001Welcome to In Your Neighborhood. I'm Crystal Caldwell, proud principal of Pittsburgh Arlington. [music] Today, we're going to see our house system and our pantry. Come on, check it out. The Ron Clark house system is something that several Pittsburgh public schools are doing and it's a program that helps us build community while also drawing on competition. And every single member of my school, [music] both students and staff, are in a different house. So, we have the green house of Amistad, [music] um that is the house of courage. We have the blue house of Rever, the house of dreamers. [music] We have the red house of Amistad, which is the house of friendship. And the black house of altruismo, [music] which is the house of givers. And what we try to teach everyone that's a part of
002the house system is that all of us have all four of those qualities, but there's one that you can really lean on the most. >> What I like about the house system is that it brings us more together. I can go to one of my teammates and ask for help. It makes me feel good when I help others. My favorite thing is that we go on these fun-filled trips and [music] I can talk to my friends about it. But, the students uh pre-K are up. We go to this little fun bounce they have they have outside in the gym. This year, since starting [music] the house system, we have had a reduction of 90% fights. And now, I walk in the classrooms and they want to show me all the different ways they can solve
003math problems or they want to read their stories to me that they've written themselves. And they're really focused way more on school. You know, we use points to honor [music] when they're kind to one another and and other citizenship traits, but we also use points to honor [music] that they've put themselves out there. They're trying um in [music] their academic classrooms. >> I'm also grateful for the Pittsburgh Arlington staff. [music] They got together and did a food drive. And we have a house system and each house that um brought in and donated to the food drive, the one that brought in the most donations won a prize. Our community schools resource room helps with our students to come to school every day ready. [music] They have um resources for clothing, shoes, coats. We always knew
004that we wanted to have a food pantry at our school. We were also able to use those funds from the donation to partner with the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank. I have some little schoolers that assist in the Arlington Eagle Pantry. They are learning life skills. [music] They are helping with um our deliveries. They stock the shelves. Whatever talent [music] you have, you can absolutely help out a child recognize that they have that talent as well. Thanks for watching In Your Neighborhood. [music] Tune in next time when we feature another amazing Pittsburgh public school. I can. >> Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome uh to the public hearing for the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors. Today is April 27th, 2026. Uh before we get started, I just want to remind everyone of the process.
005Uh it looks like Ms. Erica Gandy is moderating for us tonight. Uh every speaker uh who registered will have 3 minutes to speak. Uh there is only one speaker per registered number, and you are not allowed to share your time with any other speaker. Speakers will be called one at a time. Uh and as for our in-person speakers, uh as your time begins to wind down with 30 seconds left, you will see the red light blinking on your microphone. As we transition to our virtual participants, uh when your time begins to wind down, Ms. Gandy will give you the raised hand feature to let you know uh that your time is running short. Uh the order of the testimonies will be as usual. Our in-person testimonies will go first, followed by our virtual testimonies. Uh
006and anyone who misses their turn uh for whatever reason uh will have an opportunity at the end uh as we will go through all of the names of anyone who was not present when their name was called to give you an opportunity to speak. Um those who could not attend virtually or in person were also able to submit written testimony, which will be added to the public record along with this uh video tomorrow, and all of the testimonies that were uh given or written. And stakeholders who would like to view the public hearing can uh log in to the Pittsburgh Public Schools website and click on the link on the top of the district homepage. And so with that, I will turn the meeting over to Ms. Gandy. Thank you, Mr. Walker. And our first
007speaker this evening is James Flaherty. Good evening. Uh for over 20 years, our organization has worked to support Pittsburgh Public Schools deliver a high-quality public education for every child in the city. It's part of why we funded Everyday Labs, and we're urging you to vote yes for approving it at your legislative meeting this month. I'm here tonight, though, to ask you to address the inequities in opportunities and outcomes that undermine student success in Pittsburgh by taking the first step in a longer journey towards a future-ready school system. At A+ Schools, our motto is every kid, every school, every day, but the data tells us we're falling far short of that promise for too many Pittsburgh children. And we've known it for years. When you take a look at the future-ready plan as a whole, it
008provides a roadmap for solving many of the challenges that are leading to the inequities that we see. And there's already evidence at schools like Pittsburgh Arlington, where fights are down over 90% and Dibels scores are up, that the elements laid out in the plan will work to improve culture and student outcomes in real and lasting ways if we work together to make it happen. In 2025, 10 PPS middle schools didn't offer Algebra 1. That's not 390 eighth graders that were denied an opportunity because of the current structure of our school system. Allderdice offers 30 AP courses, Carrick offers 10. That's not a difference in ambition, it's a structural inequity baked into how we've organized our schools. Our neighborhood elementary and middle schools are among the most racially and economically segregated in the country. The future-ready
