Kensington High students can begin the 2026-27 school year at the former Austin Meehan Middle School in the Northeast, on Monday — despite a lawsuit that hoped to halt the relocation before classes begin.
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Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher R. Hall on Friday declined to issue an emergency injunction that would have prevented moving Kensington students to Meehan, a now-empty Northeast middle school.
Asbestos issues rendered Kensington’s E. Clearfield Street building temporarily unusable. District officials decided to move Kensington’s 400-plus students and 90 staff to Meehan — on Ryan Avenue in Mayfair — until Kensington’s building is ready, likely in January.
Meehan shares a campus with Lincoln High and Northeast Philadelphia Propel Academy, which are both already overcrowded.
Harold Brown, parent of a rising sophomore at Lincoln, and Peter McDermott, a former district teacher and Mayfair civic leader, objected to the relocation, saying that moving Kensington into the Meehan space would create safety and other concerns.
After a four-hour hearing, Hall said he did not “believe that there is evidence of an immediate and irreparable harm” if Kensington students start the year at Meehan on Monday.
In fact, the judge said, “I think granting the injunction would throw off the Kensington families,” forcing the district to pivot to virtual instruction on short notice, which would be worse academically and from a food access standpoint. “The balance does not tip there.”
Teresa Fleming, the district’s chief operating officer, said the district rejected two alternative sites before choosing Meehan — Roberto Clemente Middle School and Penn Treaty High School — one because it was not large enough, and the other because it could not accommodate students with certain accessibility needs.
And Craig Johnson, the school system’s chief safety officer, said the district is adding police officers to ensure student arrival and dismissal run smoothly.
Though no safety plan has been finalized, Johnson promised one would be ready by the end of the day Friday.
Michael van der Veen, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said his clients remained concerned, and that the lawsuit would continue.
“If a week from now or a month from now we get a shooting, a stabbing, a killing, or violence that breaks out there, this is what done been there to prevent it,” van der Veen said. “We’re going to continue to look at what the legal options are.
William Brennan, another lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said the relocation of Kensington students to Meehan is “a neighborhood safety issue, and we’re going to do everything we can to keep the neighborhood safe.”
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This is a developing story and will be updated.