During the event, Prescod discussed his experiences in Philadelphia schools, speaking about issues of mold, lead, and asbestos, as well as problems with funding for support staff and after-school programs. “I do not think you have to be a teacher to realize that we are in a really deep crisis,” Prescod said. “There has to be a public commitment to public schools.” Penn has historically not paid PILOTs, or Payments in Lieu of Taxes, which would support the Philadelphia public school system.

In recent years, students, faculty, and staff at the city’s rich universities have joined with neighbors and residents to push for reigniting the program. Groups like Penn for PILOTs, Penn Pay PILOTs, and Drexel for PILOTs have organized protests and written opinion pieces urging the academic institutions to give back to their city by voluntarily restarting payments. … The chronically underfunded School District of Philadelphia, which relies heavily on property taxes, is often cited as a suitable destination.

PILOTS would improve the overall livability of the city, both for people who are affiliated with these institutions and those who are not. “Currently it doesn’t seem like everyone who lives in Philadelphia is having the same access to public assistance services. That’s something I think PILOTS could change,” added Rodriguez.

More than 200 faculty and staff members at the University of Pennsylvania urge their new leadership to pay “fair share” to support Philadelphia public schools.

Board of Trustee Chair Scott L. Bok has been requested to change the university’s position on payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), and make payments in place of public school taxes.

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. 

Over 100 students, teachers, and community members marched through Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania’s campuses last week calling on both schools to make payments in lieu of taxes to support the School District of Philadelphia.

The debate heated up on Tuesday, March 30, as hundreds of students, community members and leaders took to the streets in University City to demand PILOTs as nearby Philadelphia public schools still struggle with providing non-hazardous environments for children to learn amid the slow return from the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 100 educators, students, and activists marched through University City on March 30 to urge Penn and other property tax-exempt universities to pay Payments in Lieu of Taxes to Philadelphia.