As the University of Pennsylvania brings in new leadership, Penn faculty and staff are calling on the new chair of the Board of Trustees, Scott L. Bok, to change the university’s position on PILOTs—that is, to make payments in lieu of taxes to the public schools. On March 2, 208 Penn faculty and staff members delivered a letter to Bok urging him to turn over a new leaf and ensure that Penn finally pays its fair share for public education.

The University of Pennsylvania’s announcement of a gift to the Philadelphia public schools is a welcome first step toward resolving the debt that the university owes our city's public school system. Above all, it testifies to the power of mobilization by public school students, teachers, city leaders, and members of the Penn community. We are committed to continuing that mobilization to ensure that Penn pays its full fair share on an ongoing basis.

Calls for the University of Pennsylvania to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) to the Philadelphia public schools escalated this week—reaching the university’s highest governing board. Following on the heels of a petition signed by over 800 faculty and staff, 68 signatories have publicly requested meetings with members of the Penn Board of Trustees, who have been silent for weeks despite growing outcry that Penn is failing to fulfill its responsibility to the school system.

Faculty and staff at the University of Pennsylvania have released a statement calling on the university to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) to the Philadelphia public schools.