No decision yet on Penn school

In the midst of ongoing debate, the Philadelphia Board of Education has not yet reached a decision regarding who will attend the Penn-assisted public school slated to be built at 42nd and Spruce streets. Steve Schutt, chief of staff to University President Judith Rodin and Penn's pointman for the project, has said that he expects a decision to be reached before the end of the month. School board members had previously said there would be a decision in December, and then that they would resolve the situation in January. "We certainly need it resolved as quickly as possible," Schutt explained, citing that construction needs to begin in March for the school to open at its expected date of September 2001. The school board is expected to hold another public meeting before voting on either a defined area from where all children would attend or a lottery where students would be chosen at random, University spokesman Ken Wildes said. Intense controversy has surrounded the school since plans for it were announced 1 1/2 years ago because it will accommodate only 700 students -- meaning it cannot serve the majority of West Philadelphia children. Residents have arrived in droves to school board meetings and town meetings to voice their opinions about a catchment area or a lottery system to determine the neighborhoods that will fall into its jurisdiction. At the last meeting on January 14, four out of the five members of the Education Committee said they were leaning toward the approval of a distinct catchment area. School board members have proposed three possible options -- one of which would determine through a lottery system which students could attend the school. The other two proposals were catchment areas, which would set definite boundaries for who may attend. The largest of these areas extends as far north as Sansom Street, south to Baltimore Avenue and stretches to 50th and Pine streets. Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman said she sees no reason why construction can not begin in March. She said, however, that the decision has been somewhat delayed. "I have enormous respect for those [school] board members," Scheman said. "But it takes the school board a long time to get anything done." This issue is viewed as key for the future of the neighborhood, which has been anxiously awaiting a decision. "I think its been an emotional rollercoaster of an issue," said Barry Grossbach, president of the Spruce Hill Community Association. "We all would have been better served had this decision been made a year ago." However, some community members are concerned that plans for the new school are moving along too quickly and not taking into consideration those who will be affected. "[The school board] only informed the public about the catchment area in early January," said Linda Basnage, a mother of three and a resident of the 4500 block of Locust Street. "Everything is being rushed. For me, to plan to break ground three months after they released the proposal is too soon." Basnage added that the school board has a responsibility to ensure that West Philadelphia neighborhoods are not divided in the process. "This is the thing that will make my husband and I leave the area," she said. "It's not the drug dealers. It's not the crime -- this shows us that this community doesn't belong to us, it belongs to the University."

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