Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters presents a feasibility report on a school consolidation plan to the school board on Feb. 25, 2025, in Oakland. (Photo by Lajja Mistry/PublicSource)
Controversial plans to close 14 Pittsburgh Public schools amid a districtwide overhaul were put on hold last fall while leadership assessed the feasibility. The resulting report largely stands by the proposals of the consultant hired to help the district realign its resources.
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Proposed school closures and consolidations at Pittsburgh Public Schools gained the administration’s formal blessing in a feasibility report delivered Tuesday evening.
The report, presented by Superintendent Wayne Walters and other administrators, backs nearly all of the proposals recommended by consulting firm Education Resource Strategies [ERS] in a plan to realign the school’s resources that drew strong backlash in the fall. Key recommendations include changing the current school grade configurations to a traditional model of K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grades and closing 14 schools, including 10 building closures.
“Schools with low enrollment often struggle to sustain a broad and enriching experience, limited access to essential academic and extracurricular programs such as music, art, world, languages and career exposure,” said Walters. “And this disparity means that not all students are receiving the same high-quality education and opportunities simply because of the structure of their school.”
The ERS plan recommended reducing the total number of traditional schools from 54 to 39, and the closures of three buildings currently serving alternative or special education programs. It also proposed opening three new schools: Sci-Tech 6-8, Northview PreK-5 and Manchester. District administration supported opening Sci-Tech and Manchester with partial support for Northview citing concerns about new construction costs.
The district feasibility report supports all of these recommendations, except relocating the Student Achievement Center and partial support to open a Northview building citing financial concerns.
Following the plan’s release in October, the school board directed the administration to prepare a feasibility report to assess how the recommendations align with the district’s strategic plan.
Board unassured
Some board members expressed skepticism Tuesday over parts of the feasibility report, citing a lack of detail and information.
“This plan is not something that I could vote on in its current state, for a number of reasons,” said board member Emma Yourd.
She said the report does not include a budget or additional capital costs and clarity about building capacity.
“It’s problematic to me that we’re being asked to give the thumbs up to go ahead on public commentary when we don’t even actually have real capacity numbers for what the actual capacity of our schools would look like if this plan were implemented,” Yourd added.
Board member Devon Taliaferro said the report does not include helpful details on finances, transportation, feeder patterns and classroom sizes.
“Is there any type of financial understanding that we can see now versus when we dig a little bit deeper?” she said. “I think that’s just missing for me, and it makes it hard for me to support this.”
Chief Financial Officer Ron Joseph acknowledged savings of $3 million anticipated by the plan, but he did not detail estimated expenditures arising from closures and consolidations, which he noted would require additional funding beyond what’s currently allocated in the seven-year capital plan.
Board President Gene Walker asked the district’s finance department to do a full budget analysis of potential changes and said they do not need to stop the planning process, suggesting they continue with the vote in March. He added the district could make changes to the recommendations in the future based on the financial analysis.
Admins upbeat
The recommended reconfigurations would mean some school buildings reduce their utilization rates and enrollment numbers. Walters acknowledged the district’s declining enrollment as a challenge but said buildings that may not be used to full capacity would provide an opportunity to bring in community resources for existing students.
Administrators said transitioning K-8 schools into middle and elementary schools would improve school utilization, provide a developmentally appropriate experience, stronger academic programs tailored to adolescent learners and more extracurricular and elective opportunities.
Changing 6-12 schools into 9-12 high schools, would, they said, improve academic focus and prepare students for post-secondary success.
The report reviewed projected enrollment changes in each school after consolidations and closures, on-site evaluations of physical spaces and amenities, and evaluated the school’s infrastructure to support different grade configurations. In their assessment, district leaders considered building capacity, classroom needs, classroom space, infrastructure conditions and improvements and alignment to strategic goals.
Schools including Arlington, Langley, Carmalt, Morrow, Sunnyside and Liberty would increase their building utilization without exceeding capacity, according to the report. While changes made to other schools would reduce their utilization rates and enrollment, district leaders said they would allow them to align with specific program needs.
Community members unhappy about the proposed changes prepared an alternative plan in the fall that included 10 school closures and splitting schools regionally while retaining a traditional grade configuration model.
