Hearing on Fairless Elementary Closing Brings Parent Protests

Woodland Hills School Board heard the concerns of parents and North Braddock residents who don’t want to see the students have to be bussed out of the area to attend other schools.

The district held a public meeting on its plan to close the school at the end of the school year. KDKA-TV reports that some parents were concerned about transportation issues should their children get sick at school. Currently, Fairless serves only pupils from North Braddock.

Last week, the district introduced a plan that calls for the school to be turned into a "Family Services Centre." The center would be a one-stop shop for young families, providing them with connections to help them with heating bills, food, screenings, speech/language services, immunizations, nutrition, child development issues, suitable living and jobs.

Substitute Superintendent Alan Johnson said Fairless would be a good location because it is geographically centered in the area where parents are most in need of help. The school building is accessible by walking from lower Swissvale, Rankin, Braddock, North Braddock and East Pittsburgh.

The long-range plan also calls for the district to close Shaffer Elementary in Churchill and Dickson Elementary in Swissvale at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Students would be redistributed to Wilkins and Edgewood elementary schools, Woodland Hills Junior High in Swissvale and Woodland Hills Academy in Turtle Creek.

To find out more about what parents and community members had to say, click here for KDKA's report.