
if
a
kid
is
thirsty,
they
can't
drink
from
those
fountains,
because
the
water
is
not
safe
and
drinkable,
so
that
having
water
in
a
school
that
is
drinkable
is
a
basic
need.
It's
a
basic
human
right
to
have
drinkable
water.
I
mean
we're
not
in
a
third
world
country
and
even
there
they're
making
strides
to
make
sure
that
their
people
have
clean
drinking
water.
N
You
know
the
other
systems
within
the
school,
especially
you
know
now
with
covet
and
them
combining
a
lot
of
schools
and
making
elementary
schools
k-8
or
getting
rid
of
a
lot
of
the
middle
schools
and
closing
them
down.
You
now
have
multiple
schools
in
one
building.
You
have
more
crowding
within
those
buildings
and
we
have
conditions
of
the
condition
of
covet.
N
So
we
really
need
to
be
focused
on
the
ventilation
issue
and
the
heating
and
cooling
issue,
because
we
shouldn't
have
to
let
kids
out
of
school.
You
know
you
guys.
Sometimes
the
district
will
start
school
early
because
the
kids
miss
school
during
winter
because
of
snow
days,
and
then
they
have
them
go
back
in
august
and
every
day
in
august,
they're
going
home
because
of
the
heat.
N
N
It
was
a
state
of
the
art
building
had
a
swimming
pool,
a
diving
pool,
a
library
rock
climbing
wall,
amongst
other
great
things
that
were
lost,
and
I
believe
those
things
were
lost
because
of
gentrification
and
wanting
to
appease
temple
to
you
know
so
now
that
they
can
put
their
field
where
that
building
and
that
educational
campus
once
stood.
You
know
we
can't
continue
to
allow
these
schools
to
be
shut
down
in
gentrifying
areas
and
sold
off
to
pay
off
the
debts.
N
You
know,
I
feel
like
we're
operating
in
a
scarcity
mindset,
whereas
they're
saying
there's
no
money,
but
I
feel
like
there
is
money
because
we
have
money
to
build
and
replace
prisons.
Some
of
our
prisons
are
better
environments
than
some
of
our
schools
are,
and
if
the
prisoners
and
the
prisoners
advocate
for
better
humane
situations
for
them
to
live
in
and
for
them
to
thrive
in
our
students
need
that
same
respect,
they
need
to
it's
literally
a
matter
of
life
and
death.
It's
you
know.
N
You
have
teachers
who
devote
their
entire
careers
to
our
children
to
the
citizens
by
you
know,
taking
care
of
our
children
making
sure
our
children
are
safe
and
in
certain
all
over
the
country.
Teachers
are
doing
this.
There
are
teachers,
who've
lost
their
lives
in
incidents
of
violence
in
schools,
you
know
being
gunned
down
or
trying
to
protect
our
children
and
how
they
get
repaid.
Is
you
know,
they're
in
these
conditions,
where
they're
breathing
in
you
know
unhealthy
air
and
they're?
N
In
these
buildings
for
years-
and
you
know
how
they're
rewarded
is,
oh,
you
can
retire,
but
you're
going
to
retire
with
mesothelioma.
You
won't
live
long
after
you've
been
a
teacher,
so
many
people
leave
the
teaching
field.
For
so
many
other
reasons
and
having
to
work,
go
to
work
in
a
safe
work
environment
should
not.
You
know.
That
is
a
basic
right.
You
should
not
go
to
work
and
know
you're
being
and
not
know,
you're
being
exposed
to
things
that
will
kill
you.
N
I
I
hope
that
you
know,
unlike
the
district,
I
feel
like
a
lot
of
times
with
our
meetings.
The
reason
investments
are
made
in
certain
schools
is
because
you
hear
the
voices
of
a
few
from
certain
privileged
schools
from
privileged
neighborhoods
and
the
voices
of
some
parents
whose
kids
aren't
in
privileged
schools
or
aren't
in
magnet.
Schools
are
often
not
heard
it
shouldn't
matter
if
we're
cussing
and
fussing
and
fighting
for
the
basic
you
know
things
that
our
children
need
it
shouldn't
matter.
N
If
we
come
to
meetings
or
not,
it
shouldn't
be
well
all
the
parents
at
benjamin
franklin,
they
didn't,
you
know
they
couldn't
make
it
to
meetings,
maybe
they're
working
nine
to
five
all
day,
but
soon
as
sla
students
go
into
that
building,
their
parents
are
up
there
fighting.
