Pittsburgh Public Schools board votes to approve plan to close 12 schools, 9 buildings
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board voted to approve a plan to close 12 schools and nine buildings.
During a meeting on Wednesday, the nine-person board voted 6-2 to approve the district's "Future-Ready Facilities Plan," which is set to begin in phases starting for the 2027-28 academic year. One board member abstained due to a conflict of interest.
"It is wrong for me to allow a large portion of students who suffer to protect the good of just a few," board member Eva Diodati said during the vote. "I also want to say, if this plan works, which I think it will, we may see an increase in students. And because the building is closed doesn't mean the building is getting torn down tomorrow."
The controversial plan has been criticized by parents and students in the district, including 412 Justice, a Pittsburgh-based advocacy group that said the plan disproportionally impacted Black neighborhood schools.
After nearly two years of study, the board voted down the plan in November 2025, delaying its implementation. School board president Gene Walker previously said time has run out. Enrollment has dropped from 32,000 to 18,000 students over the past two decades, and the board said it can't justify spending a significant chunk of its $731 million budget on half-empty schools.
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters said about 15 schools have an enrollment of 200 students or fewer.
"This plan is about far more than buildings," Walters said in a district-issued news release on Wednesday night. "It is about creating equitable opportunities, strengthening academic experiences, and ensuring every student has access to learning environments that support success in college, career, and life."
The district said the plan is "designed to transform learning environments, improve operational efficiency, and expand equitable access." Walters says the plan will save the district about $8 million a year on staff salaries, utilities and maintenance costs. When asked if teachers could be laid off due to the closures, Walters said that while they are not projecting that, they couldn't rule it out.
"The District estimates the plan could avoid more than $100 million in future facility costs while allowing for more than $103 million in investments in modernized learning spaces over the next seven years," the district-issued news release said.
During Wednesday's meeting, one parent was escorted out of the building after yelling that board members "should be ashamed."
"Ya'll talking about my kids' future," parent Jazzlyn Worthy yelled from the hallway.
She told KDKA ahead of the meeting that she didn't believe the plan would allow her kids to get to school safely, adding she also didn't think the plan would save the district money. Worthy said if the measure passed, she'd examine legal options
"I'm willing to go all the way to ensure that Black, brown, disabled students all have an equal, fair chance at a successful and equitable education," Worthy said.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Pittsburgh City Controller Rachael Heisler said, in part, that "closing school facilities will not address the district's long-term financial challenges in a meaningful way."
School closures
The schools set to close are Allegheny 6-8, Arsenal PreK-5, Fulton PreK-5, King PreK-8, Linden PreK-5, Manchester PreK-8, Miller PreK-5, Milliones 6-12, South Brook 6-8, South Hills 6-8, Spring Hill K-5 and Woolslair PreK-5.