009plan ameliorates this in many places with a mix of more socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods feeding into the schools. Of all the students that graduated from Perry, Westinghouse, and UPrep in 2015, fewer than 10 combined had completed a college or trade credential a decade later. We're not setting our kids up for success, and we have to be honest about why. PPS has lost over 6,000 students since 2014, a 25% decline without a single school closure. We have too many half-empty buildings and not enough concentrated resources to give kids what they deserve: art, music, world languages, algebra, air conditioning, teachers who are well supported to meet students' needs across every stage of their development. The current system concentrates students with disabilities and greater needs in smaller schools with less resources. In a system where per pupil spending exceeds
010$33,000 per pupil, this shouldn't happen. Consolidation is not about abandoning communities, it's about finally giving the kids in those communities what they've always deserved. We support the future-ready plan moving to a vote. We know that implementation is going to be challenging, and we recognize this plan is not without tradeoffs. We've sat with Hilltop, Hill District, and Northside families and heard their concerns directly. Those concerns are real, and we've seen the plan adjust to address some of those concerns. As adjustments will continue to need to be made in implementation. But the status quo is also a choice, and it is a choice that costs our kids and taxpayers every year we delay. Something we're already seeing in the increasing difficulty in staffing schools. We truly have everything we need to succeed by our children. One, well-funded
011schools, well-paid teachers, abundant community partners and resources. But without aligning these resources in a strategic way, we're wasting them. Passing the future-ready plan is a step to ensure every kid is succeeding in every school every day. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker is Lorenzo Rulli. Again, Lorenzo Rulli. We will move to our next speaker. Our next speaker is Shirley Ann Hare. I have followed the public hearings regarding the unfair treatment of former Montessori teacher Ms. Stephanie LaPaine by Principal Kelly Meyer. Throughout my 41-year career with PPS, I too was subjected to toxic principals like her. In December of 2023, Ms. Stephanie LaPaine was removed from her classroom by Kelly Meyer. She was cleared in February 2024, but was conveniently transferred to another school that does not have a Montessori program.
012Why is Kelly Meyer not being held accountable for her unfair treatment of Ms. Stephanie LaPaine, the only lead black teacher at the time? Some Montessori teachers have filed grievances, and still nothing has been done. Toxic principals like Kelly Meyer put fear in teachers who speak up by sabotaging their teacher evaluations. Pretending there are no problems at Montessori definitely creates an unsettling work environment. Teachers should not have to adapt to this leadership style to keep their jobs. Some principals are good for conveniently cutting positions when you speak up. I question how students are first when toxic principals are not held accountable. Dr. Sacca, have you talked to Kelly Meyer regarding her toxic leadership that has been going on for years? I'm appalled that the Student Achievement Center is on the chopping block. This school offers our
013kids so much that credit recovery can't come close to it. When is the last time you observed a credit recovery class? While at Carrick, I can say credit recovery was dismal. The students log on, they are basically on their own. This also goes on at other schools. Take off the blinders and keep SAC open. Carrick High School has a very small percentage of black teachers. Mr. Zaire House Jeter, senior um at Obama, made a very powerful statement regarding this issue at last month's public hearing. Please go back and view his testimony. He's speaker number 12. It definitely resonated with me. Black students at Carrick matter and for that fact all students, black students in PPS matter. I'm done. Thank you for your testimony. Our next speaker, Jason Wellen. Again, Jason Wellen. We will move on
014to the next speaker, Allison Nahera. Good evening. My name is Allison Nahera and I'm a public policy graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University. And I spent the last several months conducting research on English language learner and immigrant student engagement in Pittsburgh public schools. I want to share one number one number thing with you. At Brashear High School chronic absence among 11th grade English language learners, otherwise known as ELL students, rose from 56.5% to 66.7% in a single year. What makes that number important is that enrollment health study, these students didn't leave PPS, they're still enrolled. They just aren't coming to school. That barrier isn't access, it's something happening between the front door and the classroom. My interview with PPS, DHS and community based organization leaders pointed three compounding causes. First is fear. Families, including families
015with legal status, are canceling appointments and avoiding public spaces. That fear is measurable and it's changing behavior. Second is fragmentation. Coordination between schools, county agencies and community based organizations depends heavily on individual relationships. Provider Connect is a data platform designed to connect PPS, DHS and about 500 community based organization providers. Only 107 accounts are active. Coordination right now depends heavily on individual relationships, which means when a principal leaves a partnership often leaves with them. Third is compounding barriers as students get older like the FAFSA graduation requirement at Pittsburgh Promise, which raises real documentation concerns for mixed status families. But here's what the research also found. Students aren't disengaging from everything. Casa San Jose participation among same grade 11 PPS students stayed at 97 to 98% consistency through the same period that school absence was climbing.
