Woodland Hills school closing OK’d

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, March 15, 2007

Before a standing-room only crowd last night, the Woodland Hills school board voted to begin the process of closing East Junior High School in Turtle Creek.

The vote was 6-1, with board member Robert Tomasic dissenting.

Under the plan, the 280 students at East Junior would attend school with the district’s other middle school students, at a location yet to be determined, at the start of the 2008-09 school year.

A hearing on the closing will take place in May. A final vote will be taken within three months after the hearing.

“It has to be done,” said board President Cynthia Lowery of the school closing. “We cannot afford to keep partially filled buildings open. The closing would save us $900,000 yearly in our operating budget.”

Superintendent Roslynne Wilson favors closing East, saying it “makes sense educationally and financially.”