The Pittsburgh Public Schools board voted against a plan that called for wide-ranging changes across the district, including closing nine buildings.  

On Tuesday, the board voted 6-3 against the district's Future-Ready Facilities Plan, which had been years in the making and would have reorganized the district. A motion to table a decision failed 5-4, leading to the final decision. 

"We're in a worse place today than when we started," school board president Gene Walker said. "And that is what is frustrating for me. We somehow made a cloudy and difficult conversation much more cloudy and much more difficult." 

Walker added that Superintendent Wayne Walters and his team have a "steeper climb" because "it looks like we didn't know what we were doing tonight."

The decision from the board came one day after nearly 100 parents packed a school board meeting to voice their concerns over school closures and consolidations. Almost all of the 80 speakers at Monday's meeting were against the plan, with some calling the plan rushed and reckless, adding that the students would be the real losers.

Board member Sylvia Wilson said the vote failed because "people are looking at some of their own personal points."

"Extremely disappointed, frustrated," she added. "This is about our children."

Pittsburgh Public Schools said its proposal addressed declining enrollment, aging infrastructure and underutilized buildings. Board members had expressed concerns about transportation, capital cost savings, courses of study and the reconfigured grades. 

The president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers said on Monday that something needed to be done in light of declining enrollment, voicing support for the closures and consolidations. 

The next steps were not made clear by the board on Tuesday. Three new board members are set to be sworn in next week, so any new plan will include their input.