Pittsburgh school leaders shared a first-look at possible school attendance zones, transportation changes and the financial impact of proposed school closures Wednesday night.
It’s data Pittsburgh Public Schools parents, teachers and elected officials have asked the district to provide before moving forward with the process required to close schools.
Superintendent Wayne Walters also presented board members with some major changes to the list of schools that could possibly close at the end of the 2025-2026 school year:
- The new plan no longer includes closing Roosevelt K-5 in Carrick or Conroy Education Center in Manchester. The latter school serves students with autism and developmental disabilities, and is located near public transit and work sites families say are essential to the program.
- King PreK-8 would remain open as a K-5 school facility, with the K-5 program at Allegheny Traditional Academy relocated there. Allegheny would instead house the STEM-focused middle school program for all North Side students using the model currently at Schiller 6-8.
- And Manchester PreK-8, initially slated to become a central middle school, was added back onto the list of facilities to close.
According to district leaders, Allegheny is more equipped than Manchester or Schiller to host a larger middle school program, has good access to public transit and local amenities, and gives students access to science labs, an auditorium and indoor pool.
The move would also save the district from spending roughly $35.6 million to transform Manchester; PPS would need to spend just $2.9M to prepare Allegheny for its new use, per the proposal.
In addition to Manchester, the school buildings proposed for closure are Friendship (Montessori), Fulton, Miller, Morrow Primary, Schiller, Spring Hill, Woolslair and the Student Achievement Center.
Walters said the district is ready to make these changes and plan a smooth transition for families impacted, but asked that the board act swiftly.
“We've been having these conversations and thinking about what that looks like,” Walters said. “And we are ready for that green light to go.”
The new proposal maintains the grade structure changes presented in previous iterations, as well as plans to phase out nearly all of the district’s magnet programs. District leaders also doubled down on plans to reopen Northview PreK-5 in Northview Heights, where the city’s immigrant population has grown in recent years, although the school wouldn’t open until the start of the 2028-2029 school year due to required renovations.
The school would be one of six new dedicated sites for the district’s English language learners — more than what was previously proposed by consultants hired by the district last year.
“This strategic increase ensures more students can attend schools with dedicated [English language development] programming in or closer to their neighborhoods, reducing travel time,” said assistant superintendent Shawn McNeil.
Preliminary attendance zones
Last month, PPS announced it would keep the task of redrawing attendance zones in-house after receiving two less-than-desirable proposals: one from a demographer without local knowledge, and one that could not fulfill the scope required despite a $270,000 price tag.
Instead, Walters said Wednesday that PPS will leverage internal expertise and historical data to come up with attendance zones aligned with the community’s needs. The district will attempt to create attendance zones that keep each school at 75% to 85% of its capacity, reflect Pittsburgh’s geographic barriers and address equity issues.
“It was never about the demographers being hired to reverse recommendations,” Walters told board members. “It was to address attendance zones for schools and students where some things were not as well defined. And really to address some of those things where some of our students are passing several schools to attend school.”
The district shared preliminary maps of attendance zones, although administrators said they are continuing to finalize them based on individual school enrollment data.
PPS also shared updated feeder patterns with more detail than previously given about where East End and Squirrel Hill students would attend:
- North
- PreK-5 students at Allegheny K-5 (inside King), Morrow and Northview would all funnel into Schiller 6-8 (inside Allegheny), and then attend Perry 9-12.
- West
- PreK-5 students at Banksville, Beechwood, Brookline and West Liberty would attend Carmalt 6-8, while students at Langley, Whittier and Westwood would go to Classical 6-8; students would reunite for high school at Brashear 9-12.
- South
- Elementary students would attend either Concord, Grandview or Phillips before moving to Arlington 6-8. The middle school would then feed into Carrick 9-12.
- East and Central
- Elementary students in Squirrel Hill and nearby neighborhoods would be split into Greenfield, Mifflin and Minadeo PreK-5 before heading to Colfax 6-8, and then Allderdice 9-12.
- Some Minadeo students would be zoned for Sterrett 6-8 and Westinghouse 9-12, depending on enrollment patterns and proximity.
- Students at Lincoln PreK-5 would be funneled through Westinghouse 9-12 or Obama 9-12 feeder patterns based on their location.
- Students at Sunnyside PreK-5 would be divided between Obama 9-12 and SciTech 9-12 feeder patterns.
$103 million in building costs saved
According to chief operating officer Michael McNamara, closing nine school buildings would free up about $40 million that the district currently spends on maintenance annually. He said that money could be used instead to ensure every school has an air conditioning system.
Many schools were forced to close due to unsafe indoor temperatures on several early-summer days last year.
“This work is not about constructing new buildings, but rather ensuring that all students can learn in safe, dry and climate-controlled environments,” McNamara said.
By closing the nine schools proposed, chief financial officer Ron Joseph said the district would avoid spending a combined $103 million in needed building improvements over the next seven years.
He also cited a $5.1 million reduction in transportation costs due to the phasing out of the district’s magnet programs, which require the district to bus students from across the city to the school of their choice.
“Neighborhood schools keep students close, minimize transportation costs, and strengthen the community,” McNamara said.
Renovations detailed in the new plan, by comparison, would require the district to spend only $34 million not already budgeted for in the district’s current seven-year capital plan.
That includes $29.6 million for renovations needed to reopen Northview Elementary.
“With potential tariffs and other things, that estimate that we're giving out is today,” Walters said. “By the time we do it, it may cost more. But we wanted to make sure that we gave the board some information about what things would cost now, based on square footage and what we see in those things from our operations department.”
Additional emphasis on literacy and math
An additional $5.6 million would be required annually to develop the three new teacher professional development centers included in the plan and bolster the district’s literacy coaching program.
Officials estimate all of the changes — with new investments factored in — would save PPS roughly $2 million annually.
“It'll get us started, and then we'll build capacity where we can to continue this work,” Walters said. “But we definitely see the value in teacher centers. We definitely see the value of our coaches and so we've budgeted for the start for that journey.”
“And some things will be phased in you know over time, but that is our big vision for transforming education in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.”
District leaders say the changes outlined would also allow them to ensure students have consistent access to and an emphasis on literacy and math, as well as opportunities for exploration and real-world learning. Those were among the common priorities shared at listening sessions school board members hosted this spring.
McNeil said, under the proposed model, educators would have less fragmented responsibilities and participate in more professional development.
As for the district’s gifted program, McNeil said the Greenway Center would be repurposed to house the district’s Online Academy. Gifted students would instead receive services at their home schools, delivered through pull-out programs and eliminating the need for travel.
65% of PPS’ current K-8 gifted students are concentrated at just eight of its 46 elementary and middle schools. To create a more equitable program, McNeil said the district will begin to use a nonverbal, cognitive assessment to identify the top 10% students at each school beginning in second grade.
Administrators also said all community schools would keep their designation and wraparound programs. Walters said that while conversations about expanding the number of community schools are occurring, he said more growth and development within the district is needed before they can do so right.
“It's not a name, it's a clear framework and expectations and we have to build capacity there,” he said.
Pennsylvania law requires districts considering building closures to hold a public hearing before finalizing any plans. According to the timeline presented Wednesday, school board members are expected to vote on whether to open the public comment process in June 2025.
Once that happens, district leaders said they would hold public hearings throughout the summer and into September, and schedule additional roundtable discussions with certain groups impacted by the closures. A Find-My-School tool will be added to the website so families can see potential changes to their school attendance zones.
If and when closures are approved — in September, at the earliest — the district would roll out a transition plan that includes parent ambassadors, neighborhood-to-neighborhood engagement and detailed information packets for families at impacted schools.
