School Board Prez Defends School Closures, Despite ‘Problematic’ Rollout

School Board Prez Defends School Closures, Despite ‘Problematic’ Rollout

From City Cast Philly by City Cast

May 4, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

School Board President Reginald Streater discusses the controversial $3 billion facilities plan that includes closing 17 schools in Philadelphia.

Despite an extraordinary and emotional confrontation with City Council last week, the Philadelphia School Board voted 6-3 to approve a $3 billion facilities plan that would close 17 schools and renovate 169 more. Parents, teachers, and students still have many questions. So joining host Trenae Nuri to talk about the controversial facilities plan, and the justification behind it, is School Board President Reginald Streater. Our newsletter has Philly news & events in your inbox every weekday morning. Call or text us: 215-259-8170 Instagram: @citycastphilly Support our show and get great perks as a City Cast Philly Neighbor: membership.citycast.fm Advertise on the podcast or in the newsletter: citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Taskrabbit Art Star

People in this episode

Host: Trenae Nuri

Guest: Reginald Streater

Topics covered

  • school closures
  • education
  • Philadelphia
  • community response
  • facilities plan

Keywords

  • school board
  • closures
  • facilities plan
  • Philadelphia
  • education
  • community

Sponsors

Taskrabbit, Art Star

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Philadelphia School Board, City Council

More episodes of City Cast Philly

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the City Cast Philly podcast page.