So
now
it's
an
issue,
so
you
mean
to
tell
me:
you
left
those
children
in
that
environment
all
that
time
and
nobody
cared
about
those
students,
because
they
were
neighborhood.
Kids
students
mainly
coming
from
impoverished,
neighborhoods
and
in
province
communities,
and
so
it
does
it
shouldn't
matter.
N
N
We
should
not
be
having
to
send
our
children.
I
see
you
know
people
talk
about
sending
our
children
out
of
the
neighborhood
schools,
it
messes
up
our
communities
it.
You
know,
we
don't
even
know
some
of
our
neighbors
because
a
lot
of
times
the
schools
are
those
community
centers.
Where
you
get
to
know
people
the
children
in
the
neighborhood
get
to
know
each
other
by
going
to
neighborhood
schools.
N
So
we
really
need
to
not
just
focus
on
those
privileged
schools
or
kids
who
excel
academically
or
who
were
able
to
get
into
magnet
schools,
but
also
focus
on
the
children
whose
parents
can't
come
to
these
meetings.
Who
can't
go
to
the
district
and
fight
just
neighborhood.
Schools
really
need
to
be
a
focus,
and
not
just
prioritizing
those
schools
that
are
magnet
and
because
the
students
may
act
a
certain
way
or
come
from
a
certain
background.
But
I
just
please
ask
that
you
know
we.
N
We
really
prioritize
those
who
can't
be
here
and
those
who
really
need
it,
and
we
we
look
at
it
through
a
lens
of
equity
and
not
just
equality,
making
up
for
all
past
injustices
and
where
these
schools
were
already
had
facilities
that
were
well
beyond.
Well
behind
behind
in
inadequate,
but
I
thank
you
for
allowing
me
to
speak.
Thank
you
helen
and
thank
you
for
supporting
us.
When
we
were
at
bieber,
you
know
fighting
for
our
children.
A
Absolutely-
and
you
know,
I'm
so
sorry
for
what
your
children
have
had
had
to
go
through
it's
one
of
the
reasons
why
we
were
really
pushing
the
district.
You
know
this
idea
that
people
knew
what
was
going
on
was
clearly
not
the
case,
and
the
school
district
definitely
didn't
know
what
was
going
on
not
having
working
bathrooms
at
a
school
building.
You
know,
I
think
donna
cooper
had
mentioned,
that
there
was
one
school
that
had
one
working
bathroom
for
75
kids.
A
There
were
none
working
at
within
bieber
and
the
thought
that
the
school
district
would
consider
opening
it
up
and
subjecting
to
students.
You
know
to
porta
potties
throughout
the
year
was
really
just
an
example
of
why
we
have
got
to
push
this
district
and
the
voices
of
parents
and
the
work
that
you
did.
You
know
there
really
made
a
huge
difference,
so
I
want
to
thank
you
for
your
advocacy,
your
leadership
and
your
love
for
children.
A
J
Great
great
great,
oh
my
gosh,
it's
much
darker
in
here
than
I
realized.
Can
everyone
hear
me?
Yes,
we
can
hear
you
great
okay.
Thank
you
so
much
for
the
opportunity
to
testify
yeah.
My
name
is
mitch,
shannon
I'm
a
member
of
a
bunch
of
organizations
here
in
philly
today,
I'm
speaking
as
a
member
of
philly
democratic
socialist
of
america,
part
of
the
education
justice
committee
and
the
green
new
deal
commission
there.
J
I
wanted
to
to
speak
in
support
of
the
the
call
for
a
comprehensive
program
to
repair
and
upgrade
our
schools
across
the
city
with
planning
processes
that
are
transparent
and
participatory,
and
I
also
want
to
bring
forward
one
other
key
concern
and
idea
that
that
hasn't
really
been
raised.
Yet
just
a
little
bit
of
background.
In
case
it's
helpful,
I
attended
public
schools
in
the
northeast
in
northeast
philly
in
the
80s
and
90s
and
graduated
from
george
washington
high
school.
J
My
parents
worked
for
decades
in
philly
public
schools,
my
mom,
as
a
secretary,
my
dad
as
a
teacher
and
a
counselor
hearing.
