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Some of Mayor Cherelle Parker's school board nominees face pushback in City Council

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Published  April 19, 2024 6:17pm EDT
School District of Philadelphia
FOX 29 Philadelphia

Some of Mayor Cherelle Parker's school board nominees facing pushback

There were tense moments in Philadelphia City Hall Friday as some members of City Council pressed school board nominees on the closure of Black-led charter schools.

CENTER CITY - There were tense moments in Philadelphia City Hall Friday as some members of City Council pressed school board nominees on the closure of Black-led charter schools.

Mayor Cherelle Parker’s nine nominees for the school board detailed their credentials and told members why they want to serve, unpaid, on the panel.

Current member of the board, Sarah Ashley-Andrews, said, "Our schools need to be lighthouses for our students, places where all students can feel safe, welcomed, and supported."

Council members were also able to question the nominees like Chau Wing Lam who says her immigrant mother sacrificed for her three young children. Wing Lam said, "Public education was pivotal in lifting us out of poverty and giving us a chance at success."

But the hearing, leading to a preliminary vote, grew tense when the issue of charter schools arose.

Nominated by Mayor Parker, veteran of the school board Joyce Wilkerson, had her nomination put on hold and sat away from the others.

Joyce Wilkerson told FOX 29’s Jeff Cole, "I just know that the nomination has been placed on hold. I don’t have any other information."

Back in the hearing, Council member Isaiah Thomas pressed board members on why Black-led charter schools were being forced to close, at what he said are far higher rates, than white-led schools.

Thomas asked, "When over 80 percent of the charter schools were essentially Black, when Black-led charter schools made up less than 25 percent of the schools in the city - and you’re not going to tell us that’s racist?"

The current head of the board, Reginald Streater, said the panel was careful with its decisions. He said, "We have to do our due diligence to determine whether someone actually did something because they’re racist or was there a legitimate reason, such as breaking the law or mismanagement with money."

Late Friday, eight of Parker's nine nominees were voted out of the Committee of the Whole. Joyce Wilkerson's nomination remained on hold.