Pittsburgh Public Schools board could vote Tuesday on closing 9 schools

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board of directors could vote Tuesday night on the Future Ready Facilities Plan, which proposes closing nine schools in the district.Full implementation would begin at the start of the 2026-27 school year, but the first seven schools would close at the end of the current school year. The final two schools would close at the end of the 2027-2028 school year at the completion of the Northview PreK-5 renovation project.The plan proposes to reconfigure the district and close Baxter, Friendship, Fulton, Manchester, McKelvey, Morrow, Schiller, Spring Hill and Woolslair.“We need to be able to deliver education more effectively to our students and produce the outcomes for them that they deserve,” Pittsburgh Public School Board President Gene Walker said.Walker said the plan is a hopeful step in that direction.Parent Mike Cummins, who has consistently opposed this version of the plan, said there have been some wins over the past year.“We fought to get Conroy taken off the list of special needs schools. That was a no-brainer, but we had to fight for it, and we won. So I’m glad that we had that. Merging Carrick and Brashear was a terrible idea and the original plan, and they backed that off. So there’s been some small things that are better,” Cummins said.Ultimately, Cummins said he feels the board’s goals of improving equity in the district and responding to decades of declining enrollment won’t be achieved through this plan.“I think it might get voted down. I hope it does. And then we need to start having a real conversation about engaging the community and doing what’s best for our kids with the community’s input,” Cummins said.Walker hopes to move forward with the plan.“My hope is this is a conclusion. I think the pain that our families are feeling is from the uncertainty of what might happen, and what we can do as a board is provide guidance and direction that will provide a little bit of certainty, even in the midst of change,” Walker said.Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President Billy Hileman said his support for potential board approval of the administration’s Future-Ready plan is based on the following:The reduction in facilities is proportional to the decline in student enrollment over the past decade.Demographic projections indicate a continuing loss of enrollment. Schools should be reconfigured to the Pre K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade bands.Implementation of the plan will save money over time.The plan enables more diverse educational programs in schools.PFT-represented job losses will be minimal and may not involve furloughs.The plan was developed out of eight specific board requests covering the following areas, according to a presentation by Superintendent Dr. Wayne Walters and other district leaders last month. Staffing projections Timeline of early wins Financial impact Attendance zones and feeder patterns Transportation Student experience improvement Support for students facing challenges Plan for engagement, outreach and communicationAccording to the presentation, closing nine schools would save the district $102.9 million in future facility costs.

PITTSBURGH —

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board of directors could vote Tuesday night on the Future Ready Facilities Plan, which proposes closing nine schools in the district.

Full implementation would begin at the start of the 2026-27 school year, but the first seven schools would close at the end of the current school year. The final two schools would close at the end of the 2027-2028 school year at the completion of the Northview PreK-5 renovation project.

The plan proposes to reconfigure the district and close Baxter, Friendship, Fulton, Manchester, McKelvey, Morrow, Schiller, Spring Hill and Woolslair.

“We need to be able to deliver education more effectively to our students and produce the outcomes for them that they deserve,” Pittsburgh Public School Board President Gene Walker said.

Walker said the plan is a hopeful step in that direction.

Parent Mike Cummins, who has consistently opposed this version of the plan, said there have been some wins over the past year.

“We fought to get Conroy taken off the list of special needs schools. That was a no-brainer, but we had to fight for it, and we won. So I’m glad that we had that. Merging Carrick and Brashear was a terrible idea and the original plan, and they backed that off. So there’s been some small things that are better,” Cummins said.

Ultimately, Cummins said he feels the board’s goals of improving equity in the district and responding to decades of declining enrollment won’t be achieved through this plan.

“I think it might get voted down. I hope it does. And then we need to start having a real conversation about engaging the community and doing what’s best for our kids with the community’s input,” Cummins said.

Walker hopes to move forward with the plan.

“My hope is this is a conclusion. I think the pain that our families are feeling is from the uncertainty of what might happen, and what we can do as a board is provide guidance and direction that will provide a little bit of certainty, even in the midst of change,” Walker said.

Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President Billy Hileman said his support for potential board approval of the administration’s Future-Ready plan is based on the following:

The reduction in facilities is proportional to the decline in student enrollment over the past decade.Demographic projections indicate a continuing loss of enrollment. Schools should be reconfigured to the Pre K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade bands.Implementation of the plan will save money over time.The plan enables more diverse educational programs in schools.PFT-represented job losses will be minimal and may not involve furloughs.

The plan was developed out of eight specific board requests covering the following areas, according to a presentation by Superintendent Dr. Wayne Walters and other district leaders last month.

Staffing projections Timeline of early wins Financial impact Attendance zones and feeder patterns Transportation Student experience improvement Support for students facing challenges Plan for engagement, outreach and communication

According to the presentation, closing nine schools would save the district $102.9 million in future facility costs.