Council moves on plan to buy, resell vacant schools to raise $50 million

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

by Tom MacDonald for NewsWorks

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A Philadelphia City Council committee has approved its plan for generating $50 million for the city’s public schools.

The Council’s plan clashes with a proposal favored by Mayor Nutter’s administration.

Philadelphia Finance Director Rob Dubow testified Thursday that it’s important for Council to pass Nutter’s plan to extend a sales tax surcharge that was going to expire.

Council, instead, prefers to buy vacant properties from the School District and then sell them for development.

It’s not that simple, Dubow said.

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