Philadelphia Charter School To Cut Enrollment
By Mike DeNardo, Todd Quinones and Nicole Brewer
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An embattled Philadelphia charter school is abruptly cutting its enrollment in half tomorrow, leaving 600 students searching for new schools, two months into the school year.
The overenrolled Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School is holding a Thursday evening lottery to decide which students will stay and which will have to go.
The school has 1,300 K-12 students at its Northern Liberties and Frankford campuses, even though it agreed to a cap of 675 nine years ago.
Founder Walter Palmer fought the enrollment cap in court but ultimately lost. Now, with the district only paying for 675, Palmer says the school can't afford to remain open. He says most of those not chosen in the lottery will be transitioned to new schools in a week or so.
"It's just logistically almost impossible to say it's going to happen overnight. What we think, with the people we're involving in helping us, that we'll get a substantial number processed during the next week," Palmer said.
"I feel very blindsided because like I said we've been very supportive the whole time and then all of a sudden we have an emergency meeting and you tell us there's a lottery pick and it's October. That is so unfair," parent Monique Hayes said to CBS 3 Eyewitness News.
"I just don't know what to do. All I can do is just pray," said one parent who did not want to be identified.
"So now since she can't go to school or anything I have to miss days of work. This is not fair at all," parent Aaron Dupree said.
Palmer couldn't say how many teachers would be laid off or how long they would be paid.
Palmer, a lifelong civil rights activist and educator, said facing the families at the lottery would be one of the toughest days of his life.
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