All
the
discussion
about
ventilation
and
hvac
was
making
me
think
about
all
these
conversations
with
my
parents,
because
my
mom
spent
25
years
working
in
a
middle
school,
a
windowless
middle
school
office
that
was
at
least
90
degrees
every
day
year
round
and
that
that
most
often
had
no
working
ventilation.
J
Despite
the
best
and
constant
efforts
of
the
building
engineer
and
the
custodians
that
was
not
a
good
environment
for
her.
You
know,
like
all
the
stories
that
have
been
shared
today.
You
know
I
hear
from
family
and
friends,
just
countless
similar
stories
about
toxic
school
conditions
that
are
harming
people's
health,
making
it
hard
to
learn
and
leaving
people
feeling
just
disrespected
and
uncared
for
and
the
lack
of
investment
in
our
buildings
is
really
shameful,
as
is
district
managers.
Failure
to
address
these
problems
in
transparent
and
accountable
ways.
I
support
the
demands.
J
People
have
put
forward
for
information
sharing
for
a
transparent
and
participatory
process
for
creating
a
facilities,
master
plan
to
rebuild
and
repair
and
upgrade
every
school,
and
really
appreciate
the
revenue
ideas
that
that
dave
backer
brought
forward.
All
of
our
schools,
you
know,
should
be
safe,
safe
and
healthy,
with
comfortable
temperatures
adequate,
fresh
air
year-round,
our
schools
deserve.
Our
students
deserve
buildings
that
are
clean
with
functioning
bathrooms
that
include
all
the
equipment
they
need
to
support
their
learning
and
that
make
them
feel
welcome
and
honored.
J
The
thing
that
I
want
to
add
is
that,
as
we
build
and
renovate
schools,
I
think
it's
really
essential
to
eliminate
the
use
of
fossil
fuels
to
heat
and
power.
These
buildings
we're
facing
a
climate
emergency
along
with
the
toxic
schools
emergency,
and
I
believe
that
a
school
modernization
program
can
and
should
address
both
people.
Probably
don't
need
me
to
to
to
say
much
about
this,
but
you
know
the
climate
crisis
is
already
causing
really
enormous
suffering
and
death,
and
people
who
have
the
least
wealth
and
power
are
affected.
J
Their
research
indicated
that
construction
cost
would
be
about
5
to
11
percent
higher
relative
to
other
major
renovation
or
new
construction
projects,
but
that
the
additional
upfront
cost
could
be
recouped
through
lower
energy
bills
over
a
period
of
10
to
15
years,
and
so
as
we
work
towards
a
master
plan
for
philly
schools.
I
think
it's
really
important
that
the
district
and
and
and
all
of
us
together
fully
explore
options
for
heating
and
cooling
all
of
these
buildings
with
clean
renewable
energy.
J
A
Thanks
very
much,
thank
you
so
much
mr
chan
and
then
just
reminding
us
again.
You
know,
I
think
we
had
a
professor
cara,
drake
rodriguez
on
who
was
earlier
and
had
authored
a
green
new
deal
for
schools
talking
about
the
importance
of
school
infrastructure
as
a
critical
part
of
you
know,
it
just
functions
in
so
many
different
ways:
we're
talking
about
modern
buildings
that
are
in
every
single
neighborhood,
ideally
in
walking
distance
of
every
single
neighborhood
in
the
city
of
philadelphia,
we're
talking
about
buildings
that
are
anchors
for
communities
for
our
city.
A
You
know
that
can
function
in
many
different
ways.
So
we
really
appreciate
your
attention
to
this.
I
wanted
to
just
bring
back
mary
fallardo
if
she
is
still
available
yeah,
I'm
here.
Thank
you
so
much
mary
for
being
so
patient
with
us
tonight,
but
just
really
quickly.
I
know
that
you
had
made
very
clear
to
us
when
I
first
met
two
years
ago
about
this
importance
of
a
facilities
master
plan,
and
that
was
really
a
critical
part
of
ensuring
that
dc
public
school
systems
would
be
able
to.
A
A
C
Yeah
in
the
law
I
mean
initially,
it
was
actually
a
congressional
law
that
required
the
the
first
planning,
but
it
it
was
incorporated
into
our
local
statutes.
Where
there
had
to
be
a
regular
facility.
Master
plan
had
to
be
done
every
three
years.
It
had
it
defined.
What
the
major
elements
of
the
plan
were.
