A new report presented Wednesday evening spares two Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings and the Conroy Education Center from a slate of closures previously proposed by administration.

The feasibility report – an update to one aired in February – recommends keeping Roosevelt K-5 and Schiller 6-8 open, with the latter transitioning into a neighborhood school at the Allegheny 6-8 facility to establish a STEM pathway on the North Side.

The updated report, presented by Superintendent Wayne Walters, includes previously absent details about financial analysis, capital investments required to upgrade school facilities, feeder patterns, transportation assessments and revisions to the original recommendations. The report claims the changes will save more than $100 million over the coming years.

“Throughout this process, we have taken the board’s questions seriously on attendance zones and feeder patterns, building utilization, transportation, instructional impact, community engagement and financial sustainability,” said Walters. “The updated feasibility report directly responds to those questions with clear data, provides recommendations and thoughtful strategies for implementation.”

In February, district administrators presented the feasibility report, which backed nearly all of the recommendations proposed by the consulting firm Education Resource Strategies. Key recommendations included 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.

Those closures and consolidations would reduce the total number of traditional schools from 54 to 39 and shutter 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. 

Walters’ February report endorsed all of the recommendations, except for relocating the Student Achievement Center and partial support to open a Northview building, citing financial concerns.

Following heavy backlash from the public and some board members, the administration postponed a vote to begin the mandated three-month public hearing process and work on an updated feasibility report to reflect additional information in March. 

The district now plans to vote in June to officially start a public hearing process in June and a final vote on final recommendations and attendance zones is expected in the fall. 

“Change is hard, but what is harder is asking our students to continue learning in outdated environments with limited resources while we delay progress in the name of preservation,” said Walters.

School and facility closures

By sparing Schiller 6-8 and Roosevelt K-5 from the cuts, the updated feasibility report recommends closing 12 schools instead of the original 14. Those that remain on the closure list: Allegheny 6-8, Manchester PreK-8, Spring Hill K-5, King PreK-8, Arsenal PreK-5, Fulton PreK-5, Linden PreK-5, Miller PreK-5, Milliones 6-12, Woolslair PreK-5, South Brook 6-8 and South Hills 6-8.

Walters said the decision to move Schiller to the Allegheny facility was based on community feedback expressing desire for a centrally located middle school with access to amenities and public transportation. By establishing a middle school at Allegheny, the district estimates to save $35.6 million required to establish a program at the Manchester facility. 

Overall, the new report recommends shutting down nine facilities instead of 10. They are: Baxter, Friendship, Fulton, Miller, Morrow Primary, Schiller, Spring Hill, Manchester and Woolslair. 

Dozens of parents and community members criticized the district’s move to shut down Conroy Education Center, a facility that serves special education students. In response to the feedback, the new report recommends keeping Conroy open. 

“It is important to note that the extensive repairs required at Conroy, the district’s oldest facility will significantly limit our ability to modernize that space,” said Walters. 

The North Side King facility which was on the original list of facilities closures would now be kept open and house students from Allegheny K-5.

The Northview facility would undergo major renovations and open as a new elementary school. 

Proposed grade configuration changes include:

• Langley PreK-8 to PreK-5 
• Brookline PreK-8 to a PreK-5
• Carmalt PreK-8 magnet school to a 6-8 neighborhood school
• Arlington K-5 to a 6-8 school
• Colfax K-8 to a 6-8 school
• Greenfield PreK-8 to a K-5
• Mifflin PreK-8 to a PreK-5
• Sunnyside PreK-8 to a K-5 school
• Morrow PreK-8 to a K-5 school
• Westinghouse 6-12 to a 9-12 model
• 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 to a 9-12 neighborhood magnet
• Montessori K-5 will move to the Linden facility
• Online Academy will move to the Greenway facility
• Student Achievement Center will close and credit recovery programs will move to students’ home schools.

Attendance zones

Under the updated report, PPS will have 23 PreK-5 neighborhood elementary schools, one PreK-5 full-magnet Montessori school, eight middle schools, one 6-12 arts magnet CAPA, and seven high schools.

