November 14, 2012 11:33 pm
By Sandy Trozzo
The third-day enrollment in the North Allegheny School District is higher than projections, but not high enough that the district should drop the proposal to close a small elementary school, board members learned tonight.
Enrollment on the third day was 8,212 students with 3,531 of those students in elementary school.
The annual Enrollment and Facilities Update also tracked enrollment since 1986. Enrollment peaked at 8,461 students in 1997.
Roger Botti, director of transportation and operations, also presented four redistricting scenarios — closing Bradford Woods, Hosack or Peebles elementary schools — and leaving all seven schools open, but moving children to equalize enrollment and class sizes. Keeping all seven schools open would require moving 264 students, while closing Bradford Woods would require moving 1,031 students.
Parents continued to plead with the board to keep all schools open and to lower elementary class sizes, some of which have reached 31 students.
“These students get one shot at a solid elementary education,” said Tara Fisher of McCandless. “We in the North Allegheny community need to give them our best. We cannot offer them the best if we close an elementary school.”
save NA schools 
We have been in the NA School District for 33 years. We have been involved in many school and district wide committees and discussion groups. Occasionally School Boards do not look forward far enough and makes a short term decision that has to be reversed I was thinking about North Hills and McIntyre Elementary School which was closed, converted to an administration office and then reopened as a school. If Peebles were closed it is very possible that the school would need to be reopened as there is residential building going on near the school and also most of the homes that are selling in the area have an increased number of young children it them that will be in school next year or very soon. Saving money in the short term is not necessarily a long term saving.
Marcia-
Thank for your comment.
We agree, As a group, we feel that the administration has failed to forecast accurately in the past- and will continue to do so. North Allegheny is not a district in decline. We also have not been given official cost savings. Early estimates range from $500K to $1.2M– which less than 1% of the NA operating budget.
Please contact the school board with your concerns-