Philadelphia Council moving bill to help schools make payroll

Philadelphia City Council is on the way to approving some bridge loans to close an end-of-the-year gap at the Philadelphia School District. 

Council President Darrell Clarke says the city will borrow $20 million to help the district until it can finish selling off some recently closed schools. 

“We hope and I insist that they move those buildings forward,” Clarke said. “We have a number of offers from individuals or organizations that are interested in purchasing the real estate and I hope they can quickly conclude those transactions.”

The district can’t borrow the money directly because it’s already heavily in debt. Clarke says he’s upset that the properties haven’t already been sold.

“Particularly since we put on the table a number of opportunities to sell those buildings two of which were the entire inventory,” he said. 

Just this week, the school district has been trying to close the sale of several properties, including University City High School.