As the holiday season hits, students in York City School District could see their schools preparing for a private takeover. Before Dec. 17, the York City School Board plans to vote on a state plan to hand the district’s schools and administration over to for-profit company, Charter Schools U.S.A.

York City schools struggle even as surrounding districts perform above the state average. To address the district’s troubles, the state appointed a recovery officer, David Meckley, who drafted an agreement to privatize the entire district. While charter schools around the state, no district has gone all-charter. In fact, only a handful of school districts around the country have made that move.

The school board voted down the measure in October. At a meeting on Nov. 19, Meckley told the board that the state may take the matter to court if not approved, according to the York Daily Record. School administrators and students came out in force to the meeting to oppose the state’s move.

Governor Elect Tom Wolf, who hails from York County but failed to secure its vote in the past midterm elections, has said that he opposed the move to privatize public education. That could work in the district’s favor if the matter is taken to court early next year at the heels of Governor Tom Corbett’s administration. However, some in York question Wolf's support of the district based on the future governor's relationship with Meckley, who he described a good friend in an interview with the York Daily Record, as well as a pro-charter report published by the York County Community Foundation, which Wolf chaired at the time.

The city district educates more high-need students than its suburban counterparts and faced a $4.9 million deficit this school year. While Central, West and York Suburban districts have 1 to 3 percent of their students learning English, 20 percent of York City students are English Language Learners. While 11 to 13 percent of the surrounding district’s student bodies require Individualized Education Programs, 26 percent of York City students have an IEP.

The areas’ Black and Latino students are also concentrated in York City schools — while the surrounding districts are 76 to 81 percent white, York City schools are 80 percent Black and Latino.