Incoming Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. must make identifying sources of sustained funding his highest priority… While PILOTs are voluntary, the superintendent and others are empowered to make an appeal to these institutions to ask them to voluntarily contribute. The practice of nonprofits making PILOTs to their municipal governments is not a new one. During Mayor Ed Rendell’s administration in the 1990s, Philadelphia nonprofits paid PILOTs to the city annually.

“I think Magill has a huge opportunity to make real positive change, not just around climate change,” Hargest added. “I think she can be the person this school’s activists have wanted for years: she can pay PILOTs, she can give back to the local community, she can divest from fossil fuels … all these things are so important and connected.”

A group of students pushing the University of Pennsylvania to divest from fossil fuels among other demands rooted in environmental justice has set up tents on the College Green to share their message around the clock… Students also are calling on Penn to make Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) to help city schools, Glasser said. Penn in November 2020 announced it would donate $100 million over 10 years to the Philadelphia School District to remediate environmental hazards, including asbestos and lead. But that is not considered a PILOT.

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.

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.