Hundreds of Philly students walk out of Class to protest budget cuts
Hundreds of Philadelphia students walked out of class and marched on the steps of City Hall to protest budget cuts on Thursday (May 9, 2013). Photo Courtesy NBC Philadelphia
Students from Benjamin Franklin High School, the Franklin Learning Center and Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts walked out of class at approximately 1:30 p.m. and began protesting major cuts to education spending.
The students, many of whom were still wearing their back-packs, carried protest signs and could be heard chanting, “No ifs, no buts, no education cuts.” Another sign read “Mayor Nutter We Need Counselors.”
Students also protested on Twitter, with tweets like, “Students need support! Like counselors! Don’t cut these important resources that we need.”
Philadelphia Police Captain Brian Korn tweeted that there were various groups of students headed to City Hall from different directions.
The protesters eventually made their way to City Hall, even shutting down a main throughway for a short period.
The students locked arms while marching up North Broad to the school district building.
“Showing students power to the powers that be,” the group Philly Student Union tweeted from in front of the district headquarters.
The school district reportedly has a budget shortfall of over $300 million dollars, according to the School Reform Commission.
