As He Heads For The Exit, Philly Schools Chief Hite Reflects On His 10-Year Tenure

By Chanel Hill, Special to the Capital-Star, Pennsylvania Capital-Star

June 12, 2022

When William Hite Jr. was named the superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia in 2012, he arrived during a financial crisis that was caused by the end of federal stimulus funds and state budget cuts.

“At the time I arrived here, the Obama stimulus money was expiring and that money had been used to provide salary increases and to add staff,” Hite said during his final interview with The Philadelphia Tribune this week.

“There were significant cuts at the state level, an elimination of about $800 million from public education funding,” he said. “Those two things collided and created a within year revenue shortfall of almost $100 million.

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