After the police killing of George Floyd sparked a global reawakening of the Black Lives Matter movement in late May, many Penn students marched in solidarity and spread anti-racist messages on social media. Students, faculty, and alumni began calling upon the University to cut its deep-rooted ties with the Philadelphia Police Department and pay Payments In Lieu of Taxes — voluntary cash payments by nonprofit institutions — to the city.

More than 1,000 faculty and staff members at the University of Pennsylvania are calling on the Board of Trustees to pay a portion of what the university would owe in property taxes to the city of Philadelphia if the institution paid property taxes.

More than 1,000 faculty and staff members are urging Penn to pay 40% of what it would owe in property taxes to the Philadelphia public schools as a matter of social, economic and racial justice.

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.

Ahead of the Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, Penn professors publicly demand that the University reverse its refusal to pay Payment In Lieu of Taxes and ensure adequate funding for the Philadelphia public schools.

We are two school district educators who would like to encourage the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania to consider payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), a common practice among private institutions around the country.

When I hear arguments that Penn should not pay PILOTs because the District is a broken system, I believe that is like starving children and then blaming them for being frail. But, in this case, the analogy is not even hyperbolic. Students in the District, such as those on The Bullhorn panel, shared stories of both inadequate meals at school and the academic undernourishment that comes with slashing enrichment programs.

"I think that Penn as an institution has to do more for West Philly. The fact that [Penn] doesn’t pay PILOTs [Payments in Lieu of Taxes] is insane to me. It doesn’t make any sense.”