016Lisbeth Garcia from Casa San Jose references their success. When families see school partners with trusted organizations, they are less hesitant to engage. Students like stay connected to spaces where they feel safe and seen. The services exist. What's missing is a structural integration that would let those relationships count inside the formal system. So I'm asking the board to consider three targeted steps. The first is to increase student support personnel, expand the school based liaisons liaisons at Brashear and Allderdice to connect students to community based services, streamlining entry, centralizing documentation, ensuring timely service for arriving students. Second is to make Provider Connect available to PPS and community based organizations leadership to ensure all stakeholders can use the Provider Connect workflows efficiently so current student needs are met without duplication or gaps. The third is to create a
017Provider Connect personnel role, a dedicated role to train stakeholders, conduct biannual community based organization check-ins and identify high need schools and keep data clean if Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker is Rosanne Levine. Good evening. I'm Rosanne Levine, a parent of four PPS graduates, former PTO president and parent advisory council member. I'm also a recently retired pediatric nurse practitioner with many patients in the Pittsburgh public schools. I'm also in Pittsburgh public unplugged. We're trying to get kids to live in real life. Um so thank you for passing the phone ban. It's going to be great. Please read the book. Judy Adelson and I are giving you this book and please look at the inserts inside the book. Um we are not we are not anti-tech. When students in school learn to code,
018program robots, use CAD, graphic design, program for precision manufacturing or 3D printing, research reliable sources and when universities partner for these, that's great. Many, many parents, however, are concerned about screen based instruction and by that I mean core subjects being taught on individual screens. We're concerned that screen based instruction is leading to worse educational outcomes, about the amount of time the students spend on these platforms, about the gamified elements, data collected by tech companies, about students navigating away from the instructional platforms onto YouTube, TikTok, social media, AI to do the work for them before they even develop the skills. Students using school based devices at home for this, about students being offered screens as rewards, offered screens when they finish other work, using screens during recess. We're concerned about the screen based instruction supplanting teacher
019instruction, respectful class discussions, fine motor coordination, creative hands-on projects and experiments, exercise and arts integration and learning through real life relationships with teachers and with each other. But the main reason I came tonight was to distribute this important book. It's really a good read and you will appreciate the evidence that screen based instruction is causing worse educational achievement. And I've also tucked in Randy Weingarten's essay showing AFT support for what I'm saying. Please don't let the sunk cost fallacy sink student achievement. Parents, community members and taxpayers share the goal of the best education for the students regardless of money previously spent. We can save money in the future and put it towards strategies that actually work. Pittsburgh has the opportunity to be a leader in this arena. We should be going beyond what LA Unified
020just did last week and set time limits and age grade limits on screens, lock down the devices to keep students away from other platforms, reconsider our one-to-one policy and sending the devices home and promote activities that actually support learning. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker this evening is Raheed Chaudhry. Hi. My name is Raheed Chaudhry. I'm a parent at Pittsburgh Montessori and I've spoken to this board twice about this program so far. I wanted to start by thanking the board and the superintendents. The board's request for extra information and the superintendent's response did something very important. It recognized Montessori as a distinct instructional model worth preserving and named a real path towards expanding it. I agree with that vision and tonight I want to talk about this
021path in preserving it for the future. Building a Montessori program is hard. One of the most important aspects of Montessori method is the learning environment. The [snorts] classroom setup, the materials, outdoor learning spaces, mixed age classrooms. In Montessori, the environment is pedagogy, not just decor. Now, here's the good news. Pittsburgh Montessori has been building its teaching environment in and around the Friendship building for decades already. It's a prime location for anchoring a Montessori program expansion now. Now, these kinds of district-wide Montessori expansions have happened before in Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Arlington and in every case the program expanded from a single anchor Montessori school. An anchor Montessori school is important. You can't train a Montessori teacher in a conventional school. You need an existing Montessori site. Now, the district wants to defer the development of an
022expansion plan because rushing it would risk the integrity of the program. I understand this caution. I'd rather see the expansion happen sooner, but budgets are real and we should do this right. But what does risk the integrity of the program though is the proposed move of Pittsburgh Montessori to Linden. Moving to Linden might move the staff and the students, but the environment would have to be rebuilt from scratch. This would basically restart the clock on building a true anchor school and expanding the Montessori program to the district. And keep in mind, there are no public Montessori schools in the entire state to anchor an expansion. Pittsburgh Montessori is it. The district wants to preserve the integrity of the Montessori program and I do too. So here's my ask tonight. As the board finalizes this plan,
023I'd urge you to consider an amendment to keep Pittsburgh Montessori at the Friendship building, preserving the time investment that it's already made. And as we move forward, let's make the Friendship building an anchor for future Montessori expansion. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next speaker is Cara Britannic. I'm back again urging you to vote no on the Future Ready plan. We're being told that this is the only path forward, but it isn't. There are practical steps that could move us forward right now, and the fact that those things aren't already happening should give every one of you pause about whether this administration can execute a plan this complex. In the district's response to board questions, it states that school choice is important, but access has become uneven due to awareness, geography, and families'