Mercedes Williams, director of community and stakeholder engagement, said the district supports the alternative plan’s recommendation to develop thematic learning models and is committed to aligning feeder patterns to create stronger school communities and address inefficiencies.
“While we integrate thematic learning, cleaner pattern improvements and equitable regional distribution, we must do so in a way that aligns with this capacity and financial sustainability, minimize student and community disruption and support long-term growth and stability,” she said.
The district plans to hire a professional demographer, in April, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of current attendance zones and feeder patterns.
Ted Dwyer, chief accountability officer, said the district will develop clear feeder patterns based on new grade configurations.
“Some elementary attendance zones contain legacy inefficiencies that cause many students to bypass nearby schools in favor of options further away, weakening neighborhood school communities and increasing transportation costs,” he said.
Next steps
The board will vote to open a state-mandated, three-month public commentary period in March and vote on a final plan in August. The Pennsylvania School Code requires that the hearing be held at least three months before a final decision is made.
“While tonight’s discussion has laid essential groundwork, we acknowledge that the road ahead involves further detailed planning and careful engagement,” said Walters.
The district aims to finalize an implementation timeline by December. Walters said no changes will take place in the 2025-26 school year.
Following the board’s approval of the final plan, district leaders would initiate a discussion in April 2025 to review the current contract language and state protocols for staff adjustments in response to school closures and reconfigurations, said Margeret Rudolph, chief human resources officer. The district plans to finalize a timeline for transfers by December.
The report supports …
Closing the following schools:
Allegheny 6-8, Manchester PreK-8, Schiller 6-8, Spring Hill K-5, King PreK-8, Arsenal PreK-5, Fulton PreK-5, Linden PreK-5, Miller PreK-5, Woolslair PreK-5. South Brook 6-8, South Hills 6-8 and Roosevelt K-5 would be repurposed to house alternative programs.
Ten building facilities would be closed permanently: Baxter, Conroy, Friendship, Fulton, King, Miller, Morrow Primary, Schiller, Spring Hill and Woolslair.
Changes to schools with specialized programs:
Programs from Conroy and Pittsburgh Online Academy would be housed in closed South Brook 6-8 and Roosevelt K-5 buildings. The plan supports the proposal to integrate services from the Gifted Center into individual schools but does not support co-locating the Student Achievement Center with the Online Academy in the Roosevelt facility.
“Our review highlights that these services are most effective when embedded in home schools, allowing students to remain connected to their peers, teachers and support staff,” said Patti Camper, Assistant Superintendent for the program for students with exceptionalities.
The following changes to grade configurations:
- Langley PreK-8 to PreK-5. Students in grades 6-8 will move to Pittsburgh Classical 6-8.
- Brookline PreK-8 to a PreK-5 school, with students in grades 6-8 moving to Carmalt 6-8.
- Carmalt PreK-8 magnet school to a 6-8 neighborhood school, with K-5 students attending their neighborhood schools.
- Arlington K-5 will become a 6-8 school. PreK-5 students will transition to feeder schools.
- Colfax K-8 will shift to a 6-8 school.
- Greenfield PreK-8 to a K-5.
- Mifflin PreK-8 to a PreK-5.
- Westinghouse 6-12 will change to a 9-12 model. Middle school students will go to Sterrett 6-8.
- Obama 6-12 will transition from a 6-12 full magnet school to a 9-12 neighborhood magnet.
- Arsenal 6-8 will expand to become an International Baccalaureate neighborhood magnet school for grades 6-8.
- Milliones 6-12 will convert into Sci-Tech 6-8 neighborhood magnet.
- Sci-Tech 6-12 will convert to a 9-12 neighborhood magnet.
- Elementary magnets programs at Allegheny, Dilworth and Liberty will be phased out and converted into neighborhood schools.
- Morrow PreK-8 will become a K-5 school. Middle-grade students will attend a new Manchester.
- Sunnyside PreK-8 will become a K-5 school.
- The Montessori magnet program will move to a new location at Linden and become the sole K-5 magnet school.
- CAPA will remain the sole 6-12 arts magnet.
Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at PublicSource. She can be reached at lajja@publicsource.org.
This article first appeared on PublicSource and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
