Woodland Hills plan would close just East Junior High School

Thursday, March 8, 2007

After the Woodland Hills School Board decided against closing three of the district’s nine schools, a new plan is on the table that would shutter just one of them by the beginning of the 2008-09 school year.
District spokeswoman Maria McCool said the school board plans to vote March 14 on a plan that would close East Junior High School in Turtle Creek.

The proposal to close only East Junior High arose after a comprehensive school consolidation plan designed by superintendent Roslynne Wilson was rejected by a 6-3 vote at the January school board meeting.

“Although this was part of Dr. Wilson’s original plan, and she supports the idea, these new motions have been offered by board directors as a way to cut the estimated budget deficit,” McCool said.That original plan would have closed Shaffer Primary School in Churchill, Rankin Intermediate School in Rankin and East Junior High School by the start of the 2009-10 school year. The closings would have begun with Shaffer Primary at the end of the current school year.
The comprehensive plan met with opposition from parents who were concerned that the closings were being rushed. The board has been discussing the plan at each meeting since, McCool said.

McCool said the board agreed to consider closing East Junior High after the 2007-08 annual budget was presented last month. Its approximately 288 seventh- and eighth-graders would attend Swissvale’s West Junior High School.

The 7:30 meeting Wednesday will be at the district administration building, 2430 Greensburg Pike, Churchill. District residents who would like to speak at the meeting should register with the board secretary, Joyce Sullivan, by 3 p.m. Monday by calling 412-731-1300, ext. 0133.