024ability to navigate the system. So, let's talk about that. Who controls awareness? The district. When I moved here, the district wasted no time finding us and appealing the tax assessment on our house, yet we received no information about school options, programs, or opportunities. Not everyone has the time or resources to figure that out. So, what has the district done to help increase awareness? And what about the system families have to navigate? The district owns that, too. The magnet application process is duplicative, time-consuming, and unnecessarily complex. I couldn't simply check a box for magnet programs. I had to complete a separate application that asked for the same information you already had. Now, imagine families with limited time, unreliable internet, and language barriers. Of course, access has become uneven. You built the system that way. So, again,
025what has been done to fix this? You say choice is important, yet this plan reduces it. Eliminating K-5 magnets and shifting to neighborhood magnets does not expand access, it restricts it. Where's the data showing that more students will have access under this model? Is it available, or do we have to file a right-to-know request again to find it? Is the data even worthy of decision-making since no demographer was contracted to do this work? Then I read through the 36 pages of responses, and the question that kept coming to mind was, why aren't we doing this now? Page five says you'll develop student-centered metrics and rubrics to assess buildings. This is what I've been asking for for 2 years, to reevaluate capacity based on the dedicated spaces you say each school needs. Why isn't this being
026done now, before you move kids into schools and realize too late that you don't have the spaces you promised? Pages 17 and 18 say you'll develop and strengthen community partnerships to expand access to sports, find funding opportunities for building upgrades, improve restorative practices, and expand partnerships with local health agencies. Why isn't that being done now? You held a partnership day last month. Was it successful? If not, why should we believe those partnerships will suddenly materialize if this plan passes? You say this is an education-first plan, not a building-first plan, page 15 for those keeping track. But why do so many of these changes only start once buildings close? We aren't opposed to change. We understand it's necessary, but this is just an escalation of commitment to a faulty plan. These 36 additional pages of buzzwords
027and fluff do not make me any more confident in the plan or this administration. Make the district prove they can deliver results. Fix what's already broken. Improve communication, simplify access, strengthen and expand partnerships, find savings through better procurement practices and operations, the kind of work that every effective organization does before it asks for sweeping changes. Implement these changes. Measure them. Show the results. Prove that these other op- Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker is Dr. Elise Pinchback. In economics, there's a theory known as the sunk cost fallacy, which is a cognitive bias where people continue an endeavor, such as a project, relationship, or investment, solely because they have already invested resources, time, money, or effort into it. Unfortunately, this has become the sad reality of the PPS Future Ready Plan. It is
028not lost on me and many others that the district must address its geographic footprint, a looming budget deficit, declining enrollment, teacher shortages, and perennially poor academic outcomes. In some ways, the Future Ready Plan speaks directly to these issues. Many people in the community can absolutely get behind fewer schools with more concentrated resources, a return to a neighborhood model with robust academic offerings to increase equity and decrease trans- transportation costs, and increase access to gifted education through a school-based model. The biggest issue is not the plan itself, but the extreme lack of confidence in PPS to implement it well. Here's three reasons why. Number one, nobody on the current leadership team in PPS has a track record of moving the needle in improving outcomes for the most marginalized students in the district. And while it's great
029that the district has finally decided to hire a deputy superintendent, a suggestion we made months ago, I worry that this administration will not be humble enough to hire a transformational leader with this skill set, because many of the folks around this table have a difficult time hearing hard truths and being challenged. Number two, there are no current exemplars for black student achievement At one time, this district had predominantly black schools under strong black leadership with academic achievement as high or even better than their white counterparts. There is not one K-5 school in PPS currently with the ELA or math achievement rate at 50% or higher. The closest is Beechwood at 49% in ELA and Allegheny at 38% in math. And even at a school like Allegheny K-5, where my daughter is a kindergartner, where students
030have access to robust course offerings, their achievement may be higher than the district average, but their gap between black and white students is larger than the district's. How is reconfiguring the district going to lead to excellence when we don't even have excellence to point to? Number three, PPS lacks a coherent professional learning and change management strategy. We spend a time a ton of time and money on professional development in PPS with little to no return on investment. A large initiative, such as the PPS Future Ready Plan, will require a total shift in mindset, extensive teacher training and leadership development, and overall organizational capacity building, yet the professional development director position is vacant, and we've heard no plans to fill it. So, what do I suggest? Table the Future Ready Plan next month. Make a massive
031push to get a deputy superintendent hired by July 1st. Develop a comprehensive infrastructure and capacity building plan to become a high-functioning and operationally efficient district. Then revisit the PPS Future Ready Plan. We do not have to continue down this path simply because we've been on it for 2 years. There is still an opportunity for the PPS Future Ready Plan to be implemented well if the district is willing to first address its capacity and operational issues. Let's get it right this time. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker is Canaan Reed. Uh good evening. As a proud PPS graduate, I am here tonight to speak about something that affects every corner of our community, the Future Ready Plan and the difficult decisions surrounding school closures. These are not easy conversations, and they are not