Following the February report, the district requested bids to hire a demographer to conduct a strategic review of student attendance zones and feeder patterns. In April, though, the district announced it would conduct the review internally after the proposal process failed to yield a candidate capable of meeting the full scope of the work requested. 

Walters said the updated attendance zones seek to balance enrollment in each school to provide equitable access to academic and extracurricular programs. It is also aimed at strengthening feeder patterns to provide consistent instruction and reduce disruptive school transitions to support student success, he added. 

Three-phase timeline

The report outlines a three-phase plan extending through the 2028-29 school year to implement school transitions and closures. 

Phase one, scheduled for  the 2026-27 school year, includes relocation and closures of most schools per the recommendations. In phase two, the Gifted Center program would close in June 2027, with gifted education services integrated into individual schools starting that fall. Phase three would begin in June 2028, with the closure of Spring Hill PreK-5 and the opening of a newly renovated Northview school in the fall. 

Financial analysis

Over the next six years, the report projects approximately $103 million in savings to the maintenance budget from the nine school facilities slated for closure. The savings from school closures and consolidations would be reinvested in major capital improvements across the district. 

“While the proposed changes will not fully resolve the financial challenges, they are designed to ease the stream and allow the district to redirect resources toward enriching student experiences such as art, music, physical education, world languages and career exploration,” said Chief Financial Officer Ron Joseph.

The district also plans to improve the functional capacity in each building by upgrading classrooms in each building to specialized programs for arts, music, CTE and science, among others. 

The district will have an opportunity to have 32 air-conditioned buildings, compared to the current 24 buildings, and reduce the number of non-air-conditioned buildings by six. 

The report estimates an annual saving of about $5 million in transportation costs by closing the Gifted Center and elementary magnet school programs. Under the proposed plan, PPS would see a $7.7 million reduction in school-based budgets and about $358,000 in utility savings. By adding additional literary coaches and teacher centers that would cost $3.6 million and $2 million, respectively, the district would end up with a net annual cost reduction of $2.4 million. 

“By minimizing lengthy commutes, the district can improve attendance, reduce student fatigue, and support greater engagement and learning,” said Michael McNamara, chief operations officer.  

Joseph said the district will also collaborate with the Urban Redevelopment Authority and other local government entities to explore opportunities for reuse and redevelopment of the closed school buildings, including the Knoxville, Bon Air and Fort Pitt sites. Sales of those buildings will happen in three phases, in accordance with board policy and the Pennsylvania school code.

The updated recommendations also include:

• Transition current K-8 and 6-12 grade configurations to a traditional model of K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 schools. 
• Expand the International Baccalaureate program at Obama to Arsenal 6-8. 
• Build three new teacher centers at Langley, Greenway and Brashear to provide coaching and mentorship to teachers.
• Transition K-5 magnet schools, except Montessori, to traditional K-5 schools.
• Transition gifted education to students’ home schools.
• Expand the number of English Development Centers from 11 to 17

District administrators said grade reconfiguration would allow for a holistic K-5 experience by offering world languages, art, music, technology and more academic exposure that’s not currently available at every PPS elementary school. Middle schools would have early access to Career and Technical Education [CTE] programs and high schools would be aimed to prepare students for advanced academics and CTE pathways. 

More than half of the district’s K-8 gifted students are clustered in just eight out of 46 schools.

By providing gifted education in schools, the district aims to eliminate the need for travel. Under this model, PPS will use the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test screener to identify the top 10% of students at each school for tier two enrichment. 

Board member Devon Taliaferro raised concerns about whether the district would be able to guarantee enough staffing and resources to provide languages, arts or music in all elementary schools. 

“My concern is we’re making drastic changes in the school district, thinking that we will and saying that we will be able to offer these areas to every elementary school,” she said. 

In response, Walters said he has begun conversations with relevant departments about recruitment and ensuring that they are able to deliver those resources.

