Pittsburgh Public School board hears continued criticism over plan to close 14 schools

By Jacob Geanous / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Public School board heard from dozens of parents, students, and district employees — many of whom expressed their frustration with recent recommendations to close 14 schools — during an open hearing Monday evening.

The district’s public meeting was less than a week after the recommendations from consulting firm Education Resource Strategies were made public. If enacted, along with the closures, the recommendations would ultimately streamline grade structures at 12 other schools and would phase out five full magnet schools and two partial magnets.

Jing Luo, a parent of a fifth grader, third grader, and kindergarten student at Colfax K-8, which would be converted to a school for grades 6-8 under the recommendations, said the details of the prospective plan came as a shock to him last week.

Mr. Luo, along with many other parents who spoke at the meeting, referred to the recommendations as the district’s “F.U. Plan,” as a tongue-in-cheek way of expressing their disapproval.

“Imagine my surprise when I learned about the ‘F.U. Plan,’ where last week I learned my kids would not be going to the same school,” Mr. Luo said. “They could be sent to Greenfield or they could be sent to Liberty. Nobody knows. I can’t even tell them because I don’t know if any of you [school board representatives] know where they’re going to go.”

Mr. Luo went on to criticize Superintendent Wayne Walters, who signed a five-year contract with the district in 2022 that began at $260,000 for his first year and includes yearly pay bumps, ending with him making over $300,000 in his last year.

“I suggest you renegotiate his contract while you close 14 (expletive) schools,” Mr. Luo said.

Mr. Luo was not alone. His exasperation was echoed by many others who addressed the PPS board, including Jessica Merlin, a parent of two first-grade students at Woolslair PreK-5, who said the plan to alter the district has lacked transparency, data to support the recommendations, and a transportation plan.

“Frustrated is probably a polite description of how I know that I feel and I think many of my friends and neighbors are feeling,” Ms. Merlin said.

Ms. Merlin urged the district to consider rejecting the consulting firm’s recommendations, which the district has yet to decide on.

“You don’t have to go along to get along,” she said. “You can be the hero. Let heroism be the legacy of your term [on the PPS board]. ...There is still time.”

Naomi Chambers, whose children attend Miller PreK-5, one of the schools that would close under the latest recommendations, also criticized the district, claiming it has not communicated with the community throughout the process of planning to downsize.

“Things are sprung on us,” Ms. Chambers said. “As parents we’re made to have to figure out our pivot, our next move. A lot of parents have altogether given up and moved their students to a different situation. I can’t do that. I won’t do that. I don’t believe that Pittsburgh Public Schools will fail us continually. I’m asking that you invite us in, in a real way that means something for our children.”

Meanwhile, a group of Pittsburgh Public parents have submitted their own school reconfiguration plan, which they submitted to district leaders earlier this month and will officially release at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Smithfield United Church of Christ in Downtown.

Sarah Zangle, A Woolslair parent who led the creation of the proposal, was also in attendance Monday and invited school board representatives to attend their event Tuesday to hear a presentation about their plan, which calls for the closure of ten schools, five of which would be turned into community centers.

“I urge the board to hear our voice and use us as partners going forward,” Ms. Zangle said. “The community wants the same things as you do. We truly do.”