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DON'T SHUT US OUT

An Open Letter to Pittsburgh Public Schools: Authentic “Community Outreach” Requires Transparency

Dear Superintendent Dr. Walters, Board President Gene Walker, and the PPS Board of Directors,

Students, families, staff, and community members are writing to formally request detailed information about the number of empty seats in our schools so we can actively participate in the challenging decisions ahead. We have been here before. We know when PPS talks about the underutilization of its facilities, it leads to school closures, consolidations, and staff position eliminations. 

A Resolution for a Facilities Utilization Plan, approved by the School Board on January 24, 2024, directs Superintendent Dr. Walters to develop and present a proposal for a Facilities Utilization Plan with "broad community outreach" by March 15, 2024.

Board President Gene Walker explained to WESA that the Plan is necessary to “put together recommendations for how we can better utilize buildings” and the “initial plan is really the first step in a series of steps that we need to take in order to have those discussions, and make those long-term decisions.”

On the same day, WESA shared PPS data obtained through a Right to Know request to show that based on the school's capacity, defined as the number of students that CAN be assigned to a building, nearly 50% of PPS buildings are half full.  

This prompted immediate discussions on social media with parents and staff expressing confusion about how PPS determined school capacity and the number of empty seats for their school. Notably, the example of Obama 6-12 raised questions, as the reported "functional capacity" of 1,473 with 665 empty seats conflicted with the PPS website showing that Obama had 1 seat remaining and 32 students on the Magnet waitlist (as of 8/23/23). 

An example of a school capacity calculation chart for Liberty K-5 from 2013 was shared on social media. The chart is detailed and shows the number of students, allocated by classroom designation, that the building can hold to reach a functional capacity of 474. This detailed information exists for each school and should be shared with us. We deserve to know, for instance, whether dedicated spaces like Art rooms are considered “empty” and can accommodate 25-30 students, leaving Art on a cart.  

It is unrealistic to expect students, families, staff, and the community to accept high-level data without understanding how school capacity and empty seats are calculated for each school, especially considering the gravity of the decisions regarding potential school closures, consolidations, and staff reductions. 

If you truly desire “broad community outreach” and authentic community participation, sharing detailed information with us is necessary. Therefore, we call upon the District to release a school capacity calculation chart for each school, like the Liberty K-5 chart (shown below) from 2013, no later than February 16, 2024. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your response so we can actively contribute to the upcoming Facilities Utilization Plan discussion and do our part to ensure that decisions are made with the best interests of students, families, staff, and the Pittsburgh community in mind.

Signed, Community Members & Organizations

 

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