Board member Jamie Piotrowski asked the board to hire additional staff to assist with an upcoming public-hearing process, and ensure they take input from historically under-represented communities including English language learners and students experiencing homelessness. 

Board President Gene Walker — currently battling to maintain his board seat — questioned the district’s capacity for moving students across buildings in a short period of time, saying he was surprised to see most of the relocations in the 2026-27 school year. 

“The big fear is we tell students, ‘hey, we’re taking you from this school because it’s not equipped and adequate for your needs,’” he said “And then we take them to another school and they see the same peeling paint, the same broken light bulbs, the same dusty windows.”

Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at PublicSource. She can be reached at lajja@publicsource.org.

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Updated report spares Roosevelt, Schiller, Conroy from PPS closures

by Lajja Mistry, Pittsburgh's Public Source
May 21, 2025

<h1>Updated report spares Roosevelt, Schiller, Conroy from PPS closures</h1> <p class="byline">by Lajja Mistry, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />May 21, 2025</p> <p>A new report presented Wednesday evening spares two Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings and the Conroy Education Center from a slate of closures previously proposed by administration.</p> <p>The feasibility report – <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-public-schools-facilities-plans-feasibility-report-closures/">an update to one aired in February</a> – recommends keeping Roosevelt K-5 and Schiller 6-8 open, with the latter transitioning into a neighborhood school at the Allegheny 6-8 facility to establish a STEM pathway on the North Side.</p> <p>The updated report, presented by Superintendent Wayne Walters, includes previously absent details about financial analysis, capital investments required to upgrade school facilities, feeder patterns, transportation assessments and revisions to the original recommendations. The report claims the changes will save more than $100 million over the coming years.</p> <p>“Throughout this process, we have taken the board's questions seriously on attendance zones and feeder patterns, building utilization, transportation, instructional impact, community engagement and financial sustainability,” said Walters. “The updated feasibility report directly responds to those questions with clear data, provides recommendations and thoughtful strategies for implementation.”</p> <p>In February, district administrators presented the feasibility report, which backed nearly all of the recommendations proposed by the consulting firm Education Resource Strategies. Key recommendations included 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.</p> <p>Those closures and consolidations would reduce the total number of traditional schools from 54 to 39 and shutter 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.&nbsp;</p> <p>Walters’ February report endorsed all of the recommendations, except for relocating the Student Achievement Center and partial support to open a Northview building, citing financial concerns.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PPS_BoardMeeting_CK-6.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1319145" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pittsburgh Public School board members listen to a presentation on an updated feasibility report at a PPS agenda review meeting on May 21, in Oakland. (Photo by Caleb Kaufman/PublicSource)</figcaption></figure> <p>Following heavy backlash from the public and some board members, the administration postponed a vote to begin the mandated three-month public hearing process and work on an updated feasibility report to reflect additional information in March.&nbsp;</p> <p>The district now plans to vote in June to officially start a public hearing process in June and a final vote on final recommendations and attendance zones is expected in the fall.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Change is hard, but what is harder is asking our students to continue learning in outdated environments with limited resources while we delay progress in the name of preservation,” said Walters.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>School and facility closures</strong></h2> <p>By sparing Schiller 6-8 and Roosevelt K-5 from the cuts, the updated feasibility report recommends closing 12 schools instead of the original 14. Those that remain on the closure list: Allegheny 6-8, Manchester PreK-8, Spring Hill K-5, King PreK-8, Arsenal PreK-5, Fulton PreK-5, Linden PreK-5, Miller PreK-5, Milliones 6-12, Woolslair PreK-5, South Brook 6-8 and South Hills 6-8.