The
projections
in
education
plan
program
standards.
C
C
It
was,
you
know,
as
sort
of
a
best
practice
menu
and
but
in
some
ways
probably
the
most
important
thing
was
that
it
you
had
to
keep
you
had
to
keep
doing
it
and
and
part
of
not
just
doing
one,
but
doing
it
regularly
means
that
when
you
go
to
do
it
three
years
later,
you
have
to
it's
a
kind
of
accountability
measure
where
you
see.
If
what
did
you
do
that
you
had
planned
to
do
before
or
what
hadn't
you
done?
C
You
know
what
sort
of
survived
or
what
didn't
so
anyway,
it
was
a
step
still
a
statutory
requirement
and
the
council
puts
in
the
money
to
do
it
and
so,
for
example,
right
now
we
have
a
december.
22Nd
is
a
date
for
the
next
educational
facility
master
plan
here
in
the
district
of
columbia,
and
as
I
say,
it's
a
it's
a
tricky
piece,
the
last
one
they
did
looked
like.
C
You
know
an
academic
report
on
all
the
data,
but
it
was
no
plan
and
the
planning
is
hard.
It's
difficult,
they're,
they're,
you
know
you
have
some
very
challenging
issues
in
philadelphia
like
we
do
here
in
dc
because
of
the
growth
of
the
charters.
So
what
are
you
going
to
do
about
the
charters?
Are
you
going
to
plan
for
their
facilities?
Are
they
going
to
participate?
Are
they
going
to
be
regulated?
C
I
mean
these
are
hard,
hard
questions,
but
they
don't
go
away
because
you
don't
ask
them,
and
but
you
know
so,
I
think
whatever
whatever
the
council
can
do
to
mandate
the
work-
and
you
know
there
are
s
or
dollars
that
they
can
use
towards.
You
know
for
that
purpose,
and
you
know
I
think
it'll
it'll
be
well
worthwhile
because
it
it
it
doesn't.
You
can't
get
there
by
accident
it
you
will
only
get
to
a
system
that
supports.
A
There
has
not
been
a
plan,
there
is
not
a
plan
currently,
and
so
I
thank
you
so
much
mary
for
sharing
your
expertise,
something
you've
been
doing
around
the
country.
You've
been
incredibly
generous
with
me
in
philadelphia
and
just
really
appreciate
all
your
work.
Are
there
any
questions
from
members
of
the
committee
for
the
panel
members.
A
See
none.
I
want
to
thank
this
panel,
so
much
for
your
time
and
patience
and
will
the
clerk.
Please
read
the
final
panel,
and
I
just
again
want
to
thank
everybody
on
this
final
panel
for
your
tremendous
patience
and
for
staying
with
us,
miss
gertie.
I
know
that
you've
been
on
from
the
very
beginning
and
just
really
appreciate
your
patience
through
all
of
this.
A
S
S
S
The
district
has
used
this
committee
to
to
share
with
parents
things
like
how
many
football
fields
worth
of
asbestos
have
been
removed
from
buildings,
but
we
don't
know
how
many
remain
or
what
this
means
in
terms
of
how
many
scores
are
still
hazardous,
there's
no
sort
of
like
goal
line,
even
if
we're
like
down
here.
We
don't
know
like
where
we're
trying
to
get
to
it's
the
same
with
the
the
lead
reports
they
give
information
about,
like
that.
S
S
Some
of
the
people
that
spoke
today
like
I've
been
talking
about
this
for
at
least
10
years.
As
far
as
I
know
like
chair
gim,
mentioned
that
buildings
that
were
sold
to
developers
in
the
in
the
early
2000s
like
abigail
there.
These
were
not
raised
these
buildings.
The
developers
kept
these
and
gutted
the
insides
and
turned
them
into
luxury
apartments.
S
So
it's
actually
a
good
thing
that
there
are
some
schools
that
have
fewer
students,
because
it
means
that
we
have
some
space
to
remove
students
from
buildings,
while
those
buildings
are
completely
redone
with
no
one
in
the
building
like
we
cannot
do
what
happened
before,
where
repairs
were
done
and
renovations
were
done,
while
students
were
in
the
building,
because
it's
just
not
safe,
and
I
I
was
looking
at,
like
brian
cutler
who's,
the
state
representative
who
said
like.
Oh
you
know,
everyone
get.
