City Controller finds Philly school district vacant buildings to be dangerous in review

A review of the Philadelphia School District’s vacant buildings issued today by City of Philadelphia Controller Alan Butkovitz found that empty facilities are creating unsafe conditions for surrounding neighborhoods.

According to a statement from the City Controller’s office, the review was part of an ongoing assessment of the School District’s capital assets, as well as an examination to find out if the district’s vacant schools were being maintained properly.

The review found some of the vacant schools to be littered with spent hypodermic syringes, used condoms, piles of garbage and human waste scattered around the buildings.

According to Butkovitz, three of the eight vacant buildings owned by the district that were reviewed are in poor condition, with one facility, the former home of Roberto Clemente Middle School, in “serious disrepair.”

“The former Roberto Clemente Middle School is in such a dilapidated and dangerous state that it needs to be tightly secured and demolished immediately,” Butkovitz said during a Tuesday press conference.

Butkovitz is now recommending the Philadelphia School District create an action plan immediately for the vacant buildings.