</p> <p>Walters said the decision to move Schiller to the Allegheny facility was based on community feedback expressing desire for a centrally located middle school with access to amenities and public transportation. By establishing a middle school at Allegheny, the district estimates to save $35.6 million required to establish a program at the Manchester facility.&nbsp;</p> <p>Overall, the new report recommends shutting down nine facilities instead of 10. They are: Baxter, Friendship, Fulton, Miller, Morrow Primary, Schiller, Spring Hill, Manchester and Woolslair.&nbsp;</p> <p>Dozens of parents and community members criticized the district’s move to shut down Conroy Education Center, a facility that serves special education students. In response to the feedback, the new report recommends keeping Conroy open.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It is important to note that the extensive repairs required at Conroy, the district's oldest facility will significantly limit our ability to modernize that space,” said Walters.&nbsp;</p> <p>The North Side King facility which was on the original list of facilities closures would now be kept open and house students from Allegheny K-5.</p> <p>The Northview facility would undergo major renovations and open as a new elementary school.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Proposed grade configuration changes include:</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Langley PreK-8 to PreK-5&nbsp;</li> <li>Brookline PreK-8 to a PreK-5</li> <li>Carmalt PreK-8 magnet school to a 6-8 neighborhood school</li> <li>Arlington K-5 to a 6-8 school</li> <li>Colfax K-8 to a 6-8 school</li> <li>Greenfield PreK-8 to a K-5</li> <li>Mifflin PreK-8 to a PreK-5</li> <li>Sunnyside PreK-8 to a K-5 school</li> <li>Morrow PreK-8 to a K-5 school</li> <li>Westinghouse 6-12 to a 9-12 model</li> <li>Obama 6-12 will transition from a 6-12 full magnet school to a 9-12 neighborhood magnet</li> <li>Arsenal 6-8 will expand to become an International Baccalaureate neighborhood magnet school for grades 6-8</li> <li>Milliones 6-12 will convert into Sci-Tech 6-8 neighborhood magnet</li> <li>Sci-Tech 6-12 will to a 9-12 neighborhood magnet</li> <li>Montessori K-5 will move to the Linden facility</li> <li>Online Academy will move to the Greenway facility</li> <li>Student Achievement Center will close and credit recovery programs will move to students’ home schools.</li> </ul> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Attendance zones</strong></h2> <p>Under the updated report, PPS will have 23 PreK-5 neighborhood elementary schools, one PreK-5 full-magnet Montessori school, eight middle schools, one 6-12 arts magnet CAPA, and seven high schools.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXf7430v4Owh7-DBn25uy-acctVli9bwirljeOGQCCZGGAnOzHrTfTu-rx1wStXxWPNfqo3_CatEFPoS2atvSEnaWTYQmNguRqBqc63UlpEao-97TrbyW0E85PvdThhyLRwvXIiK?key=3O5FBHQcp5LbsvDhlfTkIg" alt="" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">PPS attendance zones outlined in the new report. (Illustration courtesy of PPS)</figcaption></figure> <p>Following the February report, the district requested bids to hire a demographer to conduct a strategic review of student attendance zones and feeder patterns. In April, though, the district announced it would conduct the review internally after the proposal process failed to yield a candidate capable of meeting the full scope of the work requested.&nbsp;</p> <p>Walters said the updated attendance zones seek to balance enrollment in each school to provide equitable access to academic and extracurricular programs. It is also aimed at strengthening feeder patterns to provide consistent instruction and reduce disruptive school transitions to support student success, he added.&nbsp;</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Three-phase timeline</strong></h2> <p>The report outlines a three-phase plan extending through the 2028-29 school year to implement school transitions and closures.&nbsp;</p> <p>Phase one, scheduled for&nbsp; the 2026-27 school year, includes relocation and closures of most schools per the recommendations. In phase two, the Gifted Center program would close in June 2027, with gifted education services integrated into individual schools starting that fall. Phase three would begin in June 2028, with the closure of Spring Hill PreK-5 and the opening of a newly renovated Northview school in the fall.&nbsp;</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Financial analysis</strong></h2> <p>Over the next six years, the report projects approximately $103 million in savings to the maintenance budget from the nine school facilities slated for closure. The savings from school closures and consolidations would be reinvested in major capital improvements across the district.&nbsp;</p> <p>“While the proposed changes will not fully resolve the financial challenges, they are designed to ease the stream and allow the district to redirect resources toward enriching student experiences such as art, music, physical education, world languages and career exploration,” said Chief Financial Officer Ron Joseph.