Tom Ignudo is a digital content producer at CBS Philadelphia. Before he joined CBS Philadelphia in 2021, Tom covered high school and college sports for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He covers breaking news, sports and more.

Philadelphia City Councilmember Cindy Bass is calling for Ada H. Lewis Middle School to be demolished. Kada Scott's body was found near the vacant property Saturday.

Bass represents District 8, which includes Germantown -- where the school is located -- Mt. Airy and several other neighborhoods.

In a letter Friday to School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington, Bass wrote that residents in the East Germantown neighborhood have raised concerns about the vacant middle school being used for illegal activities, including illegal dumping.

"I am formally urging the School District of Philadelphia to move with urgency to demolish the Ada H. Lewis Middle School structure and properly secure the site to prevent any further harm to the community," Bass wrote. "The risks posed by this abandoned building are no longer hypothetical -- they are real and unfolding in front of us."

Bass wrote the letter one day before investigators found Scott's body in a shallow grave in a wooded area behind Ada H. Lewis Middle School, which has been closed since 2008. On Sunday, DNA confirmed it was Scott's body.

Several neighbors told CBS News Philadelphia they wish the school district had acted sooner in regards to the property.

Before police found Scott's body Saturday, police searched in the area of Ada H. Lewis Middle School Wednesday and found two pieces of her personal property.

"The Ada Lewis building has become far more than an eyesore: it is now a site associated with criminal activity and tragic violence ... The continued presence of this unsecured and deteriorating structure is simply unacceptable," Bass wrote.

After Scott's body was found and identified, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced new charges Monday against Keon King, the 21-year-old who was already charged with kidnapping her the night she went missing. He was charged with arson for allegedly burning the car used in Scott's abduction, causing a catastrophe, conspiracy and related offenses.

Prosecutors are also preparing to file murder charges against King pending more information from the Medical Examiner's Office.

A vigil was held Monday night to remember Scott at Ada H. Lewis Middle School.

Philadelphia city councilmember calls for vacant school to be demolished amid Kada Scott investigation