032to be treated lightly. Let's start with the numbers. This is not about one or two students. It's about more than 19,000 students across PPS whose education, opportunities, and futures must be considered. It's also about the dedicated staff who serve them every day. And it's about a budget that quite that quite simply cannot be sustained without making thoughtful and sometimes difficult changes. But beyond the numbers, this is about people. Dr. Walters has spent more than 30 years serving students and families of PPS. This is more than three decades of showing up, listening, learning, and leading. He has seen generations of students come through these schools. He understands the district is not a system, but as a community, because he has been a part of it for so long. We may not all agree about every recommendation
033in the Future Ready Plan. It's natural to feel concerned, emotional, uh even uncertain when schools are at the center of the conversation. Schools are more than buildings. They are places of connection, identity, and belonging. But I ask that we also recognize the weight of the responsibility being carried. Leading a district of this size with challenges requires experience, perspective, and a commitment to doing what's best for schools, not just for today, but for the future. Supporting our superintendent does not mean we have to stop uh asking questions or sharing concerns. It means we engage respectfully. It means we stay focused on solutions, and it means we work together as a community to ensure that every student, every single one of those 19,000, has access to the opportunities they deserve. Tonight, I urge all of us to
034keep the numbers and the people in mind, uh to approach this moment with thoughtfulness, respect, and with a shared commitment to the future of Pittsburgh Public Schools. Thank you, Dr. Walters, as your former student, and I hope the board supports you, and we get this right. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker William Fitch. Good evening. When former superintendents John Thompson and Anthony Hamlet proposed closing public schools, Pittsburghers erupted. Rooms were packed, emotions ran high. Today, we're here again, directing that same energy at Superintendent Walters. Let's be clear, much of what we're hearing is unjust, unresearched, and uninformed. This is not just about buildings, it's about real harm. It's also about something people avoid saying, money. The city population is declining. The district is smaller. We have buildings designed for hundreds of students
035now serving fewer than 100. That's not sustainable. Pretending otherwise does not help any of our children. I've listened closely in meetings. People say they want fairness and quality education for all, but what some mean is, keep them over there, and leave us alone. Leave our Montessori programs alone. Leave our stem our stem our stem programs alone. Do not touch our science and technology school. That's not equity, that's separation. Now, let's address something uncomfortable. When Mark Roosevelt came through the PPS like a bull in a china shop, closing 22 schools in 5 years, there was limited outrage. Few packed rooms, no widespread backlash, and the wrecking ball included closing Schenley High School, once recognized as a national model of integration and achievement. So, what changed? Why is it quiet then, but loud now? We should be
036honest. Maybe it was his last name. Maybe it was also his race. When Dr. When Dr. Thompson, Dr. Hamlet, and now Dr. Walters present plans, the response feels different. Louder, sharper, more personal. That should concern all of us. We are pushing back against a superintendent who has spent more than 30 plus years in this district as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and now superintendent. So, when did we stop trusting his leadership? Or something else driving this? Perhaps politics. Some say it's his way or no way, but that was before or after plans were adjusted based on community input. Over the past year, I've heard testimony claiming there weren't enough meetings or access. I've also seen people meet directly with the superintendent, ask questions, and receive clear answers. I've watched individuals with some community groups have
037a full conversation with the superintendent, then go to public hearings and falsely claim the plan closes community school buildings. That's not confusion. That's intentional misinformation. We cannot make sound decisions for our children without honesty. This is not just about closing schools. This is about truth. This is about accountability. And this is about whether we are ready to continue inequal inequa inequality or inequity or continue protecting and perpetuating it. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker, Stacy Turner. Good evening, members of the board and Dr. Walters. Thank you for this chance to speak today. This is more than just about closing schools. It's about students, fairness, and telling the truth about what is happening in our district. I've been listening to what people were saying at meetings and online. A lot of
038it sounds strong and emotional, but not all of it is based on facts. There is even a gentleman that is at every public hearing and every meeting, and was so angry. A member attending a a meeting about community partners asked him to calm down because yes, school closing can be emotional, but some of the information being spread just isn't true. I wonder if people has ever read the plan or and or the frequent update questions and answers that is on the PBS webpage. One thing we don't talk about enough is money. Our city has fewer people than before and our schools have fewer students, but we still have a lot of buildings and some of them are mostly empty. That means we're spending money on spaces instead of spending it on students. That doesn't make
039sense if we really care about education. People say they want every student to have a good education, but sometimes it feels like that they really means means they want to protect certain schools and not think about everyone else. They want things to stay the same for them, but that is not fairness. That is not what equal looks like. There is also something else we need to think about. In the past when big changes happened in districts, there were no not always this many angry and anger and attention. This response feels loud and more personal. We should ask ourselves why that is. We should be honest about it even if it's uncomfortable. Right now we are talking about a superintendent who has spent many years working in the districts and knows it well. So, we have
040to ask, why are we questioning his leadership now? Is it really about the plan or is there other reasons behind it? Some people say they have not been heard, but there are there has been meetings, conversations, and chances to ask questions. It seems people get answers and they still go out and say things that are not accurate. This is not helping anyone. If we really care about students, we have to be honest. We cannot make good choices based on incorrect information. This plan is not just about closing and changing schools. It's about facing reality. It's about using our resources in better ways. And it's about making sure all students, not just some, have equal opportunities. So, the real question is, are we ready Are we ready to do what is fair even if it's hard?
