The School District of Philadelphia has received backlash from City Council and many residents over its plan to close more than a dozen schools. One Mt. Airy woman is going a step further by taking the district to court.

Community advocate and Democratic committeeperson Delise Williams filed a lawsuit against the district in June over its plan to merge Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice with Martin Luther King High School. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24. Williams, who is not a lawyer, is representing herself, and calling for the court to halt the merger.

“I’m going to need a lot of support,” Williams told the Local. “I’m trying to ask the community [to come] because I can’t have anyone sit next to me…because they’re not representing me.”

The school district’s Facilities Master Plan would close 17 schools and modernize 169. District officials say the 10-year plan will expand access to high quality academic programming, renovate aging buildings and address unequal enrollment at facilities. Critics argue that closing schools will do more harm than good.

Under the plan, Parkway Northwest in the Mt. Airy/Germantown area will close and become an honors program at Martin Luther King in East Germantown starting in the 2027-28 school year. Building 21 will also merge into Martin Luther King starting in the 2032-33 year.

In her lawsuit, filed in the Court of Common Pleas, Williams alleges that the district violated the Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949 by failing to honor the mandatory 90-day statutory timeline. The code says the district must hold a public meeting about a school closure at least 90 days before making a decision. The district approved the facilities plan on April 30, two months after a public meeting about the Parkway merger, she says.

Williams also alleges that the district failed to provide the required safety and staffing data ordered by the Office of Open Records to prove that new environment at Martin Luther King will be safe.

“I want the public, I want taxpayers, I want parents (and) neighbors to know how it would affect them. What is our return on the investment?” she said. “It’s time for us to have our voice back.”

She said there are safety issues that can arise from merging the three schools, and that Parkway Northwest could lose the education opportunities given to high-performing schools. Williams, who has a master’s degree in education management, operates “the Art of a Girl’s Grace” pilot program at Parkway Northwest, a mentorship and leadership development initiative for young women.

Before that, she was a member of institutional safety and climate staff at Martin Luther King from 2012-2018, where she was in charge of monitoring students, including those sent to the school by the criminal justice system. she said. There, she organized a “bully-proof ambassador club” to combat bullying and fighting in the halls. Williams said the district should focus on improving the environment at Martin Luther King before bringing in new students, or at least compile a verified, audited safety plan.

“I believe that you cannot force a school merger without proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that students and the community’s safety is a guarantee,” she said.

“Students worked very, very hard to maintain A’s and B’s (and) to earn their place at Parkway Northwest,” Williams added. “They did everything we asked them of the education system. And taking that opportunity away from them without showing us a safety road map or an academic blueprint is a disservice.”

The school district’s attorney, Michael D. Kristofco of the education specialty law firm Wisler Pearlstine LLP, responded in court filings that the board’s vote in April didn’t officially close any schools, but was rather an agreement to start moving the plan forward. Also, he wrote, the law requires the district to thoroughly look for and provide existing safety audit data, not produce it. The Local could not reach Kristofco for comment.

In its plan, district officials say the Martin Luther King building is “severely underutilized.”

“This plan is designed to ensure that every student — regardless of zip code — has access to the programs, resources and learning environments they deserve,” Superintendent Tony B. Watlington, Sr. said in a news release following the April 30 vote. “While these decisions are not easy, they are informed by robust community engagement and a steadfast commitment to improving outcomes for all Philadelphia public school students.”

Parkway Northwest students and family members said at recent community meetings that they chose the school for its small, safe setting. More than 100 Parkway Northwest students walked out on Feb. 26 to protest the plan.

“I’ve given up my life for six months,” learning the legal process and researching the case, Williams said. She hopes the judge will halt the merger, and her actions will encourage others to act on behalf of other schools on the chopping block.

“I don’t know if I’m going to win,” she said. “The Northwest (and) our children... it’s worth the fight. It’s worth it.”

The hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24 at 1:30 p.m. in City Hall Courtroom 475.

Abby Weiss is an environmental reporter for the Local and a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at abby@chestnuthilllocal.com.