</p> <p>The district also plans to improve the functional capacity in each building by upgrading classrooms in each building to specialized programs for arts, music, CTE and science, among others. </p> <p>The district will have an opportunity to have 32 air-conditioned buildings, compared to the current 24 buildings, and reduce the number of non-air-conditioned buildings by six.&nbsp;</p> <p>The report estimates an annual saving of about $5 million in transportation costs by closing the Gifted Center and elementary magnet school programs. Under the proposed plan, PPS would see a $7.7 million reduction in school-based budgets and about $358,000 in utility savings. By adding additional literary coaches and teacher centers that would cost $3.6 million and $2 million, respectively, the district would end up with a net annual cost reduction of $2.4 million.&nbsp;</p> <p>“By minimizing lengthy commutes, the district can improve attendance, reduce student fatigue, and support greater engagement and learning,” said Michael McNamara, chief operations officer.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Joseph said the district will also collaborate with the Urban Redevelopment Authority and other local government entities to explore opportunities for reuse and redevelopment of the closed school buildings, including the Knoxville, Bon Air and Fort Pitt sites. Sales of those buildings will happen in three phases, in accordance with board policy and the Pennsylvania school code.</p> <p><strong>The updated recommendations also include:</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Transition current K-8 and 6-12 grade configurations to a traditional model of K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 schools.&nbsp;</li> <li>Expand the International Baccalaureate program at Obama to Arsenal 6-8.&nbsp;</li> <li>Build three new teacher centers at Langley, Greenway and Brashear to provide coaching and mentorship to teachers.</li> <li>Transition K-5 magnet schools, except Montessori, to traditional K-5 schools.</li> <li>Transition gifted education to students’ home schools.</li> <li>Expand the number of English Development Centers from 11 to 17</li> </ul> <p>District administrators said grade reconfiguration would allow for a holistic K-5 experience by offering world languages, art, music, technology and more academic exposure that's not currently available at every PPS elementary school. Middle schools would have early access to Career and Technical Education [CTE] programs and high schools would be aimed to prepare students for advanced academics and CTE pathways.&nbsp;</p> <p>More than half of the district's K-8 gifted students are clustered in just eight out of 46 schools.</p> <p>By providing gifted education in schools, the district aims to eliminate the need for travel. Under this model, PPS will use the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test screener to identify the top 10% of students at each school for tier two enrichment.&nbsp;</p> <p>Board member Devon Taliaferro raised concerns about whether the district would be able to guarantee enough staffing and resources to provide languages, arts or music in all elementary schools.&nbsp;</p> <p>“My concern is we're making drastic changes in the school district, thinking that we will and saying that we will be able to offer these areas to every elementary school,” she said.&nbsp;</p> <p>In response, Walters said he has begun conversations with relevant departments about recruitment and ensuring that they are able to deliver those resources.</p> <p>Board member Jamie Piotrowski asked the board to hire additional staff to assist with an upcoming public-hearing process, and ensure they take input from historically under-represented communities including English language learners and students experiencing homelessness.&nbsp;</p> <p>Board President Gene Walker — currently <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pps-school-board-gene-walker-closures-elections-democratic/">battling to maintain his board seat</a> — questioned the district’s capacity for moving students across buildings in a short period of time, saying he was surprised to see most of the relocations in the 2026-27 school year. </p> <p>“The big fear is we tell students, ‘hey, we're taking you from this school because it's not equipped and adequate for your needs,’” he said “And then we take them to another school and they see the same peeling paint, the same broken light bulbs, the same dusty windows.”</p> <p><em>Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at PublicSource. She can be reached at lajja@publicsource.org.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-public-feasibility-report-closures-superintendent/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1319139&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-public-feasibility-report-closures-superintendent/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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