041Or are we going to keep doing the same thing even if it even if it don't work? Thank you for listening. Thank you for your testimony. Our next speaker, Emily Sawyer. Good evening. I'm going to start with a quote from the book Let This Radicalize You by Kelly Hayes and Mariam Kaba. The world is not primarily changed by what we think of it. Transformative change happens when we are willing to build the things that we know must exist. Unquote. I get accused of being negative and critical, but what I actually am is a dreamer who believes endlessly in our ability to make a better world. I also, confusingly enough, get accused of being too naive or too theoretical, or existing in the world of ideas, but not being realistic and practical. I always get told,
042"That's nice, but when the district does stuff white and privileged people don't like, they leave, so we can't afford to do that." We can't afford to keep catering to privilege, either. And I hate to break it to us, but we are the white and privileged people. So, what if we just didn't leave? I am asking you to just not leave. We are the ones who decide. The district can't make us do anything. If we say we believe in something, I'm simply suggesting that we should live it. Don't say one thing and do another. My kids go to schools you wouldn't dream of sending your kids to. I know what there is to be lost when we insist on exceptions for us and our kids, and still expect one of the good ones status. This system
043caters directly to us. What exists is what we asked for, whether we like it or not. Last week I found myself at the SciTech orientation. Please know that I want to be excited about what is available for kids there, but it's hard when those opportunities exist on the back of students who don't have access to all those same wonderful things. It's good if you can get it is not a model we can base a public education system on. A model explicitly based on exclusivity like magnet schools cannot be what we rely on to deliver excellent education. In the Nice White Parents podcast, the host Chana Jaffe-Walt challenges us, quote, "This nice white parent began with a material interest of getting her kid into a good school, but then she developed a new self-interest. She didn't
044want to be complicit in segregation. She felt compromised by a system that made her into someone she did not want to be. I recognize that feeling. It's shame. I think we should listen to that shame, because what it's telling us is that we can't have it both ways. Nice white parents can't grab every advantage for our own children and also maintain our identities as good citizens who believe in equitable schools. The shame is telling us we have a choice. We can choose to hoard resources and segregate ourselves and flee the moment things feel uncomfortable, or we can choose to be the people we say we are, but we can't have both. Unquote. Practically speaking, magnets were initiated and worked in PPS during the time before the parents involved Supreme Court decision. Since that decision, magnets
045have been completely defanged as an equity tool. To use them to build equity rather than bolster inequity will take an iron will, unpopular decision-making, and alienating the privileged in favor of supporting the underserved. Quote, "There is simply no way to restructure systems of ed Thank you for your testimony. And next, we'll have Anna Jean Worth. Again, Anna Jean Worth. We'll move on to our next speaker. Sandra Woolley. So, good evening. I'm Sandra Woolley, retired educator, and a PPS um grandparent. Um I chair PINS Education Task Force. I think you know that PINS is an interfaith group. Um As my title suggests, PINS is still asking the board to vote no on the Future Ready uh Facilities Plan. And I want to explain why. This plan has not been developed with the input of stakeholders. PINS
046believes this is a huge missed opportunity to work with the city and nonprofits to develop an innovative plan for the Pittsburgh Public Schools. A plan that will attract families back to Pittsburgh. Families want this, and I think the city of Pittsburgh needs it. So, what do I mean? The city is already talking about creating community centers in the buildings that you close. Why not fill some of the empty spaces in these buildings with services that families need? While renovating, why not invite the city and other agencies working with families to uh come into the school buildings. This is called a community school. One-stop shopping for whatever families need. Other cities and school districts are already doing this. This is not a new idea. Look at Cincinnati or Erie County. Community schools are different than schools
047as community hubs. An important feature of community schools is the site-based committee that conducts a needs assessment of what the community needs and develops an annual plan. That committee includes all stakeholders in the community. Partnerships are formed based on the identified needs. We need innovative ideas to fund community schools. PPS needs financial support to fund community schools. In Erie County, the United Way supports community schools. And I discovered UPMC and Highmark, for example, both adopt a school. A key reason there are only nine community schools in Pittsburgh is a lack of funding. In 2016, when the previous board uh uh created uh the policy for community schools, more than 20 schools applied. But there was money for a single school. The four other uh community groups uh schools were funded by Homewood Children's Village and
048Community in Schools. So, let me ask again, vote no on this plan. Spend another year developing a plan with input of families, the city, and community. Dr. Walters and Thank you for your testimony. And now we will switch over to our virtual speakers. And our next speaker will be Rachel Swartz. Hello. My name is Rachel and I'm the parent of a first-grade student at Greenfield Elementary. I am here to express my opposition to the updated proposed facility utilization plan. Based on the district's own data released in March of 2026, this plan raises serious concerns about both fiscal responsibility and educational quality. First, the reconfiguration of these schools, including the creation of a dedicated middle school, is projected to cost approximately 5 million with no long-term cost savings. At the same time, these figures do not
