Pittsburgh facility overhaul would close 7 schools, open 2 new campuses

The Pittsburgh (Pa.) school district has unveiled plans to build two new schools while permanently closing seven others as part of a facility modernization plan. The plan also calls for the closing of six district buildings as well as multiple relocations and reconfigurations of existing school facilities.

The Pittsburgh Business Times reports that district administrators believe the changes will ensure fiscal sustainability for years to come.

"[T]he Covid-19 pandemic has ripped the Band-Aid off of the inequities in every school system, including Pittsburgh Public Schools," says Superintendent Anthony Hamlet. "To succeed as a district and city, we must break from a legacy of inequity. We cannot and should not go back to the way things were.”

The proposal is subject to board approval, which would not take place for at least a few months.

Starting with the 2021-2022 school year, the district proposes closing the Woolslair, Allegheny 6-8, Arsenal 6-8, Sterrett 6-8, Fulton PreK-5, Manchester and Miller PreK-5 schools.

The plan also calls for the creation of a Career Middle School named the Oliver Building and a "Birth to 2nd Grade" school called the Northview Building.

Additionally, the plan would relocate the Oliver Citywide Academy to another location and the Pittsburgh Montessori facility would relocate to the Sterrett building.

The plan also calls for reconfiguration of many existing schools; Pittsburgh Minadeo will transform from a PreK-5 school to a 6-8; Pittsburgh Colfax to be reconfigured from a K-8 school to a PreK-5 and Colfax feeder students grades 6-8 would go to reconfigured Minadeo 6-8.; Pittsburgh Brookline from a PreK-8 school to a PreK-5 and Brookline feeder students in grades 6-8 would transfer to Pittsburgh Carmalt; Pittsburgh King and Pittsburgh Morrow from PreK-8 schools to PreK-5 schools with feeder students in grades 6-8 being transferred to the proposed Career Middle School.

“We understand that these are hard decisions to make," Interim Chief Operations Officer Mike McNamara says. “We are following the data to bring forward the best recommendations educationally for our students and fiscally for the City.”

According to McNamara, the plan would eliminate 2,780 of the more than 17,000 empty seats across the district.