This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
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Mayor Nutter’s plan to raise $105 million in recurring revenue for Philadelphia schools by hiking property taxes nearly 10 percent has hit a brick wall in City Council.
Council members have spent much of the spring looking for an alternative to fill the School District’s budget hole.
A compromise is evolving, though it is far from final.
City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, a champion of education, said she can’t stomach the thought of a $105 million property tax hike.
"I’ve been against real estate taxes," she said Thursday. "I’m always against real estate taxes. I hate a real estate tax."
Among other things, the compromise that City Council is considering calls for raising about $50 million from real estate taxes and increasing the city’s use and occupancy tax to gain about $10 million.