049include critical facility upgrades, such as air conditioning. This is not a cost-saving measure, it is a cost restructuring with unclear financial benefit. Second, staffing and enrollment projections show that the class sizes at Greenfield are expected to increase by at least 15%. That estimate does not account for additional students from the updated boundary changes, which will likely increase class sizes further. Class sizes are not the sole issue here. The proposed changes do not provide enough staffing supports for the schools. Simply put, the higher the numbers, the more complex classrooms you have, the greater the demands on the teachers and the staff staff, which as the proposal shows, you do not have. The last update did not provide revised feeder patterns, financial impacts, or enrollment projections for the public to review, so we cannot provide comments at
050this forum on that information since we do not have access to it. Third, the district has justified this plan by stating that centralizing middle schools will expand academic opportunities. However, the district's own feasibility update indicates that staffing shortage will prevent schools from offering a full range of electives. That directly contradicts the stated purpose of this plan. So, taken together, this proposal requires significant financial investment while reducing educational quality and increasing disruption for students and families. I want to be clear, I support Pittsburgh Public Schools, and I understand the need for long-term planning and equity-driven decisions. However, this plan, as it applies to these school communities, does not demonstrate clear benefit, does not demonstrate clear cost savings, and does not improve student outcomes based on the data provided. So, my question's direct, what evidence justifies moving
051forward with a plan that increases costs, increases class sizes, and limits academic opportunities? I urge the board to reconsider this proposal and provide transparent, data-driven justification before proceeding. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker is Nicole Sims. Again, Nicole Sims. We'll move to the next speaker. Erica Porter. Again, Erica Porter. We'll keep going. The next speaker, Michael Cummins. Good evening. I'll begin with five well-known quotes from religious, political, and business leaders and philosophers from numerous countries and generations. First, the leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, "We did it ourselves." If you promote yourself, you have no success. Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked. Leadership is defined by results, not attributes. True humility is
052not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. It's amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. There go the people, I must follow them, for I am their leader. Each of these quotes underscores a simple truth. Effective leadership is not about personal attributes or self-promotion, but about empowering others and delivering results. Last week, families received an important informational email about the draft and PSSAs far too late, sent on Tuesday just before major city disruptions affected thousands of households. This information should have gone out weeks ago, immediately after the asynchronous decision is made, giving families time to prepare. Why was that not a priority? The very next day, a polished promotional video about Dr. Walters was released, something that clearly required significant time and resources. That contrast
053is concerning. Prioritizing self-promotion while neglecting timely communication demonstrates misplaced focus. These resources should have been supported students and families, not promoted our superintendent and an extremely unpopular plan. How leaders choose to spend time and public resources demonstrates their effectiveness. A delayed essential communication alongside a heavily produced self-promotion video is extremely revealing. Poor leaders self-aggrandize, while effective leaders let their results speak for themselves. As the video itself says, good leaders don't make endless excuses for their consistent failures in educational results and inability to rally support for their plans. Ironically, this video actually reinforces why Dr. Walters' contract should not be renewed. The board should reject this plan and begin a superintendent search now, allowing ample time to identify strong new leadership by July of next year. In the meantime, the district should meaningfully engage the community
054to reimagine a path forward for all students. There's no need to delay progress, but this may require someone else to lead the facilities plan effort. Someone who can rebuild trust, refine what works, and secure the broad support necessary for success. It's time to move past the current unproductive cycle, focus on building a plan with community buy-in that will deliver real results for all of our students. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker is Jazlyn Worthy. Good evening, PPS parents and community members. I solely address you tonight because the people responsible for creating opportunities for our children blatantly ignore the very unity required to make them possible. Despite not hearing unity often, it is the foundation. It's what ensures decisions reflect our voices, needs, and realities. So, when a plan we disagreed with and
055already voted down clearly and publicly, because that unity wasn't there. We have to ask, what has actually changed? Because bringing that same plan back without addressing the divide that caused it to fail in the first place, it does not move us forward. In fact, it tells us that our concerns were noted, but not valued. That our voices were heard, but not respected. As a parent of four children in this district, I am not looking for perfect decisions. I know schools have to close. But I'm only looking for honest ones. Decisions that reflect real engagement, real listening, and real alignment with us. So, no, I will not trust them while they move in ways that dismiss us. And no, it was not engagement and it's not engagement when our input isn't they don't influence the outcomes.
