clean transcript for closing and re-organization of PPS

 PPS Plans for Closing - Cleaned Transcript

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to tonight's meeting. today is October 30th, 2025. and tonight we have one agenda item the Dr. Walters and his leadership team will walk us through a presentation regarding the implementation plan for the or the implementation of the future ready plan. And so with that, I will turn the meeting over to Dr. Walters.

Thank you, Mr. Walker. Good evening everyone. As stated, select members of the leadership team and I will present an overview of the implementation plan required by the board to inform its decision-making about the future ready facilities implementation plan.

This plan directly answers the eight specific questions outlined by the board, each designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and a shared understanding of how we move from planning to action. Tonight's presentation provides a high-level overview. It does not capture every detail contained in the full 140page report, but it does highlight the essential components that respond to the board's requests and show how the district will move forward in a deliberate student centered way. The implementation plan is more than a document. It is a roadmap for how we move forward together as a district, as a community, and most importantly for our students. It outlines the key steps necessary for a smooth and well supported transition. This evening, we will review updated staffing projections that align with future school configurations and minimize disruption for both educators and students. The plan's financial model outlines renovation costs, projected savings, and long-term efficiencies to strengthen Pittsburgh public schools financial sustainability.

Attendance zones and feeder patterns were developed using data driven principles of walkability, balance, and transparency, ensuring all students can travel safely and efficiently to school.

And at the heart of the work is the student experience. By consolidating and reinvesting, we can provide more of our students, regardless of neighborhood, with consistent access to high-quality instruction, the arts, athletics, STEM, and advanced coursework. These opportunities should never depend on a student's zip code. And because equity must be more than a buzzword, this plan places a special focus on students who have faced the greatest systemic barriers. Our African-American students, our English language learners, our students with disabilities, and those experiencing economic hardship. Targeted supports such as academic interventions, counseling, and transition planning will ensure these students are not left behind, but lifted up. Equally important, this plan represents the voices of our community. Over the two years, we've listened and learned through town halls, surveys, community conversations, and the nonformal public hearings. Thousands of families, students, and staff have shaped this vision, and our commitment to trans transparent ongoing communication will continue at every step of implementation. The future ready facilities implementation plan is not just about buildings. It's about belief.

Belief in what our schools can be, belief in what our students deserve, and belief in what we can achieve together. This is a once in a generation opportunity to realign our resources with our mission to ensure that every child in Pittsburgh attends a school that inspires learning, reflects dignity, and prepares them for a bright future. Together with unity, transparency, and urgency, we can make that future real for every Pittsburgh student. This plan is anchored in our four values. Equity, excellence, efficiency, and access.

These values form the foundation of our implementation strategy and are tightly aligned to our district's theory of action, culture, systems, and instruction, which define how we achieve lasting, meaningful outcomes for our students. Equity is the center of this plan, the lens through which decisions are made. For too long, student experiences and outcomes in Pittsburgh have been shaped by uneven access to resources, programs, and facilities.

This plan intentionally closes that gap. It does so by strategically reallocating resources, consolidating underutilized buildings, and investing in learning environments that serve all students well. Excellence means that every child in every school deserves access to highquality instruction. and enriching educational experiences that prepare them for success in college, career, and life. And deficiency reminds us that operating and maintaining half empty or deteriorating buildings is neither financially sustainable or educationally justifiable.

This plan promotes fiscal responsibility by optimizing our footprint, reducing redundancy, and ensuring that every dollar spent connects directly to student benefit.

Through long-term cost avoidance and smarter capital planning, we can reinvest in what truly matters, people, programs, and learning. And finally, access. Because true equity demands access. access to advanced coursework, access to arts and athletics, access to mental health supports, extracurricular enrichment, and culturally affirming instruction.

Too often, access has been determined by geography or enrollment patterns. And for the future ready facilities plan, it seeks to change that by providing schools that serve as gateways to opportunity. Our theory of action reminds us that student outcomes do not change until adult behaviors change. And that belief also drives our work.

Through stronger culture, smarter systems, and highquality instruction, we will not only change how our schools operate, but how our student experience learning each and every day.

In response to the board's resolution requiring the development of a facilities utilization plan, the district launched a deliberate and transparent process to align our facilities enrollment and instructional priorities. The proposed plan was unveiled in March 2024, followed by a portfolio recommendation informed by deep community engagement, data analysis, and scenario modeling with our partners at Education Resource Strategies. Following the release of the final ERS proposal, the first feasibility study provided a baseline review of ERS's recommendations, while the second feasibility report with updated analysis and administrative recommendations formally launched the future ready facilities plan, initiating a focused data-driven effort to improve student experiences and modernize our schools.

A public comment period held throughout July and August generated thoughtful input from families, educators, and community members across the city. In August, the board approved a resolution requiring the development of an implementation plan outlining eight specific deliverables to be completed before a final vote, which we will re which we will review this evening. Should the board vote to adopt a final plan later this year, the magnet application period for the 2627 school year will open this winter, marking the beginning of a new chapter in Pittsburgh public schools journey to become truly future ready. I will now provide an overview of the thoughtful phased timeline that ensures this work moves forward with the same clarity, care, and coordination that have defined the process to date. Each phase is designed to balance urgency with stability, ensuring that change happens with our community, not to it. As we continue building a stronger, more equitable system for every Pittsburgh student, our first and current phase, year zero, which began in July, focuses on creating clarity, confidence, and a connection before any changes take place. This is where we finalize the school phasing decisions approved by the board and begin implementing communication tools to help families navigate what's ahead, like our updated boundary maps and the find my school tool where any family anywhere can now pull up their address to get their child's proposed feeder pattern K through 12. And while some early wins are visible like facility upgrades or expanded partnerships, many of the most important ones happen behind the scenes. These efforts are about creating the conditions for successful transition and long-term implementation. We are or have conducted detailed building walkthroughs to confirm that each facility can accommodate new enrollment patterns, classroom configurations, and specialized instructional spaces. We have identified locations for specialized classrooms, including early childhood, special education, and career and technical education programs to ensure continuity of services for all students. We have developed a district-wide moving handbook to standardize packing, labeling, and inventory procedures, ensuring that transitions are organized, efficient, and minimally disruptive. We are currently hosting human resources road shows to meet directly with staff to hear the questions and the concerns to support retention, recruitment, and reassignment with transparency and care.

And we are coordinating early procurement and operational planning to align resources, transportation, and staffing ahead of key milestones. Most importantly, this phase centers on listening. Through community conversations and school-based planning sessions, we are making sure that families and staff feel informed, supported, and engaged in shaping the path forward. Together, these actions represent our early wins, not just because they show progress, but because they lay the groundwork for a smooth, well-coordinated transition for students, families, and staff. They ensure that when the first major changes take place, our schools are ready physically, operationally, and culturally to deliver on the promise of being future ready. As we move into the launch phase with the start of the 2627 school year, our focus is on people and culture. We often say that culture eats strategy for breakfast. That couldn't be true here. Before we can successfully implement new structures or instructional models, we must first build the right culture within each school community. Some may wonder why it is recommended that we move forward with school transitions now rather than waiting until the new delivery model is ready to launch. The answer is that we are intentionally sequencing change to ensure and establish stability first. This transition will bring together students and staff who have previously not worked side by side. And we're being intentional about how we support those new relationships, creating the time, space, and structure needed for teams to build shared identity, trust, and collaboration. We also recognize the pressure that educators are under. That is why we're deliberately holding the introduction of our new instructional delivery model until year two. We do not want to add new complexities like revised schedules or curriculum shifts while teams are still learning to operate as one.

Instead, year one will focus on establishing strong culture, clear systems, and confident leadership at every level. The same intentionality applies to the transition of the gifted center, which will also occur in year two. This ensures that all students and staff can participate within a single cohesive model built on shared values and expectations rather than rushed change. By anchoring this phase in structure, stability, and belonging, we set the foundation for long-term success. And the systems we build this year will determine how well we sustain our vision for years to come.

The final phase is about executing with excellence and sustaining the changes we have built together. This includes completing the phase programs and school closures, opening new campuses, and rolling out specialized programming that aligns with our guiding principles of equity, excellence, efficiency, and access. We will also continue investing in capital improvements and facility upgrades to ensure school buildings reflect our commitment to modern, engaging, and safe learning environments. Ultimately, this work strengthens the entire student experience from elementary through high school by creating clear connected pathways and ensuring consistent program quality across our system. This is how we build a future ready Pittsburgh public schools. One that delivers on the promise of opportunity for every student in every neighborhood. I will now turn it over to our chief financial officer, Ronald Joseph.

A strong financial outlook is essential to supporting the district's mission to prepare all children to achieve academic excellence and develop the strength of character needed to succeed in every aspect of life. Long-term financial stability allows the district to invest in structures, staff, and supports that make highquality learning possible.

This includes creating strong foundational K5 schools, developmentally responsive middle schools, and high schools that equip students for success in college, career, and life. By aligning financial resources with educational opportunities, the district can ensure every student has access to the opportunities they need to reach their full potential. The first early win of the future ready facilities plan is its budgetary impact.

As early as 2026, we will begin to realize the savings from aligning facilities staffing and program delivery. At the same time, we recognize there's still work to do. The plan alone will not solve our fiscal challenges, but it contributes significantly to our progress. It represents a concrete step forward toward long-term sustainability, signaling our commitment to fiscal responsibility and making thoughtful decisions that strengthen our system over time. Importantly, this approach reflects our belief that f that fiscal recovery cannot rest on the shoulders solely of our taxpayers.

By resizing our footprint, streamlining operations, and strategically reinvesting in teaching and learning, we're taking responsibility for doing our part, ensuring that every dollar entrusted to us is used effectively and in direct service of students. Understanding the financial implications of these recommendations is essential to making informed, responsible decisions that serve both students and the long-term fiscal health of the district.

The following analysis outlines the financial impact of the plan's major components: school reconfigurations, closures, and program expansions, illustrating how these actions collectively support sustainability and allow us to redirect re resources toward enriching students experiences such as art, music, physical education, STEM, world languages, and career exploration. We'll begin by reviewing the district's multi-year financial forecast, providing a clear picture of our financial our current financial outlook and how the future ready facilities plan helps stabilize our trajectory moving forward.

The future ready facilities plan helps to reduce recurring costs tied to underutilized buildings and transportation cost. The forecast, which incorporates the changes outlined in the future ready facilities plan, compares the district's revenues and expenditures from 2023 through 2028. While revenues grow modestly, rising from 698 million in 2024 to roughly 757 million by 2028, expenditures continue to outpace this growth, increasing from 76 million to nearly $782 million over the same period.

The first measurable financial benefit of this plan is that it represents a critical step forward toward achieving fiscal sustainability, reinvesting our resources into instruction, staffing, and student supports. In short, the plan helps us to slow our use of our financial reserves. We've seen how over how overall revenues and expenditures trend over time. Let's take a closer look at the numbers driving how the future ready facilities plan affects individual line items in the budget.

This slide breaks down the multi-year impact by major line items related to the future ready facilities plan. The takeaway here is that the plan balances new investments with meaningful savings.

On the investment side, we're funding academic coaches and English language development specialists.

This will cost over four $4 million annually by 2027 and scaling up teaching and learning centers which will reach about $7.5 million annually by 2030.

These targeted increases are partially offset by recurring savings from building closures, transportation efficiencies, custodial reductions, delivery model changes, collectively reducing expenditures by approximately

$8 million annually by 2027. These operational savings also generate significant long-term cost avoidance funds we can direct to classrooms and capital improvements. Let's next look at how closures of un the closure of unutilized facilities contributes to this progress. This slide highlights the $102 million in cost avoing underutilized facilities.

This figure includes reduced utilities which are approximately $590,000 annually. The elimination of more than 100 and the elimination of more than hund00 million in future capital obligations. This avoided cost will be reinvested into our schools that remain open and the students they serve. These reinvestments and these reinvestments are apparent in our proposed seven-year capital plan which target targets modernization and equity across the district. The 7-year capital plan totals $453.5 million, combining bond funds, grants, and targeted future ready reinvestments.

Annual spending peaks around $81 million in 2028, and it tapers as major construction concludes. These investments are prioritized by equity, modernizing schools based on building needs, addressing deferred maintenance, and expanding access to 21st century learning environments. Importantly, by sequencing our capital work over seven years, we can ensure that the capital investments remain manageable and aligned with our financial capacity. A detailed cost breakdown by school will be included is included in the future full future ready implementation plan which will be posted on the district's future ready plan future ready facilities plan website for public review. Now we'll turn it over to our chief human resources officer Mark Rudolph.

Good evening. Changes in staffing can be stressful to impacted staff, school leaders, hiring managers, and to the students and families who have come to expect instructional continuity. Each year, the Office of Human Resources and specifically our talent management team manages a complex and precise staffing season, balancing budget allocations, student and school needs, and contractual requirements to make sure every school opens with staff in the needed positions to serve students. The annual staffing season typically begins in winter and runs through spring each year.

For 2026 to 2027, this work has been intensified significantly because of the proposed implementation of the future ready facilities plan. The level of coordination, timing, and communication required this year is beyond anything we have experienced in recent years. The HR team has been approaching this work with both technical precision and human care, ensuring the process honors employees professionalism and provides as much communication in advance as possible to ensure employees understand the process for the 2627 school year and pending board approval. This annual process will be implemented on a much larger scale and will impact multiple role groups, positions, and collective bargaining agreements. The HR team is ready.

Preparation for the annual staffing season begins each year in the fall to ensure staffing activities are in alignment with our collective bargaining agreements. Our work has started with full respect and acknowledgement of the board's authority and decision-making timeline and has followed a deliberate sequence that balances transparency, compliance, and readiness.

So far this fall, our team has focused on preparation and awareness that incorporates two key actions, engagement and alignment. HR road shows, union consultations, seniority audits, and school leader assignment processes. All are necessary components to complete before the staffing season actually begins.

Additionally, these actions will inform a cadence of staff communications to ensure that our PPS employees are in the know rather than relying on misinformation via via nondistinformed social media sites, rumors, and gossip. As we move into winter 2026, school budgets are released and integrated into our work, aligning staffing allocations with projected enrollment, reviewing appeals, and confirming staffing models.

In addition, our team is revising process documents and developing training for all hiring managers and school leaders for staff movements and transfers. In the late winter to early spring 2026, we have movement and hiring. And a lot of actions are happening here. Internal transfers, displacement notifications, and early external recruitment and hiring events to fill vacancies before the start of the next school year.

The staffing team knows how to gauge potential vacancies. Where schools have an opening or a hardto staff content area and no internal applicants. We know we can coordinate with the federation to open hardto staff content areas to external candidates before internal transfer season is over. This is not a route to circumvent our collectively bargained provisions, but to leverage time. Applicant pools have over the past several years been very shallow. Professionals are in high demand. So, if we can get an early offer to a qualified candidate, we have a better chance of starting the school year fully staffed.

