[bywoods]

As upwardly mobile (but not wealthy) professionals, my wife and I are exactly the type of people the city needs to attract and retain. We live in a gentrified center city neighborhood and we pay lots of wage, sales, and real estate taxes. We could afford a much larger house in the suburbs, despite the higher RE taxes. However, we choose to live in a smaller home in the city for the walkable neighborhoods and amenities.

It is impossible to underemphasize the impact of the school budget issues on our willingness to remain in the city once our son is old enough for school. We live in a good catchment, with an elementary school that is not violent and is filled with a diverse array of motivated students from good families. The price of private school for a single child is an order of magnitude higher than real estate taxes for a center city or suburban home. We will be forced to abandon the city if our local school does not have the funding to pay for necessary staff like nurses or guidance counselors.

Right now, Center City residential real estate is booming. New apartment buildings are filling quickly despite high rents, and houses are flying off the market. The tax abatement program helped get things kicked off, and I'm sure many neighborhoods still need a tax abatement to support residential development, but not Broad and Spruce.

On the other hand, if the school problem is not fixed, then the Center City market will continue to be mostly composed of young professionals at the start of their careers and empty nesters. It is the mid career professionals who make the most money, pay the most taxes, and most importantly control where their businesses are located. These people typically have school age children and would prefer not to pay ~$20,000 per child per year for private school. They will never stay in the city unless the school problem is fixed.