Title
Authorizing the Committee on Children and Youth to conduct hearings examining the relationship between the property tax exemption for wealthy nonprofits on the School District's budget and the resulting environmental hazards in School District facilities on the health and safety of Philadelphia's most vulnerable children.
Body
WHEREAS, The School District estimates that its facilities require approximately $5 billion in capital repairs to ensure a safe and healthy environment for students, including $125 million to remediate lead and asbestos; and
WHEREAS, In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the School District is projecting a nearly $900 million budget shortfall by the end of fiscal year 2026; and
WHEREAS, Property taxes represent the largest local contribution to the School District's budget, and Philadelphia has an extraordinary amount of tax-exempt land; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia's wealthiest nonprofits are currently afforded tax-exempt status resulting in exemptions from the payment of hundreds of millions of dollars that would otherwise be due to the School District, thereby placing additional burdens on Philadelphia's remaining taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, These wealthy nonprofits rely on Philadelphia's public services, infrastructure, and cultural environment to thrive; and
WHEREAS, Many Philadelphians, including those directly impacted by toxic school facilities and those with ties to wealthy nonprofits, have called for these institutions to contribute 40% of foregone property taxes annually to the School District as Payments In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOTs); and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia needs more permanent sources of revenue in order to address the many environmental hazards within School District facilities which threaten the health and safety of Philadelphia's most vulnerable children; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 80% of School District buildings were built prior to 1978 and are likely to contain environmental hazards such as asbestos insulation and...
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