Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker joined State Senator Vincent Hughes and other officials on Tuesday to celebrate a new round of funds intended to repair and improve school district buildingsWith more than 300 buildings under its purview, the School District of Philadelphia recently began its final phase -- phase eight -- of a facilities planning process that
Yet, while some buildings may be facing shutdowns, others will be refurbished, repaired and renovated and, on Tuesday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker joined State Senator Vincent Hughes , to celebrate a new influx of funding intended to do just that."We can't have students, teachers and administrators going into school buildings with leaking roofs, unreliable bathrooms," she said."We want our children to love going to school and not dread walking into the buildings.
On Tuesday, at West Philly's Martha Washington Elementary School, Parker celebrated an influx of $16.77 million from the state's Public School Faclilty Improvement Grant Program. The funds are part of $175 million in state grants set aside for improvement projects at schools throughout Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, the funding will be broken down to help afford improvement projects for seven schools:Cayuga Elementary School- $815,739 for Roof Replacement ProjectFrancis Hopkinson School- $821,239 for Roof Replacement ProjectOverbrook High School- $5,000,000 for Auditorium Renovation Project; $3,650,346 for Roof Replacement Project“This is a significant investment to fix crumbling and toxic schools in Philadelphia,” said Senator Vincent Hughes, in a statement on the funding.