Tensions rise surrounding 1 of Mayor Cherelle Parker's 9 Board of Education nominees
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia City Council has approved eight of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s nine nominees to the Philadelphia Board of Education while controversy swirls around the ninth.
On the floor of City Council, the resolution was read aloud: "A resolution confirming Reginald Streater to the Board of Education for the School District of Philadelphia." It was approved and Streater, the current leader of the panel, was returned to the board.
Left out, was veteran member, Joyce Wilkerson, who once led the panel and is entangled in a dispute with some council members over the rejection of black-led charter schools by the school board.
Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg is a senior attorney with The Public Interest Law Center and a Wilkerson supporter. He said, "to serve charter school students we must have oversight for charter school themselves that’s how we protect our kids."
Wilkerson’s nomination was put on hold last Friday when the nine nominees came before the council to testify.
Some of Mayor Cherelle Parker's school board nominees face pushback in City Council
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.
Council member Isaiah Thomas pressed board members on what he claims is the rejection of Black-led charters at far higher rates than others. He claimed the actions appeared "racist."
Thomas was asked by FOX 29’s Jeff Cole, "Do you believe Ms. Wilkerson acted in a racist way when she was on that board? He said, "I want to be clear, what we said was that we had concerns that specifically related to institutional issues we felt were racist."
In a statement, Mayor Parker wrote, "I continue to support my entire slate of nine nominees, including Joyce Wilkerson." But council president Kenyetta Johnson said, "she doesn’t have the support of my colleagues."
The head of the school board, Reginald Streater, said there’s unfinished business. Streater added, "while we’re all happy, I’m speaking of the slate, happy we made it though we’re resolved we need the slate not just 8."