Finally, late spring and into the summer, our team will be working to support onboarding and placement, ensuring all staff are confirmed and supported before the start of the school year. The HR team is on pace. Should the board affirm the plan, we will be ready to deploy communications immediately to staff, school leaders, and union partners outlining the next steps. That readiness reflects months of diligent behindthe-scenes work to ensure we are precise, compliant, and people centered every step of the way. So, let's take a look at preliminary staffing projections. This slide shows staffing projections for the 2627 school year. Our staffing projections are grounded in budget review, allocations, and analysis of workforce data, including vacancies, separations, retirements, certification areas, and historical staffing patterns. What's different this year is the volume and the complexity. With school consolidations and configuration changes, HR will be coordinating hundreds of movement decisions with accuracy and care. This slide summarizes the anticipated staffing needs in various positions based upon school-based budgets with the current service delivery model after phase one of the future ready facilities plan. The columns show you current staffing, meaning the number of positions for the 2526 school year.

Please note, several of these positions are not currently staffed at this level. We have some vacancies.

The second column shows you the anticipated staffing level for those positions for the 2627 school year.

Again, using the current service delivery model. I want to draw attention to the principal and food service positions. And while a number of projected furlows is shown, these positions are not staffed currently at 100%. And for principal roles specifically as a board, you have approved several interim principles this year. These interim roles have been intentional to reduce the number of staff that could be displaced. The average yearly separations column shows what the district experiences annually on average for separations due to resignation and retirement. And finally, the overall anticipated change in staffing shown with a positive number indicating the number of positions that are anticipated to be needed or a negative number indicating the number of positions that could potentially be furled.

Our regional classrooms are designed for the number of students who need services and the number and location of regional classrooms will be determined upon final approval. But generally, our staffing projections for regional classrooms indicates slight increases in several service areas with no decreases in staffing support for the 2627 school year. We know that staffing adjustments for the 2728 school year will be impacted by the closure of the gifted center and from the implementation of the updated schedules and school spaces to support academic excellence, creativity, and social emotional wellness.

A notable adjustment for these staffing numbers is the removal of elective courses from middle school English and math and from high school English and math. The projected furlows for those positions are actually captured in the increase in related arts teachers as elective courses are included in these positions.

As I wrap up the staffing transition section of this presentation, I want to emphasize that this work started months ago because readiness does not happen overnight. Readiness is less about the event, the date of board approval, and more about being in a state of consistent preparation. Our school leaders, professionals, and support staff are critical to the success of our students and our schools. In order to plan for the implementation of the future ready facilities plan and stay people centered, the office of human resources committed to using information received from every single engagement to strengthen communications and processes for staff so that our employees know what will happen, when, and why. Some of our early wins include offering listening sessions to school leaders to not only hear their concerns about upcoming changes, but hear their general questions and feedback on HR processes and supports. Where either or both are lacking, HR needs to know. We want our school leaders to be equipped with the information they need to manage their schools from a leadership perspective. Scheduling school visits, we call them HR road shows. And as of today, we have completed 32 of 39 scheduled visits to hear firsthand the questions and concerns from our staff. Upon completing the HR road shows, all of the questions and concerns will be placed into an FAQ document, frequently asked questions to be shared with employees following board action. A cross-f functional HR team has been meeting regularly with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers to ensure all transfer and placement processes comply fully with contract language and where language is silent or vague on unique situations. We are working toward a mutual understanding to be codified within anou.

Similarly, we have met with our ASME units and our building trades council. Subsequent meetings are scheduled to ensure that processes for transfer, displacement, and/or bidding are correct.

Our staffing projections for this implementation aren't just numbers. They represent carefully planned transitions that protect instructional continuity and support our people. While the details of the work are complex, the message is simple. HR is ready and we will execute this plan with care, precision, and transparency.

I will now turn the next section over to Director of Public Relations and Media Content, Miss Ebony Pew.

Thank you, Chief Rudolph, and good evening, everyone. Attendance zones and theater patterns determine how students move through Pittsburgh public schools. Attendance zones determine the neighborhood school a child attends based on their home address, while feeder patterns set the pathways students follow from elementary through middle and high school. Together, these systems shape the student experience, impacting friendships, access to programs, transportation, and how we use our facilities. As part of the future ready facilities plan, the district has completed the most comprehensive review of attendance zones and feeder patterns in nearly two decades. This work addresses long-standing challenges such as uneven enrollment and legacy boundary aligns that have not always made sense to families. The goal is simple but important to ensure that every child in Pittsburgh moves through school in a clear, consistent, and equitable way with their peers. You'll see that this process has been guided by five clear principles. Balance, continuity, efficiency, alignment, and geography and informed by community feedback every step of the way. When we started this work, our goal was to understand why adjustments to attendance zones and feeder patterns were necessary and what challenges we could solve for families. First, we saw enrollment imbalances. Some of our schools are bursting at the seams, while others have too few students to offer a full range of programs. That means some children have access to art, music, or after school clubs, while others simply don't. Balancing enrollment helps us make sure every student in every neighborhood gets access to those same opportunities.

Geography also plays a role. We all know Pittsburgh's hills, bridges, and rivers make it a beautiful city, but they also make transportation complicated. In some cases, students are crossing bridges or highways to reach schools that are not the closest to home. These refinements make assignments more practical and predictable for families. Then there are magnet programs. While these programs enrich our portfolio and attract families, students citywide can apply to them, adding a complexity to neighborhood enrollment. In some areas, this has led to uneven enrollment between magnet and neighborhood schools, making it harder to predict student numbers and plan staffing. The updated feeder patterns account for these dynamics so we can sustain strong magnet options and maintain stable neighborhood programs. We've also seen demographic shifts. Neighborhood population changes along with the placement of English language development centers have concentrated enrollment pressures on certain schools.

At the same time, enrollment can be unpredictable since some English learner families may choose, rightfully so, to attend their neighborhood school rather than an available center. These dynamics create challenges in pro projecting and balancing enrollment across the district. And finally, we're being intentional about our youngest learners.

Our early childhood and Head Start classrooms will continue to serve the same number of students each year, even if some locations shift. Those in elementary schools will move with their K to5 programs to preserve continuity and stability for families. Altogether, these refinements driven by data and community feedback help us create clear, consistent, and equitable pathways for students from preK all the way through graduation. Once we understood the challenges, our next steps was to build the right foundation for new attendance zone and theater patterns. Using enrollment building capacity, demographic and transportation data, the office led by Dr. Ted Dwire of the Office of Data Research, Evaluation, and Assessment known as Drea applied advanced geographic information systems tools to model how students move through the district. This allowed us to visualize every neighborhood, every school, every route, helping us design boundaries that make sense for students and families. To create clear and consistent pathways, elementary boundaries were established first, followed by middle schools, and finally high schools. That sequencing ensures smooth transitions as students move together with their peers. Our refinements were guided by five key principles. First, balancing enrollment, keeping schools ideally between 75 to 85% of capacity so every building can offer robust programs without overcrowding. Second, we want to strengthen theater patterns so students move together as cohorts, maintaining peer relationships and a sense of belonging. Third, we want to maximize our facility used, making the most of the buildings and resources we already have. And fourth, correct legacy misalignments, fixing outdated or impractical boundaries that once caused students to pass one school to attend another farther away. And finally, respect geography, avoiding assignments that require students to cross major rivers, highways, and other barriers whenever possible. These principles grounded in data, community feedback, and comments and data and community feedback and information that we've received from families guided every adjustment you'll see tonight. Ensuring that our system is equitable, efficient, and built around how students actually live and learn in Pittsburgh. By balancing enrollment and creating consistent, logical pathways, these new boundaries allow us to staff schools more efficiently, reduce inequities and program access and strengthen school communities. This work has been highly collaborative. Staff and community input played a critical role throughout the process. Members of the district's leadership team representing operations, school performance, communication, and technology conducted detailed walkthroughs of school buildings with principles to confirm each site can accommodate projected enrollment, including prek programs, program for student with exceptionality and special classrooms such as science, art, and music. In addition, community feedback gathered during the community conversations and community kickbacks helped guide the refinements to the proposals you'll see tonight. Families helped us think carefully about what makes sense from travel times to sibling assignments to preserving friendships and continuity. The next series of slides highlights these refinements in action, showing how the guiding principles and community feedback came together in real adjust adjustments to attendance zones and theater patterns across the city. We'll start in the east end. When we initially launched the future ready facilities plan with our find my school tool, some students who live in Lincoln Belmmore were sent to Arsenal 6 to8 and then Westinghouse High School because of limited space at Ster. After hearing community concerns, we revisited that decision. The updated plan explain expands Lincoln's attendance zone to boost enrollment while ensuring that Lincoln Belmar students feed directly into Serret and then Westinghouse High School. This change keeps peer groups together, simplifies transitions, and strengthens continuity from K to 12, and it's a clear example of how a community voice has shaped our final recommendation. We also adjusted attendance zones between Faison and Lincoln to create simpler, more balanced pathways. Currently, Pittsburgh Faison receives some students from the East Hills area. As part of the proposed attendance zone change, all East Hills K to5 students will now attend Faison, which reduces travel time and aligns neighborhoods more naturally. With this change, Pittsburgh Faison's enrollment risks exceeding building capacity, particularly when accounting for the school's need for dedicated spaces to support students with exceptionalities. To balance enrollment, Lincoln zone has been expanded slightly north, bringing about 50 additional students and raising its utilization to about 88%.

The result is clear consistent path. We have a group of students who will go link instead and families can now plan ahead knowing exactly where their children will go next. And both schools are sized to deliver strong programs.

In Garfield, the focus was balancing enrollment and protecting specialized programs. We found that assigning all Garfield students to Liberty would push that school to 91% utilization, limiting space for its English language development program to grow. The updated plan now assigns students from Columbbo to Blackreet to Sunnyside PreK to 5. That increases Sunny size enrollment to about 87% and lowered liberties to about 77%.

This adjustment keeps both schools healthy, preserves room for ELD services, and supports equitable class sizes for teachers and students alike. Moving to the Hill District, we made refinements in direct response to family feedback and wild's capacity challenges with the addition of an ELD center. During our community conversation in the Hill District, families shared deep concerns about young students walking to while from the upper hill, also known as Sugartop. Based on this input, we made adjustments to the elementary feeder for students living in the upper hill in North Oakland neighborhoods. Approximately 53 students in grades K through five from this area will now attend Liberty K to 5. Liberty will also serve as an ELD center for these neighborhoods, keeping these students together. Notably, about 15% of Upper Hill students already attend Liberty, reflecting a strong existing connection between the school and the community. In addition, a new EL center is being established at Dworth to help balance enrollment and services across the network. Together, these refinements create equitable access to specialized supports, keeps neighborhoods connected, and assure students along continue along consistent middle and high school pathways with Liberty students feeding into Arsenal 6 to8 or Scitec 6 to8 depending on their attendance zone.

In the West End, our zone review showed some students were bypassing Langley to attend Westwood. After adjustments were made to address what appeared to be a legacy misalignment, we found the shift drastically underenrolled Westwood, we reverted those boundaries to restore the historical feeder patterns, balancing enrollment and strengthening both schools. With the reconfiguration of Pittsburgh Arlington from a K to8 to a 6 to8 school, elementary students from the Mount Oliver Burough were initially divided between Pittsburgh Roosevelt and Pittsburgh West Liberty for grades K through 5. Following a review of enrollment data and a facility walkthrough, approximately 50 K to5 students residing in the Mount Oliver area between Brownsville Road and Hayes Avenue down to Southboro Way who were previously assigned to West Liberty have now been reassigned to Pittsburgh Roosevelt. This adjustment strengthens Roosevelt's enrollment while ensuring that West Liberty remains sufficient to retains a sufficient capacity for specialized programs, including its English language development program and support for it students with exceptionalities. Finally, the north side has the most complex sequence of transitions involving both a temporary ELD center and the reopening of North PreK to 5 in 2028-29.

During our PPS community kickback on the north side, parents emphasized the importance of ensuring that the find my school tool includes accurate information for the 2627 and 2728 school years. So those families would know where they would later shift when Northview campus they would know sorry the families whose attendance zones would later shift to the Northview campus can be ahead plan ahead with confidence beginning in 2627 grades 6 through8 from Maro will move to Schiller relocated to the Alageney facility while K to5 students remain at the Marorrow primary building until Northview reopens. Students in grades K through 5 from Perry North and Summer Hill will continue at Marorrow during this time. When Northview reopens in 28-29, these neighborhoods will transition there and Maro will relocate into the Rooney facility. Housing these neighborhoods at Marorrow for two years minimizes the number of transitions for current students and maintains neighborhood continuity during this period. A temporary ELD center will also operate at Marorrow to relieve enrollment pressures at Alagany PreK to 5 and serve students from the Marorrow and Spring Hill attendance zones. This approach builds on existing patterns as nearly 30 ELD families already attend Marorrow today. In 2829, Marorrow re relocates to the Rooney facility and Northview students, including ELD and nonLD students, transition together to the newly modernized Northview campus, supporting unified feeder alignment. As these transitions occur, Alageney PreK to 5 will also experience key changes to ensure continuity of services and space utilization. Let's look at how Alageni's program shifts will support this broader north side realignment. As part of the north side realignment, Alagany PreK to 5 will undergo important changes designed to maintain continuity and prepare for the reopening of Northview PreK to 5. It is proposed that Pittsburgh King PreK to 8 close and that Alagany PreK through 5 transition from a magnet program to a neighborhood school. Beginning with the 2627 school year, Alagany PreK to 5 would relocate to the King facility, allowing Schiller to move into the former Alagany building. As part of this realignment, all North Side students in grades 6 through 8 would attend Schiller, now located in the Alageney facility. This move expands middle-grade capacity and strengthens feeder alignment across the north side area to balance enrollment and specialized services. The ELD center at Alagany will serve both students within its attendance zone and approximately 45 ELD students from Northview. This approach approach strengthens community continuity. Many Northw families, particularly non-ELLD students, already attend King. Under this plan, Northw's ELD students will join their neighborhood peers in the same building, fostering inclusion and connection ahead of Northw's reopening. When Northw PreK to 5 reopens in 2829, all students, ELD and non will transition together into the modernized campus, ensuring every child begins in a unified school community. A the impact of this projection reduces Alageni's enrollment below 800 students for the two years before the transition and maintains program and service continuity for students and staff and ensures our EL students transition alongside their peers when Northview reopens. This map shows the proposed attendance zones. Additional attendance zone maps can be found in the plan for elementary, middle, and high school attendance zones, but this is to give you a look at the full picture.

Understanding how proposed changes may affect students is one of the most important priorities for families. To support transparency and ensure accessibility, we have developed new tools and resources to help families see how these updates may apply to them. Our find my school tool provides an interactive map that allows families to enter their home address and immediately see their assigned school at each grade level as proposed in the plan. The tool highlights neighborhood schools, feeder patterns, and ELD centers, giving families a clear picture of where their children will learn, grow, and connect. This level of transparency reflects the heart of the future ready facilities plan. Ensuring that every decision is made with students at the center. By pairing datadriven planning with tools that make information easy to access, we are helping families plan with confidence and strengthening trust as we move forward towards implementation.

The pupil transportation department led by Megan Patton is dedicated to enhancing the student experience districtwide by providing safe, reliable, and equitable service. Every decision, whether it's about routing, walk zones, technology, or vendor contracts, is centered on student safety and equitable access to schools. By aligning services with school boundaries through its fleet optimization strategy, also known as better bus use, the district will reduce overall trips, improve operational efficiency, significantly shorten ride times, and provide families with more predictable, reliable service. This strategy does not more than create efficiencies. It strengthens trust and confidence in our transportation system by ensuring that every child arrives to school safely, on time, and ready to learn. In response to the board's request, the district developed a comprehensive transportation plan that considers both bus riders and walkers supported by clear data rationale data supported rationale for each decision. The plan provides a city-wide view of how changes to attendance zones, school locations, and theater patterns intersect with transportation services.

