Dear Pittsburgh School Board of Directors,

Schools are an indispensable resource in our communities. In addition to educating the future leaders of our city, schools carry neighborhood traditions binding generations together. While amassing an $187 million budget surplus, the Pittsburgh Public School District has closed and consolidated many neighborhood schools. In addition to the troubling message school closures send to children, these school buildings have not been repurposed into a community resource, despite being built with community tax dollars. In Northview Heights, we are requesting the Pittsburgh School Board of Directors reallocates part of the $187 million surplus to reopening the Northview Heights Elementary School as the REGINALD WARD JR & SR EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY CENTER. This Community Center will host community organizations and services. Specifically, we would like the Pittsburgh Public School District’s surplus to fund:

1. The building’s reopening and maintenance

2. Daycare and pre-K services

3. GED and continuing education programs for adults

4. A community food pantry

5. After school programming

Around the city, the repurposing of closed school buildings into luxury apartments has facilitated the displacement of children and families from their neighborhoods. The creation of the REGINALD WARD JR & SR EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY CENTER allows the Pittsburgh Public School District to holistically invest in the future of the Northside.

In solidarity,

PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE RESIDENTS OF NORTHVIEW HEIGHTS ESTATES.