It is the sole school district in Philadelphia. Prior to August 2012, the district was organized into academic division (AD) offices, each with its own Assistant Superintendent. As a part of the Chief Academic Office Reorganization/Transition Proposal, the AD structure was abolished. Schools are organized into Principal Learning Teams (PLTs), each with its own peer-selected Coordinator and all schools now report to the Chief Academic Office through the Office of School Performance Management. Governance The School District of Philadelphia is governed by a nine-member Board of Education. All members are appointed by the Mayor of Philadelphia and approved by Philadelphia City Council. The Board of Education was re-established in July 2018 after seventeen years of governance by a School Reform Commission. History Pre-1990s In 1967, high school students demonstrated in front of the Board of Education building, demanding better treatment, especially for African-American students, and better funding. The demonstrators were met with force by the Philadelphia Police Department, and the resulting riot left 22 injured and 57 arrested. Takeover by the state The state takeover of the district had its roots in the chronic low test scores of district students and a history of inequitable financing which left the district with substantial and perpetual deficits. In 1975, Pennsylvania provided 55 percent of school funding statewide; in 2001 it provided less than 36 percent. An analysis determined that increased district spending was limited by a state system which relies heavily on property taxes for local school funding. As a result, wealthier school districts with proportionately more property owners and more expensive real estate have more funds for schools. The result is great disparities in school system expenditures per student. In 2000, the Philadelphia school district spent $6,969 a year per student. Seventy percent of Philadelphia's students are at or near the poverty line. This contrasts with expenditures per student in wealthier suburban school districts: Jenkintown, $12,076; Radnor, $13,288; and Upper Merion, $13,139. In February 1998, then-superintendent David Hornbeck threatened to close the city's schools if the state did not provide the funds needed to balance his proposed budget. State lawmakers responded to the threat with fast-moving legislation, Act 46, on April 21, approving a school funding package that included a takeover plan. The legislature's plan was a reaction to Hornbeck's threatening to shut down the schools because of a financial crisis. "Holding students and their parents and teachers hostage in an