It ensures that every student's journey to and from school is fully integrated into the future ready facilities plan.

So, no decision about facilities happens in isolation from how students get there.

Our rationale is simple. Fewer buses and shorter rides mean more efficient, reliable service for families. Families will also benefit from new technology tools such as a real-time bus location apps that expand communication and transparency. Proactive planning is also a key focus. This approach ensures the district can respond effectively to challenges such as driver shortages, vendor performance issues, severe weather, fuel price fluctuations, and disruptions to Pittsburgh regional transit services. In short, we're building more efficient and resilient system. With the new attendance zones and optimized routing, an immediate early win is that the district will reduce the number of daily trips from 986 to 402, cutting the total routes by more than half while maintaining quality service.

This reduction also allows us to decrease the number of schools with a a.m. start time, directly responding to feedback from families who shared how late start times create challenges for working parents. On average, student ride times will drop from 35.6 minutes to just 16.9 minutes, a 59% reduction. At the same time, the number of students who can walk to school will increase from 6,580 to more than 8,000, reflecting neighborhoodbased attendance zones and closer proximity between home and school.

Throughout this work, equity remains a top priority. There will be no increases in transportation costs to ELD centers and services for students with IEPs, 504 plans will remain fully preserved, including wheelchair accessessible buses and vans, specialized services, and aid staffing where required. In fact, boundary adjustments are expected to further reduce ride times for students in the program for students with exceptionalities as specialized services are placed closer to where students live. Altogether, the better bus use strategy is projected to generate approximately 5.6 million in annual savings. These savings don't just reduce costs, they create capacity to invest in classrooms, student programs, and services that directly enhance learning. Now, I will turn it over to Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Shawn McNeel.

The future ready facilities plan is designed to strengthen every Pittsburgh public school students day-to-day experience through aligned instruction, equitable access, and learning environments that inspire joy. This effort unites multiple departments under a single aim that every child, regardless of neighborhood, grade, band, or program, encounters consistent, rigorous, and culturally responsive instruction that fosters belonging, purpose, and achievement.

A cohesive infrastructure supports this transformation. Standardized grade configurations K5 68 and 912 create a predictable educational journey and allow students to build relationships within developmentally appropriate communities. The future ready facilities plan is designed to ensure that students benefit from highquality teaching, meaningful enrichment, and coordinated wraparound supports at every level. Together, these shifts make transitions more seamless, strengthen student identity and engagement, and guarantee equitable equitable access to advanced coursework, the arts, and whole child services.

Ultimately, this plan aligns academics, operations, and culture around a single goal. To make every Pittsburgh public school a place where students are prepared to achieve success in all aspects of their lives. Preparation for change begins long before students walk through the doors. In collaboration with a crossf functional PPS team, the office of school performance will assist with the coordination of all transition efforts, ensuring alignment with district priorities and consistent progress monitoring through scheduled check-ins and data reviews.

The goal is to create conditions where every student experiences a seamless transition, a sense of belonging, and rapid academic acceleration within the first 90 days.

Using PowerBI dashboards, we are identifying academic and social emotional needs early from attendance and behavior trends to course history and screening data so schools can plan proactive supports and outreach. To strengthen culture and belonging, all middle schools will implement the Ron Clark Academy House System, creating environments where connection is intentional, not left to chance. The system will feature shared houses and colors, consistent behavior expectations, and a rubric aligned with PPS values. Schools will launch with a sorting and house reveal, followed by advisory lessons focused on belonging, goal setting, and restorative practices.

Many PPS schools have already visited the Ron Clark Academy and are piloting the house system this year, ensuring they're ready to use it to build strong unified school communities as students transition next fall. Transition activities will also play a major role in readiness and relationship building.

Student ambassadors will connect with incoming students before day one and host check-ins during the first month.

Family onboarding events, including multi-ingual op orientations, campus tours, and transition meetings will help families feel informed, supported, and connected.

From the very first day, our focus is on belonging, predictability, and care. So students start strong and stay engaged. Creating safe, supportive schools means shifting from punishment to proactive relationship building. Restorative practices will serve as a cornerstone of that work. Implementation will include integration weeks that emphasize shared values and smooth transitions, advisory programs that build connection and dialogue, and restorative circles and peer mediation to repair harm and rebuild trust. These approaches reduce disparities, strengthen empathy, and ensure that every student feels seen, respected, and part of a caring school community. Instructional consistency across schools eliminates fragmentation, reduces inequities in program access, and ensures that transitions like moving from elementary to middle are both academically and developmentally responsive. By emphasizing coherence and teacher support through our teaching and learning centers, we're strengthening the foundation for great teaching across the district. These centers will provide professional learning, shared resources, and aligned coaching that directly improves student engagement and outcomes.

Our instructional plan guarantees that every student, no matter where they attend school, receives rigorous standardsbased instruction rooted in equity, excellence, and whole child assetbased learning. Curriculum revisions in every content area reflect evidence-based strategies that accelerate learning, build strong academic identities, and prepare students for college, career, and life.

The shift to consistent grade bands, K5, 68, and 912 creates equitable access to specialized programming. For example, middle schools will offer developmentally responsive learning environments with expanded arts, steam, and enrichment opportunities.

High schools will increase access to advanced coursework, electives, and career pathways that help students explore their passions and future goals. PPS is embedding universal design for learning principles in every classroom. Clear standardsbased pathways from grade to grade provide consistent expectations and reduce learning loss during transitions. The first year of implementation is critical. It gives schools the time and support they need to build strong instructional cultures before the launch of the new delivery model in year two. During this period, school teams will focus on developing shared expectations, aligning schedules and staffing, and strengthening collaborative planning. This deliberate sequencing ensures that when new instructional structures are introduced, they're grounded in stable systems, shared understanding, and a strong sense of community. It's how we move from change that is structural to change that is sustainable anchored in people, practice, and purpose.

Ultimately, instruction in every classroom will honor each student's identity and voice, building joy, purpose, and agency alongside strong academics so that every learner can thrive both personally and academically.

Our teachers at are at the center of this work. The teaching and learning centers, elementary, middle, and high school will serve as hubs for collaborative professional growth. Teachers will participate in coaching cycles that include model lessons, peer observations, and joint planning.

Professional learning communities will be built into schedules, giving educators dedicated time to co-plan, analyze data, and share effective strategies. For families, this means continuity and transparency. We'll provide clear information about what students are learning and how new curriculum tools are supporting stronger outcomes. Through visual guides, family nights, and digital platforms, we're helping families feel confident and connected to their child's learning.

Districtwide instructional delivery model with standardized course access will eliminate conflicts that have limited enrichment opportunities in the past. Common bail schedules, protected intervention and enrichment blocks, and equity guard rails will ensure that every school offers the same high quality opportunities for students.

Through scheduling simulations, schools can anticipate needs and make early adjustments to maximize access. Student voice surveys will guide the development of new elective offerings, ensuring that programs are relevant and engaging and equitable in access to advanced courses and extracurriculars.

Expanded opportunities are being built into every student's schedule, not reserved for select schools or specialized programs. E equitable access extends beyond academics. It's about ensuring every student experiences the full richness of a well-rounded education. Beginning in K8, every student will participate in both performing and visual arts. By middle school, these programs will help students explore identity, culture, and creativity through structured electives that also build career readiness.

We're also expanding steam education from 15% of students today to reach 100%

of middlegrade students by full implementation. Starting in grade three, students will have continuous access to world language instruction through graduation with opportunities for heritage language study and accelerated pathways. A structured elective sequence in grades six through 8 will connect learning to career readiness using e portfolios and community partnerships to help students discover their interests and strengths early.

Together, these changes ensure that creativity, innovation, and global competency are not privileges. They're guaranteed parts of every Pittsburgh students education.

Our commitment to student success is never ending. With the closure of the student achievement center, students will return to their home schools for inschool credit recovery support.

Each student will have a personalized transition plan monitored by counselors through weekly check-ins and family collaboration. Core services, counseling, social work, and behavioral health will continue without interruption. The middle school overage program will conclude with the SAC closure replaced by proactive interventions and flexible scheduling within students homechools. These changes ensure students receive sustained wraparound support close to their communities, fostering stability and stronger outcomes. I will now turn it over to Assistant Superintendent Patty Camper.

Inclusion is not a place. It is a practice. The strategies we are implementing are grounded in evidence-based approaches that strengthen outcomes for students with disabilities while improving culture for everyone. Inclusive practices preserve trusted relationships and services that have proven effective. purposeful design elements such as flexible seating, small group support, access to sensory spaces. In-class bathrooms for our youngest students, and flexible special education spaces create environments that support individualized instruction and behavior support.

Leadership and staff development are also critical. Principles and support administrators will model inclusive practices through professional learning in co-eing, culturally responsive instruction, and behavior support, positive behavior support. Families also remain active partners in this work with transparent communication, multiple feedback channels, and shared decisionmaking as members of the IEP team. Together, these moves make inclusion visible, intentional, and lasting. To further strengthen support for students, we're expanding and organizing regional programs for students with exceptionalities across the district.

While this includes maintaining the majority of established program, it also expands and adds new programs to ensure that students can access specialized services closer to home. The regional model allows us to better balance enrollment, increase le least restrictive environment in neighborhood schools, and reduce travel time when students require specialized support that is not available in their school. Ultimately, this will increase the likelihood that services meet students where they are rather than adding a long commute.

Finally, the future ready facilities plan includes a clear timeline for strengthening gifted and talented education through equity, access, and sustainability.

Our first priority is to deepen foundational learning, ensuring equitable identification, compliance with every GIE, and culturally responsive enrichment that reflects the strengths and interests of all learners. We are already taking steps to ensure that all educators and school staff are trained to identify gifted and talented students, including those whose abilities may not have been recognized through traditional measures. This professional learning will help educators see potential through an equity lens beyond test scores to uncover and nurture talent in every classroom. Year one will focus on preparing educators and schools to provide gifted supports and services as students transition to new configurations.

During this time, teachers will receive targeted professional development and schools will establish systems to integrate enrichment opportunities into daily instruction.

In year two, we will transition to a school embedded model with gifted educators integrated into every K5 and 68 school. This model ensures that enrichment is not isolated or supplemental, but woven into the daily learning experience so that advanced instruction is accessible to all students. Over time, we will build leadership capacity through a series of professional institutes focused on mentoring, sustainability, and embedding gifted practices into school culture. Together, these shifts make advanced learning opportunities inclusive, consistent, and reflective of Pittsburgh's diverse brilliance. So that gifted education is no longer defined by access to a single center, but by the presence of high expectations and opportunities in every classroom. Ultimately, this work represents a transformation from a program to a promise. a promise that every student in Pittsburgh public schools, regardless of background, will have the chance to be challenged, inspired, and supported to reach their highest potential.

The board requested that we clearly outline how this plan supports our students facing the greatest challenges, including African-American students, economically disadvantaged students, those with I IEPs and 504 plans, as well as English language learners.

At PPS, we know that equity isn't isn't a standalone program. It's a practice.

We're approaching equity and student support through four core strategies that will guide transition every transition and decision. These strategies ensure that while facilities may change, the quality of support remains consistent and student centered. These four strategies include guaranteeing service continuity. Every student will maintain their required supports, including IEP, 504, and EL services when moving to a new school. Staff will coordinate to ensure these services start immediately.

PPS is also expanding EL regional centers to bring instruction closer to families, reduce travel, and provide consistent support with certified staff in every region. Enhanced translation and interpretation services will ensure all families stay informed and engaged in their child's education. Stabilizing relationships. PPS will continue prioritizing relationships by keeping familiar staff with students whenever possible to maintain trust and continuity.

The district is also strengthening partnerships with organizations like the Alageney County Department of Human Services, out of schooltime providers, and behavioral health partners agencies to support students overall well-being through services such as counseling, food access, and mentorship. Intentional communication.

We will ensure families are fully informed and supported through translated ADA accessible welcome packets and regular updates via multiple communication channels. Each family will have a dedicated contact person for assistance, ensuring clear, accurate, and timely information, especially for English language learners, students with disabilities, and families new to the district.

Cultural and symbolic supports. Transitions can be emotional for students. to help them feel a sense of belonging. Receiving schools will organize walk the route activities, open houses, and social emotional learning activities to help students connect with their new peers and teachers.

Transition days and special afterchool events will mark the beginning of a unified school community. These symbolic gestures send a powerful message. Students are not outsiders moving from one building to another. They are valued members of their new school family.

Equity remains at the heart of all facility transitions and we are carefully designing support to protect continuity of services for our most vulnerable populations.

The first layer of accountability and action focuses on students with IEPs.

Program officers and school-based case managers will use centralized service logs to verify that every IEP's related service, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling, are delivered. Regular progress reviews at schools include structured IEP progress monitoring meetings 30 to 60 days after transitioning for identified students to address any needed services and adjust support promptly.

The PSSE department will conduct ongoing audits of IEP timelines and documentation to maintain alignment with federal and state mandates, ensuring full compliance and accountability. Service delivery data will be cross-referenced with attendance, climate, and achievement indicators on the students first dashboard to flag early concerns. This means that accountability will live both in data and in practice.

The second layer of accountability and action focuses on supporting students beyond academics and prioritizing emotional and behavioral stability. Counselors and social workers will increase check-ins during the first few weeks of transition to support emotional adjustment and coping.

Each receiving school will include structured spaces that promote self-regulation and reflection in the form of calming and sensory spaces. Board certified behavior analysts will be available to support staff co-design proactive culturally responsive behavior support plans and embed needed supports in daily routines. Lastly, behavioral interventions will align with multi-tiered systems of support and social emotional learning frameworks for consistency across classrooms. These systems ensure that our schools are emotionally ready, not just physically ready for every student. Family communication, engagement, and partnership are essential to successful transitions. As required, all IEP related documents and notices will be available in families preferred languages with interpretation support provided for meetings. Educational assistants and interpreters will ensure that families with English language learners and students with disabilities can actively participate in decision-making.

Prior to reconfiguration, IEP teams will meet to review each students IEP goals, discuss anticipated changes, and co-develop plans for continuity and transition support.

Family surveys and advisory sessions will inform ongoing improvements to service delivery, ensuring accountability and responsiveness. We want every family to feel informed, heard, and confident in their child's that their child's needs are supported.

By embedding accessibility and inclusion at every step, PPS ensures that no family faces transitions alone or uninformed.

Pittsburgh public schools acknowledges historical disparities affecting African-American students in special education, including over identification in certain disability categories and under identification for gifted programs, reflecting systemic bias rather than student ability. to confront the persistent racial disparities in identification, placement, and access to enrichment for African-American students with disabilities. PPS will monitor identification patterns by race and disability category to ensure fair and accurate evaluations.

The district will provide bias mitigation training for all evaluators to reduce disproportionality and collaborate with the office of equity and equity advisory panel to align corrective actions with the district's accountability systems.

We will expand access to advanced coursework and enrichment opportunities for acceleration as well as support.

