Shaler Area Elementary schools on Monday night shared a proposal for the school district's "Building for Tomorrow" initiative with parents and guardians.

Now, dozens of parents have signed a petition to keep the elementary school on Scott Avenue open for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.

The proposal explains that the district would reallocate those students to a kindergarten through fifth grade model at four existing primary schools, which would be renamed Burchfield Elementary, Marzolf Elementary, Reserve Elementary, and Scott Elementary.

In addition, sixth graders would then join seventh and eighth graders at Shaler Area Middle School.

"I think it's a horrible idea," Shaler Area Elementary School parent Kayla Fischer said. "I think about how it'd impact those kids, too, because then there would be different grades over there. Kids get bullied in different grades, and I think that's a big thing, too."

"My son goes to that (elementary) school," Fischer added, "and he really likes it. I think swimming is a big thing, like they don't have any swimming in any of the other schools."

Currently, Shaler Area Elementary is the only school in this township with an indoor pool. According to the PowerPoint the district presented to students' parents, some considerations for the pool include deciding over the next year.

The options may include evaluating the cost-benefit of maintaining a swimming pool in the district, considering future locations for a district pool, and exploring rental options for student-athletes, like the arrangements currently used for golf and bowling teams.

The district said the swimming pool will remain open and available for use at least through the end of 2027.

The district cites declining enrollment across the district as one of the reasons for reconfiguring out of the elementary school building. It also explained the overall decision to reallocate students is to "enhance educational continuity, reduce student transitions, and support long-term operational sustainability."

The PowerPoint presentation from the district also shared that the expected closing of an "aging facility" like Shaler Area Elementary School could result in substantial savings in utilities, maintenance, repairs, and other associated overhead and duplicated costs by no longer using the space.

In a statement, the district's superintendent, Dr. Bryan O'Black, said, in part, "This initiative positions us to make strategic investments in our remaining schools."

School crossing guard Bernadette Shebetich reiterated that it's an old building. 

"(The) population's changed, so of course we've got older and older neighborhoods now. So probably don't have as many children, probably makes good sense," said Shebetich. "They said that there's a lot of work that needs [to be] done on the building. I guess, is it cost-effective to keep it open?"

The school district said there will be further conversations and presentations with the community, the state, and the school board. 

Town halls are now planned for sometime this fall and in the winter and spring of 2026. The district shared that it plans to hold multiple sessions across the district to reach all stakeholder groups.

That includes dedicated communication channels and launching a reconfiguration webpage with updates, documents, and feedback forms.

If this plan is approved, students would gradually filter out of the elementary school, with the final year of operation being the 2026-2027 school year.