Has
these
things
like
his
the
district,
where
his
kids
are?
S
S
We
need
we
need
a
clear
long-term
plan
and
we
need
it
where
people
can
see
whose
school
is
up
next
and
that
takes
into
account
the
kids
that
need
this
the
fastest,
because
they
have
more
other
environmental
risks
and
the
and
it's
great
that
the
person
from
dc
was
here
and
spoke
to
how
it's
possible
to
actually
do
this.
We
need
parents
involved
in
the
planning
and
the
like
that
all
voices
have
represented
it,
not
just
those
who
feel
their
financial
input
gives
them
a
louder.
S
A
C
Am
I
the
next
witness?
Yes,
okay,
sorry
thank
you.
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
councilwoman
kim
for
grounding
this
joint
council
on
the
testimony
of
parents
across
the
city.
My
name
is
alien
callahan,
I'm
a
single
mother
of
a
second
grade
child
at
richmond,
elementary
school,
I'm
also
a
parent
advocate
in
the
rcr
schools
coalition
and
reclaim
philadelphia.
C
C
On
november
27
2019,
my
son's
kindergarten
classroom
was
evacuated
and
sealed
for
incredibly
toxic
levels
of
asbestos.
His
specific
classroom,
the
school
was
never
temporarily
closed
for
cleaning
or
an
inspection,
and
it
took
months
of
parent
organizing
for
every
classroom
to
receive
asbestos
testing.
C
Eight
years,
eight
days
into
the
2021
2022
school
year,
my
son's
school
had
eight
cases
of
covid19
reported
from
the
school
due
to
the
lack
of
maintenance.
At
my
son's
school
kobit
19
spreads
very
quickly.
Our
ventilation
system
is
woefully
under
it's
in
disrepair
which
leads
to
this.
I
also
carry
co2
monitor
with
lizzie
rothfeld.
She
recruited
me
into
that,
and
the
co2
levels
in
my
sun
school
are
quite
high.
C
C
parents
have
organized
to
close
the
school.
During
this
major
spike.
In
cases
we
made
a
list
of
demands
for
coveted
safety
practices
and
we
organized
to
bring
ppe
drop-offs
to
the
school.
There's
nothing
more
precious
to
me
in
this
world
than
my
son.
As
a
young
single
mother,
I
feel
ashamed
that
the
best
I
can
do
for
my
son
is
taken
to
a
school
with
covid19
lead,
mold,
asbestos
and
mildew
in
excess.
C
He
and
all
students
and
guardians
and
staff
in
the
philadelphia
school
district
deserve
healthy
and
safe
schools
to
respectfully
challenge
miss
wilkerson
in
the
philadelphia
school
district
focus
cannot
be
on
attracting
families
to
stay.
It
must
be
on
repairing
the
buildings
most
public
school
parents
cannot
afford
to
leave.
It
calls
for
a
certain
amount
of
privilege
and
access
to
be
in
spaces
like
this
to
have
the
ears
of
our
council
people
a
privilege
that
most
members
of
my
community
do
not
have.
C
We
must
use
the
recent
and
proposed
massive
federal
funding
streams
to
remake
our
schools,
while
creating
thousands
of
high
quality,
I'm
so
sorry
kelly
in
the
garden.
You
can
close
that
place
here,
kelly
on
the
road
kellyanne.
Thank
you,
sir,
while
creating
thousands
of
high
quality
union
jobs,
improving
health
outcomes,
reducing
carbon
emissions
and
increasing
the
resilience
of
school
buildings
to
extreme
weather,
the
health
of
our
community
is
dependent
on
modernizing
schools,
exteriors,
plumbing
electrical
heating
ventilation
and
cooling
systems.
C
Specifically,
we
must
remove
all
lead,
mold,
mildew
and
asbestos
from
schools.
We
must
repair
and
update
ventilation
systems
and
repair
exterior
damages.
We
must
move
with
urgency
to
repair
the
basic
systems
of
our
schools
over
every
other
update,
new
lighting
and
updated
technology
just
means
nothing
in
a
sick
school.
We
cannot
expect
the
public-private
partnerships
to
hold
themselves
accountable
as
a
private
entity
to
use
them
while
using
the
money
of
the
public.
C
The
school
district
must
create
a
transparent
process
to
create
a
work
plan,
get
students,
guardians
and
staff
to
buy
in
on
the
prioritizations
and
the
timelines
and
embrace
accountability.