Finally, we will integrate culturally responsive practices into speciallydesed instruction and behavioral supports. Through these actions, African-American students will have equitable access to support, enrichment, and opportunities to reach their fullest potential. Under the current Pittsburgh Gifted Center model, the inequities and access are deeply rooted in the underification or exclusion of African-American, lowincome, multilingual, and exceptional students. The new school embedded gifted model integrates gifted education into the core instructional program. No longer a separate track. Every PPS second grader completes the universal gifted screener comparing students to peers within their own school to ensure equitable identification.

There will be multiple entry points. Integration with MTSS allows ongoing identification based on emerging or domain specific strengths.

Certified gifted teachers and liaison will deliver gifted services in students homeschools, eliminating barriers and promoting inclusion. Teachers receive training on bias-free identification and culturally responsive enrichment to ensure advanced learning opportunities for all. Here's how the implementation will roll out over the next three years. In year one, the district will continue the universal screener with all second graders, begin training gifted teachers and liaison on equitable identification and instruction, and send gifted liaison to historically underidentified schools. In year two, the full implementation of the inschool gifted model will include transition to school embedded model with gifted educators in every K to 5 and 68 school, integrating the identification into MTSS with multiple review points each year, and releasing the first public equity dashboard showing gifted participation.

In year three, the expansion and refinement of this model with ex will extend enrichment opportunities to all students, increase targeted support for exceptional learners, and provide school leaders with training on building equitable gifted and talented pipelines. This timeline strategically reflects steady, sustainable growth toward true equity in gifted education.

Our English learner population is growing and EL centers must grow too in order to provide the proper accommodations. As a result, the ELD centers will increase and now include Northview, Schiller, Langley, Classical, West Liberty, Carmal, Liberty, Dworth, and while equitable access to EL services will be achieved through a comprehensive school-based approach that strengthens instruction, staffing, and support systems, which includes includes accurate identification and placement for all new English learners.

School-based EL teachers so students can have access to core subjects through embedded EL content teachers. The district's program Lingua Pittsburgh ESL Certification Pathway will provide content teachers the space to pursue ESL certification. Seven new roles were created to provide additional content area support. Family nights, school tours, and partnerships with Kasa San Jose, the Latino Community Center, JFCS, and Arise to foster belonging and cultural cultural responsiveness in wraparound services. I will now turn it over to the director of communications and stakeholder engagement, Miss Mercedes Williams.

Thank you so much, Assistant Superintendent Camper. Good evening, everyone. This implementation plan includes a detailed multi-year timeline highlighting highlighting early wins such as critical facility upgrades, reallocation of resources, and increased access to robust academic programming. Throughout this presentation, my colleagues have already reported on the early winds that you would see in year zero, which is currently happening right now. Year one, which begins in the top of the 2026 2027 school year, marks the formal launch of implementation, turning the planning of year zero into visible action that balances logistics with building culture and space, relocation, and readiness. Students, staff, and families begin the school year in their new buildings. Renovation work will pause during moves to ensure full accessibility.

Facility transitions. Surplus inventories will be cataloged and vacant buildings prepared for reuse or resale for reuse or sale. Culture and environment recognizing that space shapes experience. Year one emphasizes creating welcoming center student centered environments. School leaders will identify design needs such as funure, signage, enhancements through structured feedback tools. And then finally, leadership support. Principles will receive professional learning on cultural building and reconfigured schools to align operational supports with positive learning environments. And then now finally, specialized design work. Architects and design teams will begin developing plans for science labs, arts and music rooms, teacher collaboration spaces, and ELD areas using year zero assessments as the foundation. Year two, which is earmarked for the 2027 2028 school year, marks the launch of the major future ready facilities construction, turning design work into visible progress. Year two includes the following. Active construction, where operations transitions from design to full implementation. This is where vision becomes reality, including beginning construction on Pittsburgh Northview. Strategic scheduling time worked around summer and inter session periods to minimize disruption with consistent communication keeping our families informed. Specialized learning spaces projects focus on focused on science labs, music rooms, teacher collaboration centers and EL classrooms design in year one. are visible results. Completion of these modernized spaces will demonstrate realtime progress, deepen pride and belonging, and reinforce our commitment to equity and future ready learning for our milestones and accountability.

Milestones are built into each phase to measure progress, ensure accountability, and maintain and maintain transparency.

These checkpoints confirm that every action align with the district's commitment to put students first all ways and in all ways. Our public progress moni our public progress reports were annual updates to the board and community on implementation and outcomes, enrollment reviews, ongoing analysis to confirmed balance capacity and equitable access. Facility readiness checks were verification that each building is fully prepared before the student transitions. Stakeholder surveys, feedback from families, staff, and students to assess experiences and guide improvement. And then finally, transparency and accountability will guide every phase from now until full completion. To close out this presentation, I welcome back up our superintendent, Dr. Wayne. Walters.

The ongoing coordinated engagement, outreach, and community strategy for the Pittsburgh Public Schools future ready facilities plan is grounded in authentic stakeholder input and community partnership. This approach ensures that every initiative is informed by the voices of families, students, staff, and community members. Through ongoing dialogue, transparent communication, and intentional collaboration, we are building trust and fostering shared ownership. Here's a snapshot of our four communication strategies. Short videos that will quickly explain hot topics such as why future ready, transition supports, modernized classrooms, and sustainability upgrades.

Infographics are visual guides to map out information such as timeline at a glance, future ready by the numbers, and graphics highlighting magnet offerings in specialized learning spaces. We leverage our social media capital with bite-size posts that answer common questions, spotlight cost savings, highlight new program opportunities, and celebrate family traditions that will continue in new schools. And frequently asked questions. will be regularly updated on the PPS website to address concerns and provide straightforward answers. We are committed to creating spaces where students, families, staff, and community members can come together to hear updates directly, ask questions, and voice their concerns. Community conversations provide district-wide opportunities to share information and gather broad feedback, while school-based listening sessions create smaller, more personal spaces for dialogue at the school level. Together, these approaches will ensure that communication is not one way, but rather a true exchange that builds trust, clarity, and stronger school communities. These sessions will provide updates on timelines, feeder patterns, and program continuity. Both district leadership and school leaders are present to ensure accountability. Families will break into small groups to share concerns and ideas to support a smooth transition and we will capture visible feedback with the what we heard or what we are doing approach to demonstrate accountability. Each session will offer translation, child care and refreshments pending the budget and pass to reduce participation barriers.

Parent ambassadors will be a crucial piece of our engagement strategies. These parents will share accurate, timely information about the plan, help dispel rumors, serve as trusted listeners, bring feedback back to the district, and encourage family participation in meetings, surveys, and events. Co-design teams comprised of parent ambassadors, school and district leaders, and community partners will guide transition planning and ensure families voices shape implementation by engaging ambassadors from both closing and receiving schools. This coordinated approach promotes clear communication, reduces stress, and strengthens family belonging through intentional welcoming supports. Student voice will not be overlooked. In addition to student envoys, the superintendent's student advisory council, student board members, the future ready student ambassador program will empower students to shape and share the story of Pittsburgh public schools transformation. Student ambassadors ensure that student voices are included throughout the plan.

They serve as leaders and communicators, offering feedback on design and programs, speaking at events, engaging peers and families, and helping ensure that modernization efforts reflect the needs and perspectives of Pittsburgh public schools students. To help families and students feel welcomed and prepared for the new schools, Pittsburgh public schools will host Welcome to Your Future Ready School Kickoff Nights and orientations before the school year begins. In collaboration with school leaders, each school will define and promote its unique brand, programs, and culture. Featuring student ambassadors, tours, and resource tables, these events will celebrate each school's identity and readiness. The district will also share these moments through media and social platforms to build excitement and community pride around the future ready transport transition. Pittsburgh public schools is also launching the community sponsorship and school adoption process to strengthen school culture, build belonging, and transform every school into a thriving and vibrant community hub. Through partnerships with local businesses and organizations, schools will receive sustained support tailored to student and family needs. Community sponsors will be identified for each school by the start of the 2627 school year. The initiative embeds recognition and accountability to ensure meaningful lasting impact. As Pittsburgh public schools advances the future ready facilities plan, community hubs will provide stabil stability offering continuous services. welcoming environments and strong partnerships that help schools adapt and thrive during transitions. Reaching every family in every language through every platform is the best way for us to stay connected. There are five useful tools to send information to our families. Talking points, translated text messages, Blackboard Connect, translated phone messages, mailings and flyers distributed in multiple languages, digital pa platforms like our Pittsburgh public schools website, my PPS app, Peach Jar, constant contact, social media, which gives short videos, graphics, and interactive explainers. We must stay connected too. Every staff member will serve as reliable, trusted messengers, delivering core talking points and frequently asked questions for message consistency and we will provide them with message maps and scripts for quick accurate responses.

Staff will participate in scenario training to prepare them for empathetic informed decisions and communication.

to create a central reliable source of information. PPS will maintain a dedicated future ready PPS transition page as part of the district's online presence. This site will serve as the go-to digital hub for families, staff, and the community members housing school specific information, timelines, and FAQs. Finally, Pittsburgh Public Schools is embedding feedback loops, a two-way communication into the future ready facilities plan to build trust through visible action. Families, staff, and community partners can provide real-time input via surveys, listening sessions, and the parent hotline. Feedback is summarized in quarterly engagement reports that highlight key themes and district responses while the students first dashboard tracks progress publicly ensuring transparency and responsiveness throughout the transition.

Now if I could pause the slides and speak from the heart for one moment not as the superintendent but as someone who has given more than three decades to this district to our children and to this city. I want to share why this moment truly matters.

Tonight is not the beginning of this conversation. It is the continuation of a nearly two-year journey grounded in data, lived experiences, and unprecedented community engagement. Some have suggested we are rushing, but history tells a different story.

The last time this district made large-scale facility decisions, the proposal came forth in August and the board voted in November that same year. Today, we stand here nearly two years later, listening, learning, adjusting, and responding at every step. We must tell the truth. This is not rushed. This is responsible, rigorous, and long overdue. I have served Pittsburgh public schools for over 30 years. In that time, I have never witnessed community engagement as deep, as intentional, or as transparent as what we have done together. We have listened to families, staff, students, and partners. We have made meaningful changes based on community insight, many of which we uplifted tonight. But engagement does not mean that every suggestion becomes policy.

It means that we evaluate every idea through one lens. Is it in the best interest of students? That is the work and that is what we have done. To our board of directors, you have seen the data. You understand our financial reality more than anyone else. You know the inequities students face every day in our current structure. Inequities that cost opportunity, that cost dignity, that cost futures.

Our community is not asking if change is needed. They are asking what comes next.

And delaying action will not move us closer to excellence or equity. Delay has never closed a gap. Delay has never lifted a child. Delay has never changed a system that must evolve. If we believe education is the great equalizer, then we cannot continue structures that leave some children with more opportunity and others with less.

If we believe that education is the passport to the future, we cannot keep students waiting at the gate while others board. If we believe in the power and promise of public education, then we must acknowledge the consequences when we do not act. Consequences measured not in dollars but in life chances, in economic mobility, in human potential. You hired me to lead with courage, humility, transparency, and conviction. I honor multiple perspectives. I honor the process. I honor this community. But leadership also demands that we act when the moment calls us forward. And that moment is now. Our city needs us. Our families need us. Our staff need us. And most importantly, our students need us. And candidly, those who do not support change today are unlikely to support it tomorrow. Leadership cannot be guided by comfort.

It must be anchored in what is right for children. My moral compass is clear. I am here to serve every student, not just some. And tonight, I am asking for your partnership, for your courage, and for your vote so that we can do what we came here to do. Improve outcomes, improve experiences, and fulfill our responsibility to the children and families of Pittsburgh.

History does not remember intentions, it remembers decisions. Let us ensure that from years from now, we can all stand proudly and say that when our students needed us most, we acted, we led, and we put students first. Always in all ways. This concludes our presentation. I will now turn the meeting back over to Port President Gene Walker.

Thank you, Dr. Walters and thank you to the leadership team for it was almost a two-hour presentation. but thank you for scaling it down because 142 pages would have taken a little bit longer. but we do appreciate that. I will open up the floor to directors who have questions, comments. who wants to go first? Director Silk, you are on.

Thank you. I do have a number of questions. I'll I'll maybe ask a couple and then pass the baton. But before I turn any clarifying questions over to Dr. Walters and the the leadership team, I I wanted to start with a question to my my peers, my colleagues. and wanted to give an opportunity if there are any school directors who have an argument for supporting the status quo before we get into this particular plan. I would be really curious to hear that.

It sounds like you're asking for board members who are who would choose to not move forward, who would choose choose no action at all. Who would choose no action. Yeah.

I know that our status quo doesn't serve our children currently and I'm aware of our need to reconstitute our footprint and our resources so that we can serve our children equitably.

My issue with the plan has been and continues to be unfortunately after tonight's presentation that there feels to be a lack of adequate true planning from the administration that makes me feel uncomfortable in potentially voting yes on this plan in four weeks. And here's why. it is clear that a lot of thought has gone into the ideas and thoughts and things that we want to do around providing additional and all of these are good things. I'm not I'm not passing bad judgment on those. Adding additional support centers for our English language learners is important. re configuring our schools to the K to 5 6 to8 making it so that all of our elementary schools provide a quality education so that all of our eighth graders get algebra.

All of those are important next steps to take. The piece that is still missing for me and has has always been missing from this and that I was hoping to get tonight and if I did not communicate those expectations appropriately, that is on me is a clear understanding of what the timeline is and sequencing of events and not just in the next summer, year 1, year two blocks with with like broad statements which are important. I was hoping to get more information on let's see in my head yell you're putting me on the spot because I wasn't prepared to talk about this yet but like a great so the staffing projections for example and I'm not picking on you Chief Rudolph it's just the first section I came across has a great timeline of preparation and awareness from October to February and then there's the March piece and then and that's for the next six months and then we go into full implementation and it's just years 1 through three and I really was hoping to see a sequencing of activities that are happening potentially by quarter not necessarily by month and who's responsible for that because our bo job as a board if we approve this plan in November is going to be to also monitor the progress of this plan as it moves forward and without milestones presented to us of which milestones we are expecting to hit when and not just in years but in quarters. That makes our job as a board really hard. So I in no way defend the status quo. I know that the Pittsburgh public schools fails our students every day and that to me is unacceptable.

But the way that the information continues to be presented to the school board and the public does not alleviate my concerns about how it would be implemented. And if there is a plan, Dr. Walters that like a milestones thing like a Gant chart or something that your administration has that we haven't seen and there's a highle version of that that we could see that that was what I was hoping and I think potentially some of my other board members were hoping to see tonight and if we did not appropriately set that expectation I do apologize. but that's my response to your question Director Sulk. I just want to appreciate the cander and the reason why I wanted to start with doing a check around around does anyone think the status quo is acceptable and has a support for that is because we we are the people in the room right now and we have an opportunity in the coming weeks to have discussions with leadership with our constituents and among ourselves to find a path forward. forward that if we collectively don't think that the status quo is acceptable, then it is our responsibility to find a path to something better. and that is my focus. That is my personal focus. Regardless of how many critical questions I ask, that is what I'm individually looking for and what I am looking to do with my schoolboard colleagues because regardless of how much we disagree on particular aspects of the plan, I do believe that our collective focus is on working together for the best possible outcomes for our young people and to make sure that school adults have what they need to be successful. So I I thought that was an important setting that this is our job and that regardless again of issues that we might have, concerns we might have, my hope is that we are going to use this time over the next couple of weeks to have very real conversations because I personally don't think that a no is an option for our students, for our staff, for our families, for our city.

