Nearly 118,000 students poured into Philadelphia’s public schools on Monday, August 25, 2025, marking the start of a new academic year amid a swirl of optimism, anxiety, and deep uncertainty about the city’s future. On the surface, the day brimmed with the usual excitement—students celebrating birthdays, greeting friends, and savoring the last hints of summer. But beneath the cheers and metallic red pompoms waved by Superintendent Tony Watlington, Mayor Cherelle Parker, and Board of Education President Reginald Streater at Edward Steel Elementary School in Nicetown, the city’s education and transit systems were grappling with unprecedented challenges.
"This is a school year where we have wind underneath our wings, even though we have a lot of challenges in front of us," Superintendent Watlington reflected as he welcomed students, according to Chalkbeat Philadelphia. The optimism was palpable, but so were the headwinds: a multi-million dollar budget deficit, a state budget impasse, and a public transit crisis that threatened to disrupt students’ daily lives.
The roots of these problems run deep. The Philadelphia school district has been wrestling with a worsening financial situation, now exacerbated by a state legislature that is eight weeks late in passing a budget. This impasse is not just a bureaucratic headache—it’s poised to delay crucial payments to school districts across Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, and has already triggered painful cuts to the city’s public transit system, SEPTA.
SEPTA’s woes are both financial and political. Facing a staggering $213 million operating deficit as of August 2025, the transit authority has slashed service by 45%, eliminating 50 bus routes and five train lines, while also reducing frequency and ending nighttime service on select routes. Fares have jumped by more than 20%, raising the base fare to $2.90 per ride—now on par with New York City, and higher than Boston or Washington, D.C. These changes, which took effect the weekend before school started, have left families scrambling to adjust.
The cuts hit hardest at the beginning and end of the school day. SEPTA’s elimination of 400-series bus lines—routes specifically designed to serve schools—has thrown student commutes into chaos. Educators, parents, and advocates worry that the added hurdles will make it harder for students to get to class, participate in internships, or join after-school activities. Sean Vereen, president and CEO of Heights Philadelphia, voiced his concern to Chalkbeat: "There are already too many barriers to young people accessing their opportunities, and this seems to be another place where we’re putting up barriers that we don’t need to. Young people require stability and investment, and all these things send the opposite message."
Superintendent Watlington has tried to reassure families, promising that no student will be penalized for being late due to transit issues. Still, the practical impact of the cuts looms large. With fewer buses and trains, and less frequent service, many worry about a drop in attendance—a problem the district has worked hard to address in recent years.
The transit crisis is a direct byproduct of a divided state legislature. Democrats, who control the state House, have put forward multiple proposals to increase transit funding, including a plan to boost the share of state sales tax allocated to public transportation. Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, requested additional transit money in his budget proposal, but the Republican-controlled Senate has balked, resisting tax increases and criticizing SEPTA’s management. The urban-rural divide is stark: rural legislators, whose constituents rarely use public transit, bristle at the idea of sending more state dollars to Philadelphia’s system. As Republican state Sen. Joe Pittman bluntly put it, “We don’t see transit as the critical issue that our friends on the other side of the aisle see it as,” according to Governing.
The standoff has led to creative—if controversial—solutions. Last fall, Governor Shapiro redirected $153 million in federal highway funding to keep SEPTA afloat temporarily, but this move angered rural lawmakers who saw it as a raid on road projects. More recently, the Senate passed a budget version that would shift money from the state Public Transportation Trust Fund’s capital projects to operations, a move SEPTA officials warned would only worsen long-term funding problems. The result? A stalemate, with each side accusing the other of intransigence while the city’s transit system teeters on the edge.
For Philadelphia’s schools, the transit crisis is just one piece of a larger puzzle. The district’s ongoing facilities planning process is set to culminate in November, when officials will present a sweeping plan to close, repurpose, or remodel many of the city’s more than 300 school buildings. The need for change is clear: some schools are bursting at the seams, forcing students into hallways and trailers, while others are half-empty and costly to maintain. Facilities issues—from asbestos remediation to inadequate heating and cooling—have plagued the district for years.
Principal Angikindslows Senatus of Steel Elementary told Chalkbeat he’s leaning into three core principles this year: "safety first, respect always, and striving for achievement." He added, "We want to make sure that regardless of the challenges and the issues that we face, that we make sure that we cross the boundary and meet each other." It’s a sentiment echoed by many school leaders, who are determined to keep students learning despite the obstacles.
Meanwhile, the politics of school choice continue to roil the city and state. The Philadelphia Board of Education approved the city’s first new charter school in nearly a decade this May, even as it moved to close two underperforming charters. One will shutter next year, but the Memphis Street Academy is fighting a judge’s closure order. On the state level, debates rage over voucher-like programs that would allow families to use public money for private school tuition—a flashpoint that helped stall the state budget. Democrats argue that increasing public school funding is both a priority and a constitutional mandate, while Republicans push for expanded school choice and question the efficacy of increased spending.
The stakes are high. Advocates warn that the transit cuts could trigger a "death spiral"—as service declines, so does ridership, leading to further revenue losses and even deeper cuts. This vicious cycle could devastate not only the city’s transit system but also its schools, economy, and neighborhoods. Rep. Melissa Shusterman, a Democrat from the Philadelphia suburbs, summed up the urgency: "I am fighting for my community, my constituents, and our regional economy, because my back is up against the wall."
For now, Philadelphia’s students, families, and educators are pressing forward, buoyed by hope and resilience but shadowed by the uncertainty of what comes next. As the school year unfolds, the city’s ability to navigate these intertwined crises will shape not just classrooms and commutes, but the very future of Philadelphia itself.
