Calls grow to tear down abandoned school where Kada Scott's body was found
For the second day in a row, an army of workers descended on the abandoned Ada Lewis Middle School in East Germantown on Tuesday to clear shrubs and debris after the body of Kada Scott was found in a wooded area behind the building over the weekend.
Some residents of the area and at least one Philadelphia City Council person say the clean up should have happened far sooner, since the school has been abandoned since 2008.
“This school is sitting here and it looks so nasty, so disgusting,” said Maria Laws, who lives near the building.
There are also renewed calls to demolish the former school. Philadelphia City Councilwoman Cindy Bass wrote a letter Friday, Oct. 17, to the Philadelphia School District demanding leaders move with urgency to take it down.
Bass’ office sent NBC10 a new statement on Tuesday, that said in part, “The recent tragedy underscores what we’ve been saying for far too long, this site poses serious risks and demands urgent action.”
Efforts have been made to build something new on the property before. Real estate developer and President of Philly Office Retail Ken Weinstein told NBC10 he had a letter of intent with the school district to buy the old building for $1.8 million 2021, but the deal eventually fell through for unknown reasons.
“Five years ago we had plans to build 76 twin houses on this site,” Weinstein said. “The community came out in strong support.”
However, not everyone agrees that the school should be demolished to make way for something new.
Marsha Downs, who lives in the area and went to the school herself, said the school should stay.
“I think they should keep it,” Downs said. “I love it. It’s a beautiful school. It’s sad what happened here, it really is, but the school didn’t do anything.”
“I’m seeing the City of Philadelphia employees cleaning up the site, which is wonderful, but too little too late,” he added
The school district released a statement as well from the Superintendent, Dr. Tony Watlington, which said, “The District’s Operations Division and Office of School Safety are reviewing protocols for our vacant properties, in alignment with our priority to create and maintain safe and healthy spaces in every neighborhood.”
The school district sent NBC10 another statement late Tuesday night, which said the school was one of 20 vacant properties they own and that the Office of School Safety regularly inspects the vacant building.
Patrol protocols are designed to provide consistent visibility, deterrence, and rapid response capacity across all sites, including vacant ones. This approach reinforces our commitment to safety coverage, risk mitigation, and responsible stewardship of district resources,” the statement read in part.
The school statement also said the “Ada H.H. Lewis campus was last checked on October 14th. No evidence of unauthorized activity was identified during that period.”
As for the case of Kada Scott, Philly’s Crime Scene Unit was seen at the site as well on Tuesday, and District Attorney Larry Krasner said Monday his office is still working to bring murder charges.
Keon King, 21, has already been arrested and charged with kidnapping and other offenses in the case, but not murder.
Police sources also say they are looking into whether there were any accomplices involved.
A second vigil was held on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the abandoned school site, where a growing memorial is also in place for Scott.
Dozens of people showed up to remember Scott, with a balloon release also part of the ceremony.
Preye Korimodei, who was Scott’s friend since they met while attending Penn State, said Scott was preparing to be a bridesmaid at her wedding.
“She was the type of person that if she said she was going to do it, she was going to do it,” Korimodei said of her friend. She followed through all the way. That is something I’m really proud of her.”
