We are faculty and staff at the University of Pennsylvania who believe that Penn has a responsibility to ensure adequate funding for the Philadelphia public schools. Penn is the largest property owner in the city of Philadelphia, but as a non-profit institution, it pays no property taxes on its non-commercial properties. In other words, it contributes nothing to the tax base that funds Philadelphia’s public school system — all of this in a city whose schools are underfunded and facing deep budget cuts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 500 faculty and staff members at the University of Pennsylvania have signed a petition calling on the school to make payments in lieu of taxes supporting the Philadelphia public schools — a campaign that has escalated in light of national protests demanding attention to racism and inequality.

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.  

Penn has a $14.7 billion endowment and a $3.5 billion operating budget and owns $3.2 billion of tax-exempt property in Philadelphia. PILOT would be a drop in the bucket of Penn’s vast wealth. While money doesn’t solve all problems, it is past time for Penn to stop benefiting from systems that advantage primarily white institutions and make reparations for the damage the university has caused. By voluntarily making these changes, the university has the opportunity to exhibit leadership and courage and set an example for the city’s other large nonprofits to contribute their fair share to the community.

The ongoing debate over what universities and hospitals — who aren't required to pay property taxes — should be contributing to the city's coffers gets an added wrinkle during a pandemic-triggered economic free fall.

To this day, Penn fails to engage with the Philadelphia community in a constructive or collective manner, and instead uses its status as a nonprofit to avoid paying desperately needed property taxes. It’s time for Penn to step up and finally pay Payments in Lieu of Taxes.

[S]ome of the same activists who have urged the city to eliminate or reform its 10-year tax abatement for new construction or rehabilitation have called for PILOTs for institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania, which owns at least $3.2 billion in property and has a $14.7 billion endowment.

It’s time for our wealthy neighbors at the University of Pennsylvania, who occupy 10 percent of the city’s land, to start paying their property taxes.

The Our City, Our Schools Coalition and other groups are calling on the University of Pennsylvania to help support the city’s cash-strapped public schools though a “payment in lieu of taxes” — or PILOT — agreement.