I think that that would be disastrous and I think we have a window to find a yes. I do. That's my belief.

again, still have lots of questions. and I'm going to start with one and then pass the baton. this plan articulates a great deal of interconnected changes over a relatively short duration. and makes mention of that kind of an optimal building utilization goal of like seven of 75 to 85% that right when we're in when we hit that we make all of these changes part of the reason for making all of these changes is so that we have a certain attendance level in schools because when we hit that that's when we're able operationally from a systems perspective to support students best offer for all the things that we want to offer. and yet if we do all of these changes that are in this plan based on a question that I asked in advance, my understanding is that still 23 out of 38 of the schools would still not meet this goal. And so I would appreciate some clarity around how do we how do we ensure that those schools that are still not going to be in that optimal that optimal zone. How do we make sure that those students are still getting the learning opportunities that we want them to have?

That was page 57 from from my questions and for clarity I did not have 57 pages of questions from the previous question from the from the yeah from the sorry for the for the public that might be a little confused. There were questions from board members that were presented to the superintendent prior and she's asking a question that came from the full report that you'll be able to read but also from the segment of questions that were answered prior that we will likely go through most of if not all tonight so that there is clarity because this is a big deal.

Yes. So, you are correct that, some of the the projected spaces would not be as full as possible. And so, when we did this, we wanted to create some space for to attract other students back to Pittsburgh public schools, but also at the same time, we wanted to make sure that we can still offer adequate programming without taking a huge hit in just closing a variety a lot more schools to meet that that population trend. so we wanted to to leave some space for that as well. a lot of these projections are also based in the size of buildings and so our schools have a variety of sizes. So because one building may for instance if you think about a basher versus a Manchester for instance you know the size of school is different. So when we think about percentage of of size, it may still create the same opportunities for students in size that we think that we can deliver the same highquality education. So although those numbers are not to capacity, we still believe that in our plan that we can provide the instructional model that we're putting forth for all children to experience those things. Would would we make changes to the sitebased budgeting process to to to make that happen?

That is a part of the process. It's it's the it's the model. So we we do that right now actually. So with our smaller schools we sort of take money from our larger schools to make sure that we can supplement and make sure that they can provide our our instructional model and we will do the same in those cases. But right now we believe that's our that's our modeling that we have done in through our budget development department based on the model that we've put forth. Thank you. Well, if I could, I want I'd like to piggyback on that idea. because I think fundamentally what we're saying, right, is you know, at the elementary school level, right, there will be a standard academic offering at every school, right? And so it then it becomes essential that kind of regardless of enrollment that we staff for those positions, which would be potentially a shift from how we do school-based budgeting currently because I know on occasion now if there isn't enough enrollment for a specific academic offering then it then it often is not staffed and offered.

Does that make sense? Yes. but right now some our instructionally delivery model does not include all of those required spaces. So the things that we're proposing about art, world language, STEM experiences, those are novelties. those are not a part of our core instructional model. Now, what we're proposing is to make that a part of our core instructional model so that all students have those opportunities and experiences.

Director Yord, thank you, Director Walker. so yeah, thank you for the presentation. I know the staff worked hard on this. I yeah I guess I'll go back to the question that I mentioned in my response to director Silk which was how are we how are we tracking all of the various milestones and all of the interconnectedness of this plan. I think that is my biggest concern and issue right now and that what I was hoping to see tonight was more demonstration of the sequencing of events and the tracking of the milestones. does does that exist in the administration? So, I can let each department speak to that, but it does exist. We probably didn't put every specific detailed in. So, we didn't put on this date we're talking to the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. On this date, we're going to have conversations, you know, on this date, on this date. Some of that work has already started. So, we didn't put in all of the dates. And the action part of it for actual communicating and moving forward is based on board approval. So, I've always shared with staff when they've asked questions is we are prepared to communicate pending board approval. So, I can't go out. So, if you vote yes in November, right, then we proceed in December. But if you don't vote yes in November and it comes back in December and then you decide to vote yes in December, then that changes timeline for so for us to invest in actually publishing dates and times is really not productive for us at this juncture because it's contingent on board approval. But do we have a process for when we do so and when we move? Absolutely. Every department can probably speak specifically to what they've done already and what they've organized and what they plan to do. So if you'd like to hear from all of the departments, I can have them do so, but that was not our intention to put those specifics in a plan because I viewed that to be honest as more superintendent work than board work around every specific detail. Yeah. so when I think about, you know, how we construct student outcomes focused governance and what we think about board work versus superintendent work. My role is to give you the big picture, but I didn't I wasn't aware that you wanted every specific date and time. Yeah. It's not it's not and I don't need to hear from all of the chiefs, so you guys don't need to prepare to respond individually. It's not that I need every date and every action. I want I I was hoping to see and I would like to still see before we vote on this that there is or at least here that there is some sort of there's tracking happening and that there is an awareness of the sequencing that needs to happen and I'm fully aware that that the timeline shifts based on board approval.

My concern and the community's concern I believe is that there's a lot of things that's saying like this is going to happen in year one but year one is both very close and also a large time and so when we say that something is going to happen in year 1 does that mean that it's going to happen in like September December timeline does that mean it's going to h that's that's the kind of information I'm looking for and I understand your point about the work that we've been doing and the difference between superintendent work and board governance work. But the job of the board is to also govern the administration and to make sure that we are reaching milestones and we are unable to make sure that you are reaching milestones if we do not know what those milestones are and that is my concern. So what I what I will say to that again is that my belief is we're poised.

We've been acting before the board has acted because we know we can't wait for your action to begin our action. So we've been putting things in place like I said if you wanted to you said you don't want to hear from all the departments but every department when we meet has been doing action and work right behind the scenes in case to so that we're prepared to act. We already know that our our guidance is around if we move with this plan it begins the 2627 school year. So we've been poised and positioned for that as well. Right. I just want to highlight and just say that we have to continue this work because this has been a two-year almost two-year journey. Totally. And so I just want to acknowledge that publicly that this has been a two-year journey of us trying to create movement. And so we have we have stopped at every road honored every request to try to bring the board more clarity based on board action. Totally.

But that does not mean that we are sitting idly waiting for board action to begin that process. And we have we have been doing those things. We have every department has clear outlines of when things will start and when things will will will happen. So what we shared in the 140 page document was the bigger picture of guidance and some of it is sequenced. It just doesn't have dates and times but we do have accountability metrics and milestones around what that looks like to prepare for the 2627 school year and the 278 28 school year. Everything from facilities, from construction, from our financial picture, from our office of human resources, from our professional learning, from our special education department, from how we're going to build culture with our schools, from our communication and marketing strategies, from our our look on equity, from our technology delivery systems to our packing of schools, all of those things already in process waiting for the board to act. Okay, that's helpful. That's helpful clarification. So, what I'm hearing from you then, Dr. Walters is that if the board were to vote yes at the end of November that the administration has a plan in place with milestones and the board would at that point see those timelines and that roll out and have that information available to us if that's what you desire to see. Yes. I thought you were I thought you were trusting us to do that walk and we could give you quarterly updates. I didn't understand that you wanted to know every step by a time. But if that's what you want a milestone chart, I guess that will be the other ask and we can work on that.

Well, director Yod, if I could u Yeah, please. And this is purely like because you asked the question just now. you know, we have we have in our schedule monthly progress monitoring reports that that hit on u the goals of the superintendent specifically. would it make sense then at least in the in the early going well even long term but you know for the first six months let's just say as we lead into the 2627 school year to create space during that monthly progress monitoring to also add in that this implementation monitoring that would give us a not just a quarterly timeline but a monthly like this is what has happened in the last 30 days. This is what we expect to happen in the next 30 days. So that as we transition monthtomonth, we can then look at what was supposed to happen, what was said to be happen, and then what did and then be able to monitor progress in that manner. Now, obviously, we'd have to get that something like that would be helpful to me and to the community. And I don't think it has to be monthly because I know that some of this work is going to be like we are renovating a school and that is going to take at least three to six months. And so I know in the plan they mentioned doing annual reports. Director Silk and I both in our questions asked that that be adjusted to quarterly so that we can adequately monitor it. But yes, something along the lines of what you're talking about do director Walker of both looking back at what we've done, forecasting what we've done. Did we hit all of the milestones that we said we were going to? Amazing. Did we not? Fine. Sometimes that happens with massive construction projects and I think everyone here understands that because people people will understand if like we haven't hit that but like if we haven't hit the milestones, why haven't we hit it and what are we doing to remedy that? And that's the kind of information that I believe is the job of the board to monitor and to govern. and so that's the kind of information that that I'm looking for. And it doesn't need to be every meeting and every call, but it should be to, in my opinion, the large pieces of, you know, starting renovations on schools and transitioning teachers and have we hit our my, you know, how many road shows I'm again picking on Chief Rudolph just because this is a slide in front of me, but how many road shows have we had this quarter? 32 out of 39. Amazing. So, an example. Exactly. And so to have that regular update is important both for the board to understand and to govern and to do our job as the governing body of of the school district and for the community to understand so that they know what is happening to their schools and I think that would also alleviate some concerns that people have. That would be what I am asking for something and I hear you. think you know I think especially I mean so we're we're going to make an assumption right we assume we can make an assumption that we we vote in November you know these these first six months after this vote is going to be when a ton of activity happens I I can see I can envision a space where we are getting you know monthly updates because that that first transition right we're going to be talking about the transition of of 5,000 students give or take I'm guessing on the number with less schools, different transportation rates. So I think in that early going the the mon progress monitoring I think is going to be a little more heightened than it would be say in June of 2027 because then we're likely getting into the curriculum piece and a lot of the construction stuff which is a little longer term. But in this short term, I think it would make complete sense to to kind of like, okay, we're it's January, where are we at? What are we doing? It's February, right? Some of the reports will be less intense than others. But I think creating that cadence in addition, I think I would be fully in alignment on that.

And to alleviate Dr. Walter's concern because I can see his face. It was not it's not to just say, Dr. Walters, why haven't you hit these milestones? But also for the board to be collaborative and say, great, you're reaching these milestones. How can we help accelerate things? Or you haven't reached this milestone. How can the board do our job better and help you do your job and meet? So, it's not because I just want to like monthly roast Dr. Walters and make his life difficult. It's because we need it is our job as a board to govern and make sure things are happening and to also work as a team of 10 to make sure that things are happening. So I could see your face and I just want to assure you that I at least am not trying to just roast you on a monthly basis.

No, that was not what my if that was what my face was expressing. It was not about roasting. It was just more so about all of that is pending board action. And I want to underscore that that all of these things happen when the board acts. And the more the board delays with action crunches the time more for our action to make that action public to communicate that because there are things that we simply cannot communicate as a go until the board makes the go. Just want to share that. That's what my face will share. I have no problem with the monthly roasting if that's the desire of the board. then I will I will you know make that determination how long I want to be roasted and move on from there. But but you know but but certainly no that was not what my face expression was. My facial expression was around the need for the board to act so that these things can happen. Yeah. And I I fully agree that that as we like our job is to to monitor the progress of the work of the superintendent and this is a major piece of it. And so creating creating timelines and and spaces where we can especially with a a new set of board members coming on in the next 60 days to enable us and them to really do this work along with the superintendent really well. So, I think that's a great point and thank you for bringing it up. Mr. Odin is online. We will switch to Mr. Odin.

And you are on mute, Mr. Odin, if you're talking. I'm trying to unmute. There you go. We got you now. Okay. Thank you. I want to associate myself with some of the comments made earlier by director Yord and Director Silk relative to tracking and evaluation.

But before we do that, I want to express my gratitude and thanks to the staff, to the superintendent and his staff that have been working diligently with the consultants and the boards and the administrative staff trying to satisfy everyone's demands and complaints. you've done a remarkable job and I want to thank you for it, congratulate you for it. and I my comments are primarily I think more directed to our board of directors than the superintendent and the staff. and they they fit into a a kind of a single category. I would just urged the board to to consider the culture of objective evaluation.

Objective evaluation requires that evaluation is done by an outside independent source. Number one. And number two, it starts when you start. It starts at the beginning of the process and builds in evaluation. indications of objective evaluation guidelines and and mile mile signs.

so it requires the goals to be quantitative and measurable over a certain period of time and allows us to be to to evaluate the work of the superintendent and his administration and as well as the progress and success of our plan in terms of educating students. closing the gaps, closing the educational achievement gaps for some reason. And I'm not sure what the reason is. I think the board resists outside independent evaluation. and you've been tolerant and I thank you for your tolerance with my continuing to bring this issue up but there has been no acceptance I don't think of the board to implement a culture of objective evaluation and we've talked about tracking and the board certainly has built-in measures for tracking. But after we track performance and track progress, we don't know to what ex how much progress has been achieved and how we change and build in corrections so that we achieve the the principles of equity and excellence that we love to talk about. The board has to make this decision that that's the kind of of the the kind of goal, the kind of value that we have to implement and measure the the success, especially the academic achievement success of of our students who we continue to say we we honor all students in all ways. but we don't objectively monitor and measure their progress and achievement and therefore we are unable to implement corrective measures. That's my primary concern. and it's the board's responsibility first to consider this policy change and policy integration of outside independent evaluation.

and then the superintendent will be able to to implement that evaluation. But it has to first come from the board. And I don't quite understand why the board is reluctant to implement a culture of outside independent evaluation. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Mr. Director Barker.

let me first start by saying thank you Dr. Walters administration. I know this was very very very rigorous work. I appreciate every second minute, hour, day, week that was put into this. I'm going to start out by saying I heard a song. It's a gospel song. It says I won't complain. So you're not going to get that from me today. which you're going to get from me today. is a man who's willing and able to collaborate in any way I can. one of the ways that I and I and I'm hoping that you all because I heard you say that you've all been working. so this is really just, you know, piggybacking off of Director Yord's concerns. so I'm Lord willing, you all started the process on identifying peer mentoring prospects. folk for the family on on boarding as well as the parent ambassadors but what I would ask is that being that we all still live in these communities and reside in them and there's going to be opportunity for us to go out and speak to our constituents if you all have anything that can help us help you all in these situations please provide that that way we can help a part of the recruiting process So the parent ambassadors that should be an ongoing thing. It shouldn't just go you know shouldn't be just a thing that is happening during this process but it should always be a continued process because we strongly need not only parent ambassadors, guardian ambassadors, we need community ambassadors. we need some folk that are within our communities that may just need, you know, our facilities to change their lives. You know, some of them are retired teachers. Some of them are, you know, retired well, not retired parents, but their their children have aged out of our of our district and they still have so much to to offer in this world. And I would just strongly suggest that we get some recruiting aspects to bring them back into our buildings to help be a part of the change because if we want to talk about the it takes a village it's going to take a village plus for this to really work. because there's going to be so many folk that are regardless of how flawless this works, how transparent we are, they're not going to buy into this.

And we need to get as many positive influences to help us push this initiative forward and to maintain it. That way we can be stable and proud that we were brave enough to make the decision that so many people were afraid to make. so that's all I have to say for now. I may come back and do another commercial. but again, thank you all.