056And they're definitely not claiming to prioritize our children while ignoring the conditions that directly impact their success. Engagement and unity go hand in hand and it's always the missing piece deserving of being prioritized, not an afterthought, not a talking point, but real intentional effort. Because without it, they're not creating opportunities, they're creating division and our kids deserve better. They deserve a district that listens, that responds and stands in alignment with the community it serves. So, until that happens, revisiting is an insult, revising is progress and rejecting it is where real change happen. Let me repeat that again. Revisiting is an insult, revising is progress and rejecting it is where real change happens. Vote no. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker, Carrie Thompson. Good evening. As I prepared to make remarks
057to this evening, I looked back at 2 years of testimony that I've been providing to the board throughout this process and I realized many of you are new to this as official board members, but many of us have been seeing each other at these meetings over these past 2 years. Kind of feeling like we're beating our heads against the wall because we're saying the same thing and things aren't changing. What I heard in the education committee report were a lot of the pieces of vocabulary that many of the parents and community members have been using. So, I know that we have been heard, but kind of like the last speaker just said, not really been listened to. Not that these things are actually accounted for. If they had been, the board and and Dr. Walters
058would be putting forward a plan that was significantly slowed down so that it could actually make adjustments that are needed for the student accommodations at each school and for the upgrades the buildings that are needed. It's clear that the district still hasn't even pushed forward with the kinds of upgrades needed to each of the high schools, none of which were slated to close, to do things like make sure they each have air conditioning so that, say, when their students are taking AP exams in May, they can actually do that and not have to reschedule things because there was a high heat day. We could start with something like that, right? Uh I I'm concerned about the idea that this is this plan is just about the 18,000 students who are currently enrolled in Pittsburgh public
059schools because it's not. It's really about the schools that should be available for all the children in Pittsburgh and many of whom have been choosing charter schools or private schools because they do not feel adequately supported by Pittsburgh public schools. And still not enough work has been done to reach out to the parents of those students who have left the district. What would it take to really bring them back into the Pittsburgh public school spaces so that we could have the investment that comes with having more bodies in the seats because we get money per pupil. So, as long as we continue to get more students leaving the district, we're not actually solving the financial problem. That's where the financial problem will be solved, not by closing some buildings and throwing more people out of
060the the patterns that they're used to. If you want to talk about closing buildings, we should talk about closing the Oliver building, which just has administrative staff in it. Why is it still opening? We should talk about closing the gifted center as much as my child loves it there and moving those programs in-house to each of the schools where everything is integrated. >> And our next speaker is Valerie Webb-Omen. Hi again. Um I'm primarily concerned about the um the future ready plan that is slated to be voted on again next month um because this isn't really a future ready plan. Um so, I got finished watching the PR video for the superintendent and it left me more confused because I'm not sure why, if our district has to close schools to give us additional time
061to work on a financial plan that will actually solve the issues and meet the um goal of Pittsburgh public, why we're spending money on a PR campaign. I know his contract is coming up, but he can talk to you guys directly. He doesn't need um to launch a PR video talking about how he doesn't like excuses when we've spent 2 and 1/2 years getting excuses. So, I need some clarity on that as well. So, some highlights. Okay. There was a quote in the um update where we were told district priorities are to strengthen the foundation across all schools by improving instruction, expanding access to opportunities, building staff capacity and aligning resources in a sustainable way. Fully agree. Love it. How do we get there? By doing the same old thing that we've been doing for
062over 20 years now by saying, "Trust me, bro." and closing schools without an actual plan that the community can get behind. And I know that a lot of people are louder this time, but it may also have to do with the parents today are the ones that went through the school closures 20 years ago and we're watching our kids have to go through it, too. We saw the outcome, how that improved our school district and new splash, we still have the major gap between the success of black and brown students, the success of students with exceptionalities and your traditional like white affluent families. It's still there. Closing these buildings didn't actually stop that from happening. And like somebody said before, one of the biggest issues that we have is that the system isn't working. Well,
063the administration has the ability to change that. We spent 2 and 1/2 years trying to like just get them to say, "Yes, school closures are actually on the table." back when he said he wanted capacity at 80 to 90%. Um and we still are missing so much information. We're going to be closing this one community school and they say that's good, but it's ignoring the 1,300 students that are about to lose access to services. There's so many questions. We can It's so many excuses why we can't get the answers. We shouldn't have to ask questions for 2 years and then say, "Oh, but he's a guy that doesn't like excuses." You know what? >> Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker is Lars Munson. Okay, sorry. Uh can we have me speak first
064and then Lars? Sure. Thank you. We We planned it that way. Hi, I'm Holly. Um first, I'd like to repeat what Jocelyn so wisely shared um that revisiting is an insult, revisal is progress and rejecting is where real change happens. Um and I'd like to echo echo what Valerie said, um the PPS community is sick of excuses. Um there was yet another right to know request where the Walters administration had to admit it didn't have the data to support its proposals, gave an excuse that it hasn't put together this data because the board hadn't voted yes, but those excuses are a bridge to nowhere. Um this plan is a dumpster fire hidden by a smoke screen of shiny reports that don't hold up to scrutiny because the data does not exist. I'd also like to
065quickly take inspiration from the production of High School Musical. My son, Lars, is a seventh grader at Schiller. Um at Schiller, we have awesome teachers like Ms. Stromberg, who is his homeroom teacher and teaches music and she also directed the school musical. In High School Musical, the characters are trapped because they think that they can only stay in one box, like how Troy Bolton thinks he can only play basketball and can't be a singer. But then, they realize that you can't stay trapped in one box. And I think the school board is kind of like Troy Bolton. You think you're trapped in a box, you have to close schools, but I think you can play basketball and be a singer, at least metaphorically. Um you can change make changes without hurting kids. You can vote
066no on this bad plan and make changes that could make positive change. Thank you so much. I'll pass it off to Lars. Please vote no on closing schools. We're all in this together. That's a song from High School Musical. Thank you. Should have watched the show. Thank you for both your testimonies. And this will conclude our testimonies for this evening, but before we close, we want to ensure that everyone had a chance to speak. So, I'll I'll the names. Lorenzo Broly Jason Whalen Anna Jean Worth Nicole Sims and Erica Porter And now I will turn this back into the hands of Mr. Walker. Thank you, Ms. Candy, and as always, thank you for all of those who came out to testify whether in person or virtual. Uh we do appreciate your time uh and your
067enthusiasm. Uh and with that, we will adjourn this meeting and see you all Wednesday evening for our legislative session. Thank you.