North Allegheny School District Posts FAQ's about Proposal to Close Peebles Elementary

The North Allegheny School Board wil hold a public hearing on a proposal to close Peebles Elementary school on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Carson Middle School auditorium.

The issue has dominated the public comments at school board meetings since September.  

It has also revealed a difference of opinion among school board members. 

The community group Save NA Schools has been leading the opposition to closing Peebles.

Below are several of the frequently asked questions about the issue, and the district's response.

Q: WHY? What is the motivation behind this recommendation? The District won’t save enough money by closing Peebles to balance the budget. This is a high-performing school that was renovated not too long ago. This school has a lot of life in it and a lot of support from the surrounding community.
A: Closing Peebles Elementary School would be a decision to become more operationally efficient. The recommendation is based upon the fact that NASD has excess capacity in 2012-2013 at the elementary level and has had excess capacity for more than several years. 

Q: RENTING PEEBLES - Is it true that the District has a deal in place to rent/lease Peebles? Was that the reason why the recommendation to close a school was changed from Bradford Woods to Peebles?
A: At this point in time, the District does not have a tenant for the Peebles building. We certainly hope there will be potential tenants. The location, condition, and configuration of the building would all lend themselves to future rental options, if the School Board decides in favor of closing Peebles. There has been some advance work done by District personnel in terms of the investigation of market value and a review of comparator spaces. 

Q: “SPARES” - What is a “spare” classroom? Where are they and why is all this talk about them so important?

A: Without getting into lengthy discussion about the number or exact location of ‘extra classrooms,’ it is a clear fact that “spare” classrooms exist. They aren’t labeled ”spares” when you visit a school and some of them may be currently empty, but some of them may not be. Enrollment in schools varies from year to year. Facilities are designed to be flexible to provide good options suited to the needs of each school year. 

Q: OTHER CHOICES TO SAVE MONEY? If closing Peebles is supposed to help the District become more operationally efficient – it seems like there are other things that could be considered before the closing of a school. What has the District already done?
A: The District has had a budget deficit over the past several years of $8M+. To balance those budgets, these cost saving and/or revenue producing actions have been taken. This is NOT an exhaustive list. 

• Reduction of approximately 90+ staff over the past two years.
• Offered an Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) to professional/ administrative staff. 
• Implemented wage concessions and/or freezes across employee groups.
• Reduction and/or elimination of school-based programs.
• Reduction or delay in capital improvement projects and bus purchases.
• Increases in class size across all levels and adjustments to elective courses.
• Implementation of a student participation fee.
• Increase in parking pass fees for NASH students.
• Renegotiation of copy services contract and implementation of new guidelines for use of printers, copiers and paper usage.
• Development of advertising policy and increased revenue from various forms of advertising.
• Transition to use of electronic communications for information sharing and document storage.
• Renewed energy and effort by the North Allegheny Foundation to increase fundraising.

To read more of the frequently asked questions and answers, click here.

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