Director Barker, I was excited that there might be a thing called a retired parent. That's a good thing, but I I don't think that's a thing. doesn't seem Thank you, Director Barker. Director Petroski. Thank you, Mr. Walker.

and thank you again to the administration for the report and the presentation.

and Dr. Mr. Walters, I know that your closing remarks are supposed to be your last harrah to be like, let's go vote for this thing, but please don't ever again imply that I do not care whe regardless of however I vote come however many weeks from now because I'm going to just leave it at that. I don't need to explain myself, but I wouldn't be sitting in this seat if I didn't care. so now I think and again like piggybacking and one uping plus oneing whatever Miss Yord's comments from the beginning I think what I would like for the public to be able to have access to because this report is big and it's lots of words and it's it's not it's not written at an accessible level and I think what would be helpful are very clear as you said, you know, we can use social media and make graphics and all of these things, but have like what are the actual net savings at the end of this? What are the actual net if there's any net losses even because that may happen across, you know, through this plan. same with, you know, positions, things like that. things with improving these maps because I know we ask for maps all the time and I know we have the computer app that lets you go in and type in your address, but it's still not the most helpful. I was using it while you were talking and it's still just not super user friendly. And I think if that could, you know, be improved upon as we're trying to attract new students to the district because I know people choose their neighborhoods based on their schools. and so I don't need to get into the super details, but if there's a way sometime during this plan, not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, whatever, that folks can just like type in, click in a neighborhood and be like, this is your school. Click on a street, this is your school, because with these attendance zones, there are so many where it just says from this street to this street. I don't know what that means. Like I would have to go in, Google it myself, look on a map and be like, "Okay, where am I on this street? Am I within these blocks of what was it? Black Street to whatever when it was talking about Garfield Columbbo." Colbo. I even wrote a note that says, "This makes me angry." When I was reading this earlier. So, you know, just things to make this plan more accessible, especially to folk like you don't have to translate the whole thing, but things to make this more accessible to folks who who who need it to be more accessible. people who don't have computers like we need to have this you know readily available. I know that there are plans to do that but I need to reiterate it. so sorry and so ultimately again to like plus one Miss Yort's comments but but I think where a lot of my issue has come throughout this process like this is this plan is fine. It's great. Like it tells you everything exactly that's going to happen over the next so many years. I know what buildings, what's going to happen where you know, but the fact that there are other moving parts outside of this plan that are going to impact the execution of this plan. particularly and I'm sorry to bring up a whole other report when we're talking about this one but the controller had sent us a report for example talking about how our RFP process could be improved because of cost savings and so you know my problem and and it maybe it's like a transparency issue or maybe it's just a an integration issue but is how are we changing our other practices to make sure that this plan is successful. So, like when we have to reduce all of these bus rides, which is great. That's awesome. Then kids aren't spending an hour on the bus and, you know, getting dinner and going to bed immediately and not having family time. But so are we, and you don't have to answer this today.

I'm sure again it's in your mind and it's on your your your whiteboards and I'm sure it's going to happen, but because we don't know if it's going to happen, it it makes transparency very difficult.

and that's not necessarily like anybody's like fault. I get it's we need the vote before something can move forward, so we can't say something's a go. But so basically is like are our bus contracts going to be renegotiated or are we going to be paying the same amount for however many years until it's time to to to sign bus contracts again even though we're reducing all of these rides. And so, you know, it's not even just about like it's it's about improving all of the processes so that this this can work. so the buses thinking about too as the the work for these buildings will probably maybe happen is how are we to controller Heistler's point like contacting local vendors like how can we improve that process so that we can also improve our communities which would then also attract more people into our district and then of course you know I know again that the plan doesn't touch on this I'm sure it's on a whiteboard or on a piece of paper somewhere or in a document in a computer. But we're closing a lot of buildings. And my biggest problem, and it has been since the start, is what are we doing with all of these empty buildings that are not going to be utilized at all? Like not for a teacher center, not for a welcome center, not for anything. because the disposition process can be lengthy. and leaving empty schools blight our neighborhoods, too. And we cannot talk about equity throughout this plan and talk about how good it is going to be for everybody when we're also leaving some blight in communities whether it's for a year or longer because you know again I can only mention schools in my district but like Knoxville and Bonire are still sitting vacant. I still get complaints about it. it still lowers property values which then lowers our tax revenue which then you know discourages people from using like coming to our district and so this plan is is fine like it could be executed it could work but then how do we know that it's not going to fall apart in 5 years when it's over because we haven't figured like we haven't figured out a way to address all of these other issues that this district has because for whatever reason and whether that's like a policy issue like the RFP process would be. you know, we've talked about raising taxes and I don't think we could even and I'm not voting on a on a budget this year. I will not be here, but I would not vote to raise taxes at this point when there are still so many unanswered questions.

Again, plan could happen, but like where are the outcomes in this plan?

like okay you close my school and I move around but you have Dr. Walters, you have your goals and the board has their goals, but is there any evidence anywhere that says like, and I know that there is, but but we need to have our work cited, right?

Like, if everybody has access to art and music, it's good for children's brain development, and then they can read better. Like, that needs to be said and it needs to be cut and dry because not everybody knows that, and you need to be able to prove it. Otherwise, it just looks like, oh, we're just closing schools just because, or just to save money. and saving money is also a good aspect of it because the state doesn't have a budget. There's all of these things, you know. So, so again, it's not this like I hate this plan, I love this plan. It's I think this can work. We are failing our students, but there are other things that in my mind I'm like if these are not addressed, we are going to be in the same boat in 5 years. We're going to be in the same boat in 10 years. And I need to see that guarantee of like we are going to be equitable after 5 years. We are going to be equitable at 10 years. We are going to be equitable beyond that because every district across the United States. Well, and you know, I'll just only talk about Pennsylvania since I'm more familiar with their laws, but every district across Pennsylvania is like unequitably funded. It's, you know, fighting, you know, and in our case, like we're waiting on a countywide reassessment. The city still has 26 million of our dollars and that's going to keep going up. And so inequity is built into the system. And so, not only do we have to say we're going to be equitable, we have to fight back on it actively all of the time. And it's not just through like our state legislators. It's by like and our in our local council people and yelling at people all the time and negotiating all the time. It's also literally what program can I put in here so that it's better like what program can I put over here so that that you know Westinghouse is just as attractive as Alderdise as Kappa as as because there should be no reason that anybody wants to go to one school over the other. and so, so again, looks great. It's great. Thank you. Like, you know, and and I think the the only last piece is like recognizing, and this will be on your the project manager's jobs, and I for the record, I don't think that they're going to be paid enough. So, if you can find some more money on that, you should try, but good luck. but it's also going to be the project manager's jobs to understand you know when it's time to pivot too.

So, like, yeah, there's this plan. There should be addendums to this plan throughout its process and board approved addendums and all those kinds of things. Like to Miss Yord's point is like we need to see these milestone updates so that when something happens, your project managers can suggest, this isn't working or you know, we found as bestus or whatever and now the price is good, whatever it is. But like that needs to be transparent at all times or as often as it is like feasible. simply because it's like we're taking a lot we are taking a lot from the community. This has been hard on the community. It's been hard on this board. It's hard to think about five years in the future when you know you have little kids like or you know even high schoolers as they're like growing up and moving on. It's hard to imagine change when you've been so comfortable in it. you know and as my husband says it's like the only thing that's worse than change is things staying the same. And I always agree with that. I'm rambling a little bit and I'm sorry, but I don't sleep anymore because I have a six-month-old. but Dr. Walters, I think you get my point. It's just like there's those little pieces missing that if they can't even be addressed in the next month, they need to be addressed throughout the course of the implementation of this plan. So, thank you, Director Reid. Thank you. I think you know we could it's pretty clear that we have some sort of procedural issues that we need to work out as a board and administration so that we are closely monitoring well the superintendent is closely monitoring what's happening in with regard to the implementation of this plan. if we vote to implement it and that we are in close coordination with the superintendent around that. So that that part is clear. one of the things that I think that I thought as I read through the plan, there's a lot of sort of movement to centralize things like to to make gifted across, you know, sort of across the district to reduce the segregation of students who need credit recovery. to to sort of implement universal design principles. And and those things are not just activities.

They're they're like changing the the way that adults are doing their jobs in schools. So, as we are monitoring you know how we're how students are transitioning and and our transitioners, I think I'm I'm still a little bit worried about them. but I I won't digress. as we're monitoring how students are transitioning and whether or not we're doing universal screening for for gifted and how, you know, whether or not students are recovering credits, we also need to be in some way thinking about how we are judging whether or not adults in school buildings are connecting with ideas like restorative practices and they are connecting with those ideas and that becomes part of what school is for for young people in our region. we have a responsibility to make sure that we're we're changing students school experience and the only way we can do that is adults changing their the way they're interacting with students in schools. So, that's one thing that I feel like we it's it's sort of hard to gauge, but we have to keep our finger on the pulse of whether or not adults are buying into the idea that gifted education can be can be sort of across the district, implemented across the district. whether or not students who you know students with exceptionalities whether or not they're getting what they need and that is a a core part of what needs to happen in every school. so we have to find a way to to connect with that. And then I think that when I think about, you know, the concerns of people that I've that I've spoken to, one of the things becomes really clear is that, people are, you know, sort of concerned about these multiple transitions about moving from one school that where they're comfortable to another school. We all know that that is the case. And so I think when I was reading about what we're doing for students with with exceptionalities and how we're you know there will be an effort to be very strategic about how they are welcomed into a new place and they are supported in that place. It feels like that is a good model for our students who are transitioning, especially our students who will be making multiple transitions if this plan is accepted, making multiple transitions over that same number of years, if that makes sense. So, I, you know, really appreciate the work that's gone into the plan. we it's clear that we have some work to do with regard to how we're going to monitor progress and I think that we we also have to be clear about how we're moni monitoring how educators are progressing in in within this plan as well.

Oh that's all. Thank you, Tracy. And I hope your back is feeling better.

Thank you.

You ready? I can go first if you want. We can switch it up.

You want to go first? I can. I mean, I just have questions. I have questions, too. All right. You go first.

Well, now that we got through that. Okay. Thank you. I value the work and the time that you all put into any and everything that you do. so I want to start there because I think sometimes it gets confused. I think sometimes push back or questioning or asking for clarity and additional information gets confused with like we don't care. and that could be farther from the truth. and if that's what you think, I have we can have some time to talk about that later because I'd like to know why you think that, you might care more than others if you vote yes or v vote no. but with that being said, I did have a couple questions and then I'm gonna make a comment and then I'mma I'm gonna sit back. cuz this is exhausting. This almost two years of time has been exhausting for everybody, but mostly because we've like drugged everybody through the mud. We've drug ourselves through the mud a lot of times trying to do something, put the cart before the horse or whatnot. And and I think that when I went when I went through this the booklet and then even just through this presentation today, like there still feels like I don't know, maybe what we are asking for or saying still doesn't feel like it's completely translated. And so that makes this process feel incomplete to me. That's why I would vote no. I'm not going to keep voting. I mean, if you want me to rubber stamp I give you two more years of what I got to say and then y'all can not have to ever listen to me again because I won't be at this table. So the first thing I'm going to ask is like so with the feeder patterns I know I understand that like there's content and information that we've already kind of figured out but then there were some new pieces to the feeder patterns that we had to figure out. what would be really helpful for me just so I have an understanding because I know the neighborhoods that I represent and I know the schools that I represent as an elected official but I don't as a board member have never really had a good sense of the feeder patterns like I understand or I know like like parents have these you know these schools and that they they go to but in my district most of my people you know you know capitalize off the magnet program. So, nobody was sending their kids anywhere that they were supposed to be. So, it's unclear to me and this like left me a little bit in the dark. So, like what you did in the on page 21 with the phase on Lincoln attendance zone adjustments like having that like pathway would be really helpful to know for for our for our districts. And I'll just speak for myself for district 2. It would be really helpful for me to know now like what where people are going. I'm losing like four or five schools in this equation. So, you know, like make it make sense to me, please, so that y'all don't have to hear me talk stuff and I'll use my my appropriate words today. the second thought question that I had was the the implementation timeline like feels a little bit uncertain to me with mostly under around how we will transition facilities. but so we're saying that in year one is when we're going to launch implementation planning or what we're going to start to but but we're but it's not until year two that we actually do any type of construction. So my concern is like you're you're closing Fulton and you're closing Wool Slayer and you're closing Arsenal PreK5. This is just my district. I'm not really concerned about anybody else's district right now. I'm really sorry about that. I know I represent everybody, but district 2 is what's on my mind right now. So, you're closing these schools and it's not like you're putting new students in those buildings, but it's not clear like like all this great education and delivery that we want to have for our schools. I'm on board with that. Like, nobody should have to send their kid to a magnet program just to get a good education. we shouldn't be cramming children into like five buildings just so that in the name of having a good education. So, I'm all for it, but it then it doesn't make sense to me like how we don't start construction or actually like making those spaces that we say are going to deliver better education until year two. And if I'm like misunderstanding it, please correct me, but it just Thank you. So, I know that there was a comment regarding the contracting and the the bidding RFP process thing, but in terms of construction, there is a lead time for design. So, whenever you're designing a project, you'll need to bid out and have RFPs for architects so that they can design the project. And typically, there's a 12 to 18month lead time for that design before you begin construction. So that's what the first year is going to be designing the project the major construction projects before you actually have to start construction on I believe North View is one of the major construction projects. So you have and this the same as with any of our capital plans. If you look at our capital plans, there are architects and design costs in the first year before you have a major construction project because you need to design it before you start construction because if you start construction before designing, you'll have tons of issues and tons of change orders and it will spiral out of cost will spiral out of control. Thank you. That that helps. and the and the reason why like I guess that was kind of like like sticking with me is because like we're going to put in this whole transition. I understand the process of how that needs to work, right? But but I'm concerned about the the the tiny bodies who we're telling their school is going to close and we're going to send them somewhere else and now they're in a new building and it doesn't necessarily have what they need to have this like dream educational delivery thing. So that's just where my concern is. Hopefully that makes sense, but I have a concern about that. So maybe in the future before we have to vote on this, somebody could make me feel a little bit better about it so I won't have that concern anymore. Okay. The third thing and then a comment and then Jen, you can take it away. okay. Now, I had to fight for my life to get this engagement, outreach, and communications portion of this to stay because it seemed like people had problems with it. And I appreciate like how you laid this out. I'm supportive of it. There's a couple things that I just want to make mention of and they're questions, but also like I'm just telling you how I feel about it. Okay, so the first one was this is page 59 if we're following along with what I have to say. So the community conversations, I appreciate that y'all spent time doing that over the past several months. Now, I hear concerns and issues with people not getting getting the information late and not or not getting information or notice about those sessions at all. So, if this is a part of like how we'll move forward, I hope that's something that we will solve for how we could do better like because maybe the the the methods that we typically communicate with people something is missing the mark. So, I don't know. Maybe I'll have to stand outside at every school in my district and and tell people to to read their emails or something because something is not something is not adding up. The math is not mathing. Okay. So, the second one is the parent ambassadors. I feel like I can support this, but I would like to know just how we intend to select parents to be a part of this process and how we will ensure that we're not just selecting parents that just support all of this whatever we got going on here. and that we might have some some devil advocates in that group, but that that's not a bad thing. it just means that there are people voices that can help us solve for or think for things that us educated people or we even have education people just think you know think differently and so I hope there's a you can answer that question later I don't even care.

