More public input and planning is needed before the board of the Pittsburgh Public Schools votes on the proposed Future-Ready Facilities Plan, parents and advocates said at a Monday press conference outside Pittsburgh Manchester PreK-8.
412 Justice, an educational advocacy group, has held four community listening sessions over the past month. The fifth session will take place Tuesday, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., over Zoom. It intends to target the Manchester community, one of the schools slated for closure under the plan.
“Closing Manchester would mean breaking the bonds that hold our neighborhood together,” said Manchester parent Jala Rucker. “Research shows that school closures disproportionately impact vulnerable populations and do not necessarily offer the significant savings predicted. When we lose our local school, we lose our community identity.”
412 Justice plans to compile findings from the listening sessions, and a survey, into a public report to be released in May.
Under the proposed plan, school buildings that would close are Manchester, Schiller, Friendship (Montessori), Fulton, Miller African-Centered Academy, Woolslair, the Student Achievement Center, Spring Hill and part of Morrow. Other district buildings would be reconfigured and nearly all elementary-level magnets would be phased out.
That plan was voted down by the school board in November 2025. In recent months, Superintendent Wayne Walters and other district officials have been leading efforts for the board to reconsider the plan. It’s anticipated that a vote on the plan will occur before the end of the school year.
Paulette Foster, special education organizer for 412 Justice, said the listening sessions are an opportunity to hear from people who may or may not have participated in the hearings last year.
“We want accurate information, equity analysis, audits of past school closures and additional outcomes for most vulnerable students, families and communities,” Foster said.
Earlier this month, district officials repitched the plan to the school board, saying that the plan addresses uneven enrollment and inequitable access across district schools.
District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said Monday that district staff has attended 412 Justice listening sessions to hear directly from community members. The district has reached thousands across the city through public meetings, surveys, discussions, school-based conversations and direct outreach, she said.
But parents and advocates have pushed back, saying those meetings were inaccessible or poorly advertised. Only one person spoke at the state-mandated public hearing to close Miller last July.
Rucker said her son walks two streets to get to school, a 5-minute commute. The proposed plan would mean her son has to cross three high-traffic streets to get to Allegheny Traditional Academy, and she’s concerned with the lack of crossing guards there.
PPS officials have said the plan would reduce the number of daily bus trips from 986 to 402, and a reduction of the average ride time from about 35 minutes to 17 minutes.
City Council President Daniel Lavelle, who attended Monday’s press conference, said PPS has not had a conversation with the city about potentially funding more crossing guards. He also questioned what would happen to the building and its facilities if a school closes.
“There are many unanswered questions,” Lavelle said. “I think we need to take more time to really understand all this.”
Pugh said crossing guards are assigned to intersections based on safety assessments of student walking routes, and determined by city and public safety officials. She said that, as walking patterns shift, PPS will partner with the city to review routes and assess whether additional crossing guards or other safety measures are needed.
Parents and advocates also seek clarity to how the plan would actually be implemented.
In the plan, one school — Allegheny at King — will enroll about 809 students and experience “temporary enrollment pressures” until Northview Elementary opens, PPS officials said in the plan. That will result in a “larger-than-ideal elementary school.” Additionally, temporary English Language Development Center is planned for Morrow to alleviate capacity pressure on the King facility until Northview is ready.
“The plan includes building or completely renovating a new school at Northview,” said Emily Sawyer, Manchester parent. “But how was that decision made? How is it decided that this was more important than investing in current schools? The plan would entail moving 6,000 students in one year, essentially in one summer, with very few details on how that would be done.”
Sawyer said closing schools is a simple solution that does not address root causes of educational disparities and disinvestment. Advocates also questioned how students with special education services will be accommodated through transitions in the plan.
Pugh said the district is continuing to refine projected enrollment by school and present that data in a clear format. The district has updated its FAQ section on the future-ready facilities plan on its website, pghschools.org/futurepps, in response to questions raised by 412 Justice and parents.
Pugh acknowledged that students transitioning from smaller schools may see an increase in class sizes, but will remain within the “reasonable class size” limits established in the district’s contract with the teacher’s union.
PPS has nine designated community schools, meaning it is a hub for neighborhood and community resources. Officials said that, under the plan, eight community schools would remain in their current facilities and that PPS is considering additional options for another designated community school.
“While that statement is technically true, (Superintendent Wayne Walters) is not accounting for the over 1,300 students that are enrolled in six of the nine community schools where students to move to a new school that does not have community school services,” said Pam Harbin, a former PPS board member and district parent who is co-founder of 412 Justice’s Education Rights Network.
She called for a more community-driven approach to school planning.
“You do not get a good plan unless you actually include the community from the beginning,” Harbin said. “It looks like the community has already rejected this plan, the board rejected this plan, and they’re going to vote on the same plan again. I say, vote no.”