PITTSBURGH — In a 6-to-3 vote Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors rejected a plan to reconfigure the district’s schools, which would have included closing several.
PPS still faces a $12 million budget deficit in the upcoming year.
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Some parents are celebrating that their kids’ schools have been spared, for now. Other people believe that consolidation is needed to provide PPS students with the best education possible.
“It was disappointing that they didn’t get it done,” said Billy Hileman, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. “The need to take action in Pittsburgh Public Schools exists today, just as it did yesterday before the vote.”
Had the Board of Directors approved the Future Ready Plan, a dozen schools in nine buildings would have closed, including Fulton PreK-5. The PTA thanked the community for its support in a Facebook post.
Another school that was on the chopping block: Manchester PreK-8. Ashley Cochran told Channel 11 the best thing she could ever do for her three kids was to send them to the school.
“There’s just a difference in how they handle the kids down here,” Cochran said. “They’re so hands-on down here, compared to any of the other schools. I do think it’s because they might have less kids, but that’s important because the kids that need the help get it here.”
Those who supported the plan to close or consolidate schools cited issues like low enrollment, finances and aging infrastructure, telling Channel 11 they don’t want to want their taxes to pay for empty classrooms.
“There’s not enough kids. When I went to school, every school was filled, so maybe they should consolidate some of them,” said Robert Battle, who lives in the North Side.
“We have 18,000 students. We have the same number of schools as when we have 25,000 students,” Hileman said. “There is some need to consolidate some buildings so that each school can have a real dynamic educational program in them. It gets spread too thin.”
PPS superintendent Dr. Wayne Walters said this will change the budget and likely increase the district deficit.
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