We
must
repair
our
schools
and
rebuild
our
trust
intentionally
and
with
earnest,
or
we
run
the
risk
of
failing
yet
another
generation
of
philadelphians.
C
A
I
Okay,
I
think
that's
me
welcome
back
helen
long
time
working
hard
good
afternoon.
My
name
is
barbara
mcdowell
dowdle.
I
am
a
lifelong
resident
of
germantown
graduate
of
edwin
h,
fittler
elementary
school
two-year
student
at
theater,
roosevelt
junior
high
graduate
of
philadelphia
high
school
for
girls,
my
spent
36
years
teaching
english
and
communications
10
different
buildings.
So
a
good
survey,
beginning
with
robert's
vaults,
junior,
high
and
retired
from
a
philip
randolph
careertech
high
school
randolph
is
a
converted.
I
So
today,
spanning
three
centuries
was
scheduled
for
demolition
in
1970,
rescued
repurposed
as
academics
plus
by
superintendent
michael
marquez,
assessed
by
building
engineer.
When
I
subbed
there
in
10
years
ago
and
experienced
the
heating
system
problems,
his
recommendation
was,
it
needs
to
be
torn
down.
I
Fiddler's
concrete
play
yard
devoid
of
any
play.
Equipment
was
apparently
viewed
as
ideal
by
our
current
superintendent
as
the
perfect
site
for
a
full-blown
celebratory
spring.
2021
press
conference
complete
with
every
pertinent
elected
official
except
the
mayor
over
soon
to
be
delivered
federal
dollars.
I
Our
apps
protest
sign
pointing
out
unrelenting,
concrete,
only
yard
and
absence
of
librarian
one
mid-remarks
acknowledgement
that
we've
only
painted
the
concrete.
They
now
have
a
world
map
surrounded
by
boulders
for
seating.
I
have
not
checked
this
week,
but
would
wager
that
concrete
only
schoolyard
remains.
I
I,
the
junior
high
I
attended
now
roosevelt
elementary
will
be
celebrating
its
100th
birthday
next
year.
Their
continuing
environmental
environmental
problems
have
been
well
covered
in
our
local
news
media.
I
needn't
catalog
the
issues
citywide,
but
would
direct
your
attention
to
the
funding
trial
going
on
in
harrisburg
right
now,
public
interest,
law
center
and
fund
our
schools,
pa
our
sources
of
information
and
to
the
efforts
of
power
interfaith
for
both
documentation
of
the
racist
underpinning
of
public
school
funding
over
decades
and
prayer,
vigils
organized
and
carried
out
by
their
way
overdue
wednesdays.
A
O
N
N
N
They
been
transparent,
there
are
so
many
families
that
still
do
not
even
know
how
the
estrogen
money
has
been
spent.
These
funds
were
to
be
used
for
infrastructure.
Our
children,
as
well
as
all
the
educators
and
adults
in
these
buildings,
deserve
to
be
an
asbestos-led,
mold
environment,
free
building.
Yes,
they
do
places
that
look
more
like
a
school
and
not
a
prison.
N
D
D
D
A
A
B
T
T
C
T
T
C
C
C
T
C
The
immediate
plan
of
intervention
by
the
district,
where
all
interested
parties
are
included
and
are
committed
to
provide
viable,
real
and
effective
solutions
to
the
current
problems
that
we're
presenting,
which
put
our
students
in
late
in
danger.
Not
just
talk
talk
talk
as
us
latinos
tend
to
say.
Thank
you
very
much.
I
I
would
just
make
one
observation:
having
listened
to
the
earlier
admissions
testimony
that
there
is
a
common
theme
of
problems
with
process,
transparency
and
input
from
both
stakeholders
and
also
experts,
which
causes
great
problems,
my
name
is
barbara
dalau.
This
is
my
17th
year
as
a
public
school
parent,
I'm
the
immediate
past
homan
school
president
at
masterman
and
the
current
environmental
committee.
Chair
importantly,
I've
spent
thousands
of
hours
over
17
years
volunteering
in
my
children's
school
buildings,
so
I
have
a
deep
personal
knowledge
of
those
spaces.
I
I
I
am
here
today
as
an
advocate
not
for
one
school
but
for
every
school
in
the
district.
