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Parents and advocates tell Pittsburgh Public Schools: don’t close schools; use charter-reform dollars for special education
Summary
At a public hearing, parents, teachers and advocates urged the Pittsburgh Public Schools board to abandon school-closure plans, direct an asserted $12 million in cyber-charter reform savings to special education, and pursue procurement and facility strategies instead of displacements.
Community members packed the public-comment portion of a Pittsburgh Public Schools hearing to press the board to halt school closures and to use newly available funds and budget changes to protect students.
Laura Gallagher, an ally of the 412 Justice and Education Rights Network, told the board the district had ‘‘received a $12,000,000 boost from state cyber charter reforms,’’ and said that money undercut the closure plan’s founding claim of a fiscal emergency. ‘‘This means the budget does not require displacement of 6,000 students,’’ Gallagher said.
Several parents and advocates echoed that point and urged the board to prioritize students. ‘‘We gotta start prioritizing the people that live in this city,’’ said Emily Sawyer, a parent of four Pitt‑area students, who criticized giving…
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