Okay. And then the last thing is the community sponsorship and school adoption. I don't understand what that's going to look like, but I really would like to kind of have a little bit more idea of how we adopting the school up in here. But what the thing that's missing and it's not something that we asked for, but I just wonder like how this plays a role in our community schools model. because none nothing on these pages talk about that, but we didn't also ask for it. But that'd be one of those things that I'd like to know like how that's going to work out because I'm one of my schools is a community school and it's going to close. So I'd like to know like how we're going to solve for making sure that we are expanding that it's not a program but we're expanding that model across the district so that needs are getting met if schools are supposed to be community hubs. Okay.

Finally, my final words. I wanted to kind of chime in when Miss Y brought this up, but we don't we still doing 2020 COVID things where we just let each person just talk for like 25 minutes and then we go on to the next person and maybe we'll fix that someday. But I wanted to chime in because it feels like I know what I'm responsible for. Okay, I represent the people who elected me to sit in this seat. So, the district 2 families and students and even the teachers who live in district some of you at this table live in my district.

Thank you for your support and and I know that I'm responsible for the superintendent, Dr. Wayne and Walters.

I'm also responsible for other things, but those two things I know for sure that I'm responsible for. And so, I understand the work that we are doing. with building goals and guard rails or whatever we choose to call them. because that work is important to us as a board because we never had any type of structure, but it's also important to how we function as a district so that we can let the superintendent lead. But don't get it twisted. Your superintendent work I am still responsible for. So when we say like sometimes I feel like we just think that we don't need to give information to schoolboard members because it's not schoolboard work. We still have to understand things can still be communicated and even if you're waiting for a vote to happen before you can do the work. There's still nothing wrong with having examples of what this could look like so that we can see the vision cuz right now I still don't see the vision. And you gave me like a hund and something page booklet and a 60 something page presentation and I still I still having hard time seeing the vision and I want to get on board with you guys and I want to be able to understand where we're going so that I can take that back to the people that I represent. Don't forget I represent people that are affected by this plan.

So I really want to make sure that we are clear and we understand that the work that we are doing to build structure and around our goals and how we hold the superintendent accountable for those goals is not an excuse to say we leave the board out of the conversation because I have the power and the authority. No one has a well some s there are people in this room who won't have a job if I don't say so. So I think it's really important at the end of the day to make sure that we are clear. I don't need all of the detail and I don't need to hear from all of the chiefs to make it make sense. But I do need to have some understanding of what's happening. So I'm glad that we were able to come to a resolution on how we can do that. I wanted to say that an hour and a half ago, but it wasn't an opportunity for me to do so, so I'm saying it now. So, thank you that we were able to work that out because that isn't always been our strength is working out things in the middle of the storm. So, thank you, Miss Yord, and Mr. Walker for at least making sure that we we came to that resolution. And I'll take it away. Oh, no. I don't want to stop you. You're not done. No, I mean a lot of the other questions that I really had like have already been talked about, so I don't feel like I need to belabor the point, but thank you. Yes, please.

thank you, Director Talfer. I had a clarifying question for you. So, when you say that you want to see the vision and you're not like on board with the vision, like what would it take? What what's missing that's not selling you on the vision? So for me it was like I want to understand the the timeline on a quarterly basis and what milestones we're going to hit etc etc the thing that we talked about a while ago. Is that addressing some of your concerns about understanding the the vision in terms of the structure and the next steps and the sequencing of things or are you talking about vision because I'm taking notes here to summarize at the end of like here's the feedback to alter Walters that I heard that we want to get updates on in two weeks because we have a meeting in two weeks. like what does it look like for you for that to understand the vision? Is it structural like what I was talking about or is it something else? so it is that. So I I agree with you on that. That's why I feel like I didn't really like dive deep into it. But it is still hitting me like I know we like to secretly pretend that this is not about money, but it is cuz we wouldn't even be in this position right now today the way that we have done this process if it wasn't really about money. So sorry if I uncovered your secret, but I feel like it's still not very clear to me like if we like what so what director Petroski said like it's still really not clear to me like how is this going to benefit fit us in the long run if we still are not going to be great with money and I understand Ron Joseph that there are other factors we've always said that it this is not going to be the single solving situation but this is all we've been talking about for almost two years and we haven't talked about buildings. I really hope that we can schedule a meeting and talk about what we're going to do with the buildings that we're about to close. I don't understand where the teacher centers are going to go. I think that's a secret and I hope that one day we'll reveal the secret so then we know which buildings are not the buildings that we're going to need to sell. I mean, so those are the type those things are missing that have been missing from this conversation that may not necessarily yield in how I will support or not support this overall plan at the end of this month. But those are the things that like are gaps for me that I'm really going to need to understand how we're going to move forward. Does that make sense?

Yeah, that all over. That totally makes sense and answers my question. Thank you. What you got to say?

All I have to say is Miss Talifer, you asked me that question about teacher centers and I gave you that answer about two months ago in reference told me to specific and reference the page number. Yes, I did. I got to go back. I know. I'll refresh your memory. No, no need to do it here, but I'll refresh your secret is what you're saying. Can you refresh? It has never been a secret. It was an elastic from all of the things that we talk about on a regular basis. Yes, I shared with you that the elementary looked at Langley. The middle school we looked at Greenway and the high school we looked at Brashier. None of those schools are buildings that were closing though. That's correct. Okay. Because I always I'm sorry. Okay.

What? Whatever the case, I always envisioned that that's what you were referring to that those teacher centers would be in buildings that were closing like that. I'm not making that up, am I?

It was originally that cuz I was thinking the same thing cuz I was not on whatever email chain with Miss Taleroation. The one before this. Oh, okay. Yeah. And so last I shared with you. Got it. Sorry, my mic is off. I said no. When she had brought that up before, I had said I had I I told her I said it's in the plan and then you had you had shared with me that you didn't quite read it yet, but I that's what I shared with you.

Well, don't don't try to make it seem like I don't read stuff now cuz I No, I'm just giving you respond. I'm playing It's been changed enough times though that it helps to have it have it and I appreciate you refreshing my memory again. We haven't talked about this in a while. and also there's like 50 other 11 things that I have to do and think about in life. So, thank you for reminding me. So, then that just goes back to the fact that then we got nine buildings to figure out what we're going to do on top of the How many other ones that we have? Just three, Mr.

Joseph cuz you know last time I said I said something about it, you were like, "Hold up, wait a minute." Okay. So, if we're redeveloping Nord View, that takes one of the buildings off. So, that there would be Fort Pit, Bonire, and Knoxville. It's actually currently used as a district warehouse. Okay. Okay. So we just what I'm trying to say is that that has been a non-topic of conversation that in this process for me like really needs like we're I mean obviously we're not going to know those buildings are going to be closed until November, whatever the case. But what I'm just saying is like shortly thereafter then we need to be having a meeting about what we gonna do with those buildings because we still have to keep those buildings running which means there still money for us.

So anyways I think I talked about a lot so thank you. I'm done.

Thank you. No you're good. I was actually going to ask about the teacher centers because it was one of those things that I also missed. so that's good to know. Dr. Wilson, do you you want me to go first? All right. so my first question, and this is more just, because I know people are going to look at this and freak out. on page 16 of the presentation, Miss Rudolph talked about, furls and, changes. and can you just clarify again for us how this doesn't turn into a mass firing?

So every year the staffing team looks at our averages of separations and separations come with resignation and retirement and they track those numbers really closely along with all of our content areas where our certifications currently lie. one of the changes that happens with I don't have it opened in front of me but I think page 16 is the 2728 staffing projections and so the negative number that you see there particularly with middle school English middle school math high school English and high school math that shows like oh my gosh we're losing people all of those positions are shifted down into related arts so we would anticipate that those teachers teachers who might be currently in the core courses big label of middle school English, middle school math, high school English, high school math are now going to be categorized in related arts. So all of your your electives, advanced placement, those would all fall into related arts. So we don't think we will see high levels of furloss or you know mass firings I think is what you said. because we know we're going to have to fill vacancies regardless because of the vacancies that we'll we know we will have. We track the demographic of our pop of our workforce to know who's eligible for retirement. So we look at that five years out to see where will we have pockets of population who are eligible to leave in what role groups, where might they leave, how does that impact content and certification areas. So it's workforce data that we track all of the time. Does that help?

Well, I mean, it helps. I think what I was trying to to do is is make sure that when folks are looking whether they look at this full report or look at the the presentation, right?

Is that like I don't want to get 1,500 phone calls about why are we cutting 50 high school English teachers and 30 high school math teachers. those numbers are exaggerated just for but you know so it was just it was more so to say like the because the numbers I think what might be helpful is if we had a this is how many teachers we have today this is how many teachers we will have under the new configuration just like a total so that we can see that while there will be shifts in different places we're not going to end up with hundreds less teaching professionals, if that makes sense. It's more so not for me to understand because I get it. it's more so so that we're not getting freaked out emails and calls about why we're saying we're focusing on these academic offerings, but then there is a chart that says we will have 43 less high school English teachers. The only thing I'll add is the full report actually does show that detail much much more detailed, more specific than what was in this presentation. So this presentation gave you one snapshot of a much larger chart that shows that detail and then we we will be happy to show additional detail. I think the report also shows certification, you know, how many certifications we have, what they're in. So like we can definitely provide that. it will become a little overwhelming when you see all of that data in one big list.

Sure. And I think you know I think part of part of the work that we have to do in addition to like actually doing the work is is making people feel okay with the work and that things aren't going to change so much that like things will be unrecognizable. So thank you for that. my second I don't Yeah, go ahead, Miss Suk. Thank you. this is director telefair. This is me but budding in because I had something related. So, I'm Well, I'm I'm just modeling that we can apparently. While we're on this slide, because you just talked about this idea of reassigning teachers, which I think is really important. I had a clarifying question. it is no secret that I'm incredibly excited about the part of the plan where more of our students will have more art and music learning opportunities. And the question that I have is if we are if a primary way in which we are filling those positions is through reassignment. It would be awesome to see data on how many teachers on staff currently have those certifications to be reassigned to and if they don't, what what is the plan to make sure that they are prepared to teach those courses successfully?

So, Director Sook, that is actually page 48 of the full report, not it was on the slide. Oh yeah. Yeah, it's on it was on slide 16 and Mr. just made reference to the reassignment that one of the re that we're not firing teachers, we're reassigning them, but we're reassigning them specifically to the related arts teacher line item, right? No, I was I think I'm sorry. I was talking about the certified staff piece. That is Got it. Okay. Apologies. No, no worries. that's 48 in the four. Director Barker, I just want to know in regards to that because rumors always start. There's not going to be a pay cut or anything. Okay. Just, you know, or I mean, you know, some people will start these rumors. We we start rumors. Don't be starting fights with the PFT right now. Well, I want it to be answered out loud. That way, people don't have the rumor to start. Thank you. No, I I don't expect that we're renegotiating with the PFT when we make changes. We are not renegotiating salary levels with the federation and m much of the processes for all of this movement are already in the contract. There's just a few finer nuances with some uniqueness, you know, with this plan that we're working through again very collaboratively with the federation and making great progress, but we would not be reducing the salary schedules that have already been negotiated and agreed upon. Thank you. my next question is actually specific to to the north side. so in the in the original plan and it's still the same right middle school students who are currently in the Rooney building will go to the new middle school at Alagany. my assumption was then that the primary students would immediately move from the primary school to Rooney, but it doesn't look like that's the case right now. so what's going to happen to Rooney in the two years while it's sitting empty? Well, I'm assuming that, but they didn't say that. So, I'm asking what's going to happen for Rooney in those two years while it's sitting empty.

so they'll be getting the building prepared for the students to move into the facility. So, that building would be ready with the amenities and all when students move. Okay. I I ask only because I live down the street and I get stopped once a week about people who are nostalgic about the building and want to know what's happening with it. So, we got two more years in that building before I have to start doing tours so people can look at their old classrooms which is a good thing. It's a thing. let's see.

so, this wasn't talked about but it's in the report and and I wanted to bring it up. there is a a section in the full report around enrollment for families. and so in reading it it sounds like we are going to be asking every family to reenroll their student. Am I no incorrect in Yes, you're in. I'm incorrect in that. Okay, good. So tell talk talk talk me through what this enrollment process is for families under the new plan and like how's it going to work? Is it online?

How are we supporting families? What happens if they don't enroll their kids? Are we is this just purely for new families? And that piece was for new families when they go to enroll they would see when they sign up with their school feeder feeders would be for current families they'll get communication specifically related to their transition. Okay. So current families don't have to go online and and reenroll their kids. I ask because someone's going to read that page and say why do I have to do that? and so I think it's important that we clarify that as much as we can. Let me see. oh, all right. This one might be a doozy. so if we go to page 45 on the presentation, Miss Camper talked to us about how we are are going to be working with our students with exceptionalities, IEPs, those kind of things. and this part feels super aspirational considering how disjointed the system feels now for our students with IEPs and disabilities and special needs. So like what what gives you the confidence that under this new configuration that we can actually pull this off in a way that we're not able to today for our families?

because I want you to be able to pull it off in this way. So, we actually would have the ability to do it today. there's nothing that is involved in this. We have the tracking system now for related services. we are having a new report developed so it's easier to access but we still we could access it today just a little more challenging. we have progress monitoring that goes home quarterly with report cards right now. it's just in a written format. So adding a meeting for students who are you know struggling or who need more support that that should happen now as well. So, this just calls it out specifically, but the only thing that's different is our central office oversight through program officers, which with this plan, they would have fewer schools. Right now, some of them have five, six, seven schools. with this plan, we could make that a more workable case load so that they would have no more than five. and then they would be able to provide additional oversight. So that's the biggest change would just be fewer schools for our program officers so that they can be more hands-on with schools.

Okay. So then I guess the the next question I'm sorry I don't usually ask the super hard questions but like why why don't we just do it now? I think some of the the challenge that we face now is we are you know three years into lots of professional development and training and we have pockets of schools that are that are doing it right now. we need to expand that and I think as time goes on and additional training and additional oversight and support we will get there.

Whether we have this plan or not we will get there.

Welcome. Thank you. you know, I think someone asked me this question or made this comment to me earlier this week in that they want to they want to feel excited about this plan. And I don't I don't know if there's a way to feel excited about the preparation for something like this. like the excitement comes in the execution. Like the the well done execution of this. It's kind of like like practice for sports for me isn't exciting. It's what happens during the game. And I think right now we're in the practice session. So I think if there are folks who are trying to walk away from tonight feeling like warm and fuzzy about what's happening, like I don't know if that's a thing that's possible. I wish it was. but yeah, I think I mean I I mentioned this to Dr. Walters over the weekend because I got to spend some time with him like and I want to say this publicly to all of you like well done on this work. I know u the effort and time that it took to pull this together. and even though I think we know that there are there are challenges and bumps in the road ahead of us it's not lost on me what was done and what was presented to us. and so you should feel good about that. Hopefully you sleep well tonight if you haven't been sleeping well because you really did accomplish something like really really well done. and I wanted you all to know that. and then my last comment before I turn it over to Director Wilson if she has anything to say, is, you know, I I try not to I'm on social media too much, so I read too many comments. and I will Yeah, it's bad for me and I should stop.

