Lights On, Air-Conditioners Running At Shuttered School

The lights are on, but nobody's home at a closed Philadelphia school.

As FOX 29's Jeff Cole reports, South Philly residents can do nothing but wonder why the power is running at the public school.

The school district is in the process of closing down some of its older, under-used schools. The George W. Childs School is one of them.

But you wouldn't exactly know it by looking at it.

The hulking 117-year-old brick structure sits in the shadows of Center City's gleaming towers.

It has been closed for over a year. But even though it's shuttered, the lights are on and the some air-conditioning units are humming.

We saw the lights and heard the air-conditioning units earlier this week. We were called to the neighborhood by residents who say the lights and a/c have been on for a long time.

We called the school district. A spokesperson says security and maintenance workers occasionally enter the building. He adds they must have turned on the lights and never shut them off.

As for the a/c, the district can't be sure why it was on because those visits should be quick with no need for the cool air.

It's a cost to taxpayers the cash-strapped school district can't afford.

When we checked Wednesday the lights were off, the a/c silent.

The district says it'll try to keep it that way.

You'd think once a school is closed the burden to taxpayers is over. Not so fast. Until they're sold-off or knocked down there's a cost to maintain them. Except you want to keep the lights and a/c.