Philadelphia Inquirer, Negotiations continue 'around-the-clock' ahead of Thursday board vote on 17 Philly school closings, April 30, 2026

Pre-vote report, published the morning of April 30, 2026, on the Board of Education’s vote that day on a facilities plan to close 17 schools; the meeting was “scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Thursday.” Quotes a letter from seven lawmakers (Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier, Isaiah Thomas, Kendra Brooks, Rue Landau and Nicolas O’Rourke, State Sen. Vincent Hughes and State Rep. Rick Krajewski), “obtained by The Inquirer,” calling Robeson “one of the few remaining institutional footholds for the Black community in University City” and saying “Voting to close Robeson after promising to preserve the building and increasing your facilities investment in the surrounding community by $120 million would make the Board complicit in the displacement that this community has been suffering since the razing of the Black Bottom.” Reports that the superintendent wants the Robeson site kept in district hands for future science and technology use. The vote and its 6-3 tally are in the post-vote report (inquirer-philadelphia-school-board-vote-2026).

Read again 2026-10-18 (T4, in the browser, for the 10/21 post). “Published April 30, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET”, no update or correction; Robeson named as contested. No change.