Make sure your voice is heard! 

We are collecting unanswered questions and concerns from students, families, educators, staff, and community members regarding the May 2025 Updated Feasibility Report. This report proposes school closures, consolidations, and reconfigurations as part of the Facilities Utilization Plan (the Plan).

This document will be updated regularly and shared with Superintendent Dr. Wayne N. Walters and the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education at the public hearing scheduled for June 23, 2025.

If you would like to add your voice, please submit your question or concern using this form: https://forms.gle/58nZcXSokSqdfUX46

Sign up to speak at the June 23, 2025 Public Hearing, 6 PM, virtual and in-person (sign up begins on June 16th): https://www.pghschools.org/about/board-of-directors/public-hearing-procedures

Community Engagement & Process

• Why was only the Northside given the opportunity for a community engagement process led by an outside organization? All regions deserve meaningful, community-led engagement. 
• The Plan was released just 5 days before the public hearing and over Memorial Day weekend—there hasn’t been enough time for families and staff to review the 100+ pages.  
• This feels like a top-down, rushed approach with decisions being forced on families. It undermines public trust.
• Has this Plan been translated?  
• Why are major changes happening all at once, instead of phased over 3 years? Implementing all changes in one year (2026–27) will cause massive disruptions and is not feasible. It’s a massive undertaking and rushing this process increases the risk of failure and harm to students.

The June Vote 

• On June 25, 2025, the Board is expected to vote on a  “A RESOLUTION… SCHEDULING HEARINGS UNDER SECTION 7-780 OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CODE TO CONSIDER THE PERMANENT CLOSING OF CERTAIN PITTSBURGH SCHOOLS.” The Resolution will include a list of school buildings slated for permanent closure. The 9 school buildings in the Plan are: Baxter (Student Achievement Center), Friendship (Montessori), Fulton, McKelvey (Miller), Morrow Primary, Schiller, Spring Hill, Woolslair, & Manchester. 
• The Feasibility Report says the vote opens a public comment period. Dr. Walters is describing it as a “green light” to begin implementation. Both are misleading.

• If the June Resolution matches the one pulled in March, it is a vote to schedule a legally required public hearing for each building before a vote on permanent school building closures (3 months later)—not a vote to approve or begin implementation of the full Plan.

• We deserve to have clarity on what a YES vote will mean. It seems that a YES vote will authorize Dr. Walters to begin implementation of the Plan before families have answers about attendance zones, staffing, transportation, and the cost to implement the Plan. If Dr. Walters wants Board approval to begin implementing the Plan, that should be transparent and clearly stated in the Resolution.

Staffing & Instruction

• Will teachers and support staff be furloughed or reassigned?

• Will staff move with students to new schools?
• Will October staff ‘Leveling’ still happen?

• How will the District recruit enough certified World Language teachers to meet the new staffing model (World Language in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 9-12th) given the new graduation requirement of 2 World Language credits?
• What classes and programs are currently offered at each school, and what will be added?
• Is intervention time being eliminated? 
• The Plan outlines elementary and middle school schedules, but nothing for high school. Why is there no high school instructional plan?
• What is the plan for students attending the Student Achievement Center? How will progress be monitored and reported once they are returned to their feeder schools? 

Gifted & Talented & Advanced Courses

• If gifted services are provided through AP courses and those courses aren’t available in the new school, how will gifted services be delivered?

• District leadership and consultants stated that this reconfiguration is meant to ensure equitable access across schools—so there are no “haves” and “have nots.” However, the Plan includes no details about expanding AP or advanced coursework at high schools that currently lack these offerings. How will the District address this gap to deliver on its promise of equity at the high school level?

Equity & Community Impact

• Why wasn’t an Equity Audit conducted as part of this planning process? The school closure planning process and Feasibility Study should have included an Equity Audit to examine the historical impact of school closures in PPS over the last 25 years and the planned reallocation of resources and students to avoid perpetuating current inequities. 
• There’s no discussion of racial or socioeconomic impacts of the Plan, despite clear equity concerns.

• How is the District ensuring this plan does not repeat the disproportionate impact school closures have historically had on Black students, students with disabilities, and low-income communities?