I
strongly
support
a
facility's
master
planning
process,
but
also
simultaneous
school-specific
planning
that
includes
stakeholder
engagement.
To
address
current
issues,
short-term
needs
cannot
be
overlooked
as
we
seek
long-term
goals
without
question.
The
issues
we
have
seen
at
masterman,
a
hundred-year-old
structure
and
the
frustrations
encountered
while
trying
to
work
with
the
district
have
been
mirrored
at
schools
across
the
city.
I
For
example,
the
asbestos
problems
we
discovered
in
october
of
2019
were
echoed
in
a
dozen
schools
leading
to
numerous
closures
from
september
of
that
year
until
the
pandemic
shuttered
classrooms
in
march
of
2020,
I
have
learned
several
things
through
this
journey.
Currently
district
leaders
see
no
reason
to
interact
with
stakeholders
in
an
honest
way.
They
function
without
any
real
oversight,
and
until
they
are
forced
to
change
course,
they
will
continue
to
act
without
engagement
or
input.
I
The
lack
of
transparency
and
the
limited
information
provided
to
parents,
staff
and
other
school
school
about
school
conditions
and
hazards
reflect
apathy
for
the
thousands
of
philadelphians
who
work
and
learn
in
these
buildings.
Planning,
especially
comprehensive
master
planning
of
the
type
being
talked
about
today,
requires
information,
public
and
expert
involvement,
including
the
pft
and
council,
and
other
stakeholders
and
accountability.
Three
things
we
currently
lack
in
dealings
with
the
district,
the
here
and
now,
conditions
in
schools
cannot
wait
for
a
master
plan
which
will
take
significant
time
at
individual
schools.
I
Planning
and
input
is
required
now
school
level
planning
means
addressing
environmental
concerns,
with
intimate
knowledges
of
how
spaces
are
used
and
who
will
be
affected
by
work
plans
so
that
toxins
like
asbestos
and
lead
can
be
more
safely
managed
in
place.
This
includes
information
sharing
in
real
time
and
working
together
and
was
the
first
recommendation
in
the
pft
report
for
our
school.
An
environmental
action
team
could
quickly
be
established
at
schools
across
the
district
with
little
to
no
cost.
Yet
the
district
has
refused
to
even
discuss
this
efficient
forward.
I
Thinking
suggestion
best
practices,
not
legal
bare
minimums,
must
also
be
adopted
and
enforced
now
to
guide
all
the
work
done
in
our
schools.
Such
guidelines
were
created
in
collaboration
with
the
pft
and
others,
but
the
district
has
not
adopted
them,
though
they
would
make
philadelphia
schools
demonstrably
safer.
Best
practices
are
critical
to
maintenance
and
management
of
serious
contaminants
like
asbestos,
lead,
mold
and
even
covid.
I
We
need
long-range
planning
and
we
should
support
and
embark
on
an
effort
that
brings
billions
of
needed
improvement
dollars
to
our
schools.
If
successful
and
well
done,
we
can
build
for
the
future,
but
building
new
schools
and
modernizing
current
ones
will
take
years
even
decades
in
a
district
as
large
as
ours.
So
we
must
recognize
the
equally
critical
need
to
protect
students
and
staff.
Today
we
can't
leave
people
in
dangerous
and
deteriorating
schools,
while
planning
and
waiting
to
build
new
ones.
I
We
must
implement
solutions
that
could
dramatically
improve
school
conditions
today,
school-based
teams
who
work
with
the
district
as
unrealistic
as
it
is
to
think
that
solutions
can
happen
without
the
district
playing
a
key
role.
It's
equally
unrealistic
to
think
that
solutions
can
happen
when
the
district
works
in
a
vacuum,
without
oversight,
meaningful
public
engagement,
not
surveys
or
focus
groups,
and
without
a
system
of
checks
and
balances,
while
public
hearings
are
an
encouraging
start
to
a
solution
for
this
debacle,
they're
not
enough.
I
We
implore
council
and
the
mayor
to
take
immediate
action,
establish
and
enforce
oversight,
best
practices,
school-based
teams
now
together
and
with
long-term
planning.
Just
saying
that
you
support
change
while
waiting
days
weeks
and
years
for
changes
to
occur
is
not
action.
In
fact,
delaying
action
divides
constituents
and
lawmakers
and
is
exactly
how
the
district
continues
to
win
the
day.
