Penn has faced criticism in the past for choosing not to make payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, to Philadelphia schools. “Students at Lea deserve a quality education, and students at every school in the public school system in Philadelphia deserve quality education,” said Amy C. Offner, associate professor in Penn’s history department and a member of Penn for PILOTs, a group of Penn faculty and staff that advocates the PILOT arrangement. 

Members of Penn for PILOTS still argue that local wealthy property owners, like Penn, should be pressed to ensure the city’s schools are fully funded through recurring PILOTS.

The Penn for PILOTS movement, as well as other organizations including Jobs for Justice, had estimated that if Penn paid property taxes on its holdings, it would owe the city about $100 million a year. The groups proposed that Penn pay 40% of what it would owe, or about $40 million annually. It also proposed that all the money go into an educational equity fund dedicated to the school district. … Crediting the “power of mobilization” for the gift, Penn for PILOTS, in a statement, said that “the chronic underfunding of the Philadelphia public schools cannot be resolved with a limited commitment of ten annual payments; it requires a system of public finance that ensures that the city’s wealthiest institutions pay their fair share every year in perpetuity.”

With the Philadelphia School District facing a potential annual shortfall of $800 million in five years, some faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania are pushing their employer to pay up to $40 million to the city.