But you know I have been hearing and reading comments from folks who are saying that we as a board this administration as a whole me specifically are trying to destroy public education in Pittsburgh. and I'm not easily offended but that offense that that is offensive on every front. Pittsburgh public schools has been a part of my life for most of my life. both as a student, as a parent, as a schoolboard director, as a community member, as a nonprofit executive. and so to suggest that that by doing this work, we are intentionally trying to destroy this system says more about you than it does about me. and I think that we should rethink kind of how we are approaching collaboration and communication in this work. at public hearing I think it was last month someone talked about this being a combative process. U I don't believe we as a board have made this a combative process. I think we have tried very hard to communicate early and often we have tried to adjust and change as the situation and circumstances have changed. We have tried to create opportunities for folks to come out and speak to us. and you know if it is a combative process I don't know who made it that way because we have not tried to do that and if we failed at that then I apologize but we are really and and this is just Gene Walker personally I believe in Pittsburgh public schools I believe in what it has been I believe in what it can be and I don't believe that we can sit by even for another day knowing that change is possible and choosing not to make that change because we're not comfortable with every little piece. and I'm going to stop because then I'm going to u say something I shouldn't say. but I just wanted to say that I think the work that you have done you all have done up to this point is should be should be applauded. I know that there are school districts around this the country that are watching what we are doing, watching the work that this administration is producing around this type of work. and we'll follow it and copy it because of how how well it's been done. So, congratulations on that piece. and I will turn it over to Miss Wilson if she has anything to say. And does she have anything to say? First of all, thank you for that last comment because that, you know, it is insulting when you work so hard for education and educating our kids and have somebody say that we are trying to go go down the drain when I hear people sitting here and advocating to have their kids leave Pittsburgh public schools to go somewhere else. I'm sorry. That's definitely an untruth. couple of things that have occurred or been said over the over the last few weeks months. I just want to let everybody know I may not have a son or a daughter in our schools. I have many family members who still are in Pittsburgh public schools. So, when somebody makes a comment that I have no no buy in because I have no children, you're wrong. You don't talking about mind business. and I'm not saying this to be negative to you, but when I hear the comments from some of our board members that talk about the community and how the community feels, I want you to know there's other people in the community that you're not necessarily and I know that you are not representing and some of the comments that you make. Just because they're not coming to board members and board meetings and expressing their thoughts does not mean that they don't have opinions. They're just not here. So don't say it's about community, make it seem like it's a whole because you're missing a lot of people.

And that last comment, one of the comments that was made that people buy a home or choose a home because of in a neighborhood because of the schools that they want their children to go. I want you to know there are thousands of people in our district who go to a place to live because that's the only place where they can live. the school district was not the school where they were close was not was not a consideration. They moved to a neighborhood because they were lucky enough to find somewhere to live and that the school comes second.

And that is one of the reasons why we need to make sure that we have good schools in every neighborhood.

I am so tired of people who their children didn't get in a magnet school and felt that they had less at the school where they live. I am so tired of that. It was more than 25 years ago that we heard from some district administration that we were going to have languages in every one of our schools. It was just maybe a mere 13 years ago that steam was to be in every single school. Every school at one time had art and music and library. We should not have to have some children go to schools where those particular things are lacking. It should be the same at every one of the things that this plan is working on.

I thought about even algebra. We have some parents coming to us want to know why in their school that their middle school kids can't get algebra until they get to high school. Some of the middle schools have it, some of them don't. Why is that? Because of the type of certifications that more teachers have or not enough kids in that school. That's not something that we should be seeing less of. It should be something offered for everybody. Career exploration.

I'm working with adults who are training in various careers. They are adults, many of them 30, 40, 50 years old. Never knew that certain careers existed because it's not in their neighborhoods. They've never had anybody introduce them. We should not have to wait for people to be 20, 30, 40, 50 to find something career. That is why it's so critical that our middle school and high school too students are more aware of it. By the time they get to the 10th grade, if they're taking one of our CTE programs, they should already know that before they get to the 10th grade if that's what they're going to do. They shouldn't have to wait till the ninth grade and find out that those things are available to them. They should know this already. There are so many things that we want for Oh, did I stop? Nope. You're fine. It's Are you sure? Keep going. Okay. Cause you mean you want me to repeat everything I said? Oh, okay. Just checking. I also wanted to, you know, we you guys have done a lot of work to get this plan moving and obviously I hope that it passes because that means that thousands of hours of work will have gone by the wayside if this doesn't pass. But I want to especially say something to human resources having been involved with this in the past. It is a lot more than just teachers moving to you have to look at system seniority, building seniority and there's even certifications. There have been times when person a position wasn't there and a person had to use one of the other certifications that they use to get.

It's just so dogone complicated. It is never as easy as people think. It just isn't. And I commend you that you've already met in those number of schools already. Even though people will forget what you said and it'll be complicated as you move forward, but at least you've made that opportunity, that step. And it is wonderful. I also want to remind people that we did have school closers one time. I think 22 schools. There weren't any bunches of public input.

There was no consideration whatsoever on what some things had been done were being done to students. We had middle school students, middle school students put back into elementary schools, put back without the lunches that they had become accustomed to. put back into buildings where they were once freely walking to their lockers and going to their classrooms to be back put into walking in line again like little elementary school students. We had one school that didn't even have a gym. Didn't even have a gym and they were put in a building as middle school students in a building with no gym. There was no consideration whatsoever.

And I know that some of those students lost three years of learning because of the chaotic situation. And that was because decisions were made and there was no public comment, no input. I mean they they came to public hearing but it wasn't the same as listening to the community to find out because people would have told them don't do that. That's crazy. But there was no thought to that. It's just I'm closing these schools and that's what's going to happen. I also would wanted to make people know I am not a rubber stamp. If anybody knows me, that is the last description anybody would say about me.

if we're not proactive, if we aren't proactive in making as some changes and staying with the status quo, five years or 10 years, this district will go under. will be taken over by the state because we made no changes. Not to even just talk about what we don't do for our kids. We can't keep saying that you have to understand and know every little detail in order to be able to move forward. Sometimes you have to have a decision made and as you move you make changes as you go. I really care about the kids in the city of Pittsburgh.

I care about the ones that are going to come. I care about not pushing everybody out by saying, "I'm not happy with this plan, so I'm taking my kid to a charter school or a private school." Everybody doesn't have that money or the opportunity to do that. So, you know what that leaves? it leaves everybody else's kids that we still have to give them the best, have to give them what they deserve because these children are the ones that eventually will be in positions that they may be taking care of us in some kind of way in the future. If we don't make sure that they have the type of education that they deserve to get and what we're planning and hoping to give them, then we are lost as a city of Pittsburgh. We are lost as a citizen citizenry here.

We have to remember it's about more than just our own personal feelings. And I think I think I'm done.

Thank you, Director Wilson. are there any final comments before we close out? Yeah, Director Yord. Yeah, just and I know we've been here for three and a half hours and I appreciate the staff and also the audience that's been here for this long. I'm going to make this quick. I'm just going to try to make it final points and summaries of feedback that I heard for Dr. Walters because we threw a lot at you and I'm going to throw out what we heard because we have another meeting in two and a half weeks which will involve some community feedback but also hopefully some updates to some stuff that we heard. So, first thing for families and folks in the audience and people who are listening on the call, the plan will be made public shortly after this meeting. there is a tool, it's outlay laid out in the plan, but the find your school tool has been updated. If you Google Pittsburgh public schools facilities utilization plan, it'll take you to the homepage for the work that we've been doing for the last two years. In the upper right hand corner, there's a find your school tool and you can use that to input your address to find your new feeder pattern. that wasn't clear to me and the administration made the distinction between the existing find your school tool on the academics page and then on the facilities utilization page you can put in your address to find your new feeder pattern. That information is not in the plan. It is online. Dr. Walters, one piece of feedback that I heard from folks here is that it would be helpful to have an updated feeder pattern chart like what we had in the plan that was presented in May. if we could have a visual of that, I think that would be helpful for everyone. there were also some comments and I know there will be comments from the community, folks in the community, trying not to make the community a whole thing. thank you for that feedback, Sylvia. when the board created this list of eight priority items for the administration to focus on, we did decide as a board of a whole to not include the disposition of buildings in this plan because we decided that was not important information that we would need to vote yes. However, I know that the administration I trust the administration will start working on plans to of what we're going to do with those old buildings if we approve the plan in November. So, if you're concerned that that information isn't here, it's because the board decided we didn't need it in order to vote and it would hopefully be included moving forward. I already gave that piece of feedback. the other piece of feedback I heard Dr. Walters was that my comment was to start planning for initially monthly maybe for the first 6 to 12 months of the plan monthly progress monitoring sessions and then quarterly ones. and when I say and I'm just speaking for myself and we do have Wow, the table's so tired the table fell apart. when I say like a a progress report on that, I don't I personally don't need it to be a long 60 minute or 90 minute presentation. I'm talking like three slides. Here's what we did. Here's what we're going to do. Here's what we're stuck on. And it can be that simple. I don't I don't need your administration to spend a lot of time on it or for it to be super detailed. That's just me. and oh, the last thing I'll say, and Jean, I'm sorry if you were gonna say this, but I'm g steal your thunder. the board is working on having community listening sessions. Many of the board members will have community listening sessions over the next two weeks to get community feedback on this plan, that information will be shared over the next couple of days. And so, if you're concerned that the only time for public input on this will be the day before we vote on it, that is not the case. Those sessions are going to happen in most of the districts. and you can go to any of them, but that information will come out in the next couple of days. So, please be reassured that your board members will be out in the communities to get your feedback. And that is all I had to say. No thunder was stolen. aside from the fact that there are eight board directed sessions already scheduled with several more in the works. me much of that information will be shared via you know however each director communicates but we we do have the initial list that Miss Pew has agreed to share out through the district's methods for us tonight or first thing tomorrow. I will note that there are a couple of them that start this weekend. So keep an eye out if you want to participate right away. the rest there was a combination of in person and virtual and so that information will be available and then we'll all share our own within our networks. but they are happening. just a point of kind of scheduling is it Monday or Tuesday? When's our next meeting?

Monday. that is the budget presentation. so we will be here for that. and that is an important one because we got some stuff to talk about there. I think that's the most pressing stuff. and so with that, if there are no more questions or comments, Director Silk, finish us out before I adjourn. All right. I acknowledge it's super late and we've been going a long time and I would not have more questions if the implementation was not on such a a short turnaround. So I just want to I want to acknowledge that it is not about anything other anything other than that what is happening in year one of this plan is an enormous amount. so I did I did want to go back to the question that I asked earlier because I did not get an answer about reassigning staff. my question was was just to lift up my question was do we have a sense of how many certifications are currently we currently have with the staff for that reassignment and what what is the is the plan what is the plan if there's a significant number of staff who we need to reassign to a special course like art like language art like a world language but they don't have that certific ification. What is the plan for that? So there is a plan if typ typically staff go through a process called transfer season and so they voluntarily apply for positions that they are certified to hold. If we don't have staff with the appropriate content area certification, those become external openings. So we would hire external staff for that for those positions. We don't force I use my words cautiously. Certainly a a staff a professional could go get an additional certification. There are ways to do that. but those are the that's the process we go through first. It's not a reassignment in the sense that the district looks at all of our staff and puts people in areas without their intentional and voluntary action to move into those positions. Absolutely. And I I I appreciate that clarification. I was not thinking that this was a force thing. I was more concerned about or curious about the right matching of roles. Okay. So, you know, who who's on our current team? What certifications do they hold? What certifications do we need for this new delivery model for these new this new mix of learning opportunities and where there's a difference, how are we going to go about addressing that? I am I am also curious about with all of the feeder pattern work and the and moving students around to what extent does this plan improve integration across socioeconomic lines?

Unfortunately that's not something we can control in Pittsburgh. our communities are in Pittsburgh are segregated and so you know having them closer to their school probably will not improve socioeconomics or or nonsegregated schools. That's just the reality of our of our city. my hope is that they go to a school where they're cared for, where they're taught well, and where they're given the opportunity to grow and learn. But but regarding socioeconomics, that's not something I can even speak to or promise because that's I think the reality of the city of Pittsburgh. Yeah, absolutely. So So understood about not being able to improve it with the changes that we're making. Will will it will the changes be flat? Will we see will we see more like an increased segregation in terms of socioeconomic status of our students?

I think it may be it may vary. certain communities are having spaces of regentrification that may change things and certain communities have remained very similar but and then certain communities are going through that process right now that may change those dynamics. So it's hard for me to just call it and say at this point but okay but but yeah that was not the driver of this reality because we know the design of Pittsburgh is the design of Pittsburgh. Absolutely. And there are certain there are certain implications when when we make a decision about focusing on neighborhood schools. So I'm asking the question to understand what what the reality is going to look like not not to question whether or not we were meeting a particular goal of the plan. I am almost done. I I I did have a question about for professional development about the centers and I'm curious about I a number of the of the we use the word rationale a lot in the criteria that we offered as a board. I would appreciate a little bit more of an understanding about why why centers are better than the current professional development that we are offering or a different way of asking the questions what will be possible having centers that we aren't able to do now what's the potential for us go ahead Dr. McNeil and I could close out Dr. Dr. McNill, chief academic officer. the centers and again the teaching and learning centers provide more of an immersive opportunity. So when you think about job embedded learning someone who's able to experience coaching, mentoring, intensive support over a 4-week period. That's quite different than a workshop experience where you go experience the learning and go back you know and and try to implement.

So that's the that's one of the u most significant differences.

Fantastic. I am going to stop with questions. my constituent meetings.

I've in this summer I did like larger group I did three larger group meetings. This time I'm trying one-on-one. and because they are Saturday and Sunday, I'm just going to say out loud. Although we're getting the word out in all different kinds of ways. If you want to sign up for a time slot with me, you can go to tinyurl.compppsd district4 and book time with me. Thank you.

Thank you. Sorry, I got on social media and I I have to ask a question just now.

Yes, I'm bad. It's one It's It's a re It's really bad.

but I I saw the question. It just kind of popped up. So, I wanted to to ask bec and and I forgot to ask earlier because I think in the original in the original planning there wasn't going to be much changes to the middle school magnet program and no changes to the high school magnet. This time around there are some middle school magnets that are going away. What does that mean for our students who are in a middle school magnetic like Scitec or Obama who are transitioning into high school after this vote? What does that mean for those students?

So those students can stay in that program for any of our existing magnet programs at the middle and high school level if those magnet programs continue to exist. So that would be Scitec, Obama, and Kappa.

Okay. So, current high school students who are in a magnet program do not need to change unless they choose to. Yes, if they choose to, because some of our magnets do make them reapply for that secondary level. And once we get off the magnet process, if they choose to do that and they will indicate that by reapplying to that magnet program, then they are allowed to stay. Okay. And so then our only our only middle school magnet students that are going to be affected are the ones that are currently at a magnet school that will cease to have a magnet program after the change. That is correct. Excellent. That is my last question. thank you for indul. I know. But you know now the question is answered. Hopefully there's more. Wait. Wait. I was trying to go to about 8th grade for Yes. But that is the current way that things are happening current.

So the current the current system and that's just because some students make a decision that they don't want to continue. So they still kind of have to let the school know if they're continuing or not. So the current system for for eighth graders going into ninth grade in from a magnet program to a magnet program is still the is going to stay the same.

That's correct. That is correct. All right, I am done. We are done. I think we're all tired and we can go home. so thank you all again for your time, for your attention, for your work, for your questions, for your I know I'll turn my phone over because there's more coming. and this meeting is adjourned. Please be safe driving home.

It is still raining. and we will see you all again in this room on Monday.