Public Bank Solution for School District Borrowing | LTE

Letter to the Editor by Susan Windle, published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on October 12, 2021

It’s great to hear that the School District of Philadelphia has negotiated a lower interest rate for its $400 million borrowing plan (Oct. 8). But it’s worth asking who will benefit from that interest – which comes to a total of $203 million over 25 years. It’s not likely that those bondholders will be regular Philadelphia citizens. If we had a public bank, not only could the School District get such low-interest loans, but the interest payments would go back to our own bank, to be lent and lent again – for education, housing, small business, sustainability projects, and more that are currently starved for affordable financing.

Thankfully, Philadelphia, through the legislative initiative of Councilmember Derek Green, is rapidly moving toward creation of such a bank. May it be so, and soon.