While
buildings,
crumble
and
unsafe
conditions
persist.
I
I
know
that
I'm
just
one
of
thousands
of
anonymous
constituents
who
are
watching
what
happens
as
a
result
of
these
hearings.
I
believe,
as
I
think
most
you,
that
as
our
schools
go
so
do
our
communities,
our
neighborhoods
and
our
city.
I
will
vote
for
candidates
whose
actions
deem
them
worthy
to
hold
the
highest
offices
in
our
city
and
who
prove
by
their
actions
that
they're
willing
to
fight
for
all
of
our
children
to
ensure
great
schools,
equitable
and
fair
education,
and
who
understand
and
recognize
the
value
of
public
involvement
in
the
process.
I
B
M
M
I'd
like
to
speak
to
the
issue
of
lead
in
school
drinking
water,
it's
well
proven
that
lead
exposure
causes
numerous
negative
health
effects,
including
damage
to
the
nervous
system,
learning
disabilities
and
impaired
hearing
lead.
Exposure
is
unsafe
at
any
level
and
yet
based
on
data
reported
by
the
school
district,
lead
contamination
and
drinking
water
is
still
a
pervasive
issue
throughout
our
school
buildings.
M
A
B
C
L
L
We
need
transparent
and
accessible
information
about
our
school
buildings
from
the
school
district's
operational
spending,
on
maintenance
to
how
decisions
are
made
regarding
the
physical
plants
of
our
schools.
This
is
both
an
issue
of
scarcity
and
an
issue
about
how
resources
are
managed
in
the
school
district.
We
need
to
establish
an
independent
citywide
board
to
oversee
spending
priorities
to
and
to
oversee
progress
on
new
constructions,
and
that
decides
best
practices
for
construction
and
environmental
processes.
L
Lastly,
we
need
you,
our
camp
city
council
members,
to
demand
that
money
that
already
exists
in
the
city
be
used
to
fix
our
schools.
The
enforced
scarcities
that
our
school
communities
are
expected
to
thrive
in
does
not
exist
in
a
vacuum
in
part.
Chronic
underfunding
is
the
direct
result
of
tax
abatements
that
allow
wealthy
businesses
to
make
a
profit
off
of
our
city.
L
As
a
former
professor
at
drexel
university,
it
feels
especially
important
to
me
that
we
demand
our
universities
reckon
with
all
aspects
of
their
impact
in
the
city
and
that
we
demand
that
they
channel
the
revenue
that
they
have
made
off
of
the
city
back
into
the
generations
that
will
make
its
future.
There
is
no
way
better
to
do
this
through
using
money
from
pilots,
in
addition
to
other
sources,
to
transform
our
schools
into
places
that
are
healthy,
equitable
and
sustainable.
Thank
you.
A
Sure,
thank
you
so
much.
Mr
clark,
I
want
to
thank
all
of
my
council
colleagues
for
joining
us.
I
want
to
acknowledge
and
thank
council
member
david
o
who
has
on
up
until
six
o'clock.
You
know
through
the
conclusion
of
the
hearing,
as
he
also
helped
chair
the
9
a.m.
City
council
committee,
hearing
on
education.
A
Again,
the
school
district
of
philadelphia
does
is
the
only
school
district
in
the
state
of
pennsylvania
that
cannot
raise
its
own
revenues.
It
can.
It
does
not
have
taxing
authority
and
thus
its
future
relies
on
the
public.
Will
the
public
embracing
of
its
vision,
and
especially
on
public
engagement
and
public
trust.
A
It's
not
about
what
lies
ahead.
It's
about
engaging
the
public
and
bringing
the
public
into
a
process.
That's
going
to
be
so
much
bigger
than
what
we
currently
have
right
now,
because
what
we
need
is
so
much
more
than
we
can
possibly
come
commit
to
or
come
up
with
at
in
this
moment.
So
I
want
to
thank
my
co-chair
council
member
derek
green,
a
former
public
school
parent,
our
both
our
children
graduated
in
this
last
year.
A
A
A
A
We
will
take
all
of
your
comments
to
heart
and,
most
of
all,
we
thank
you
for
investing
in
this
process.
This
concludes
the
public
hearing
of
the
committee
on
children
and
youth
and
finance.
We
will
now
recess
this
joint
hearing
until
the
call
of
the
chair.
Thank
you
all
very
much
and
have
a
good
evening.