The Philadelphia school district has reduced the number of schools it has proposed to close from 20 to 18.
Chalkbeat Philadelphia reports that the district no longer plans to close Russell Conwell Middle School and Motivation High School.
The decision to spare the two schools comes after nearly a month of community pushback against the district’s initial proposal.
The changes also follow concerns of some city officials who have indicated opposition to the plan.
But 18 schools would still close beginning in 2027.
Superintendent Tony Watlington says the changes to the facilities plan represent the district’s commitment to listening to community feedback.
In addition to sparing two schools, the revised plan calls for merging Lankenau Environmental Science High School into Walter B. Saul High School as a career and technical education program. That’s a shift from the initial proposal to merge Lankenau into Roxborough High School as an honors program. However, the Lankenau building would still close.
In another change, students from Paul Robeson High School would relocate to Motivation rather than Sayre High School.
Lastly, Lewis Elkin Elementary School would no longer add grades to become a K-8 school. Instead, it would remain a K-4 school, and students would attend Conwell after graduating.
In total, more than 4,500 Philadelphia students would still have their schools closed in the coming years. The plan has the same price tag of $2.8 billion, which the district says would require extra philanthropic and public funding on top of district funds.
