Shaler Area School District is undergoing some huge changes, and it starts next school year with the fourth graders. The district is reconfiguring grade levels so that in two school years, the Elementary School on Scott Ave will no longer be in use.

Next school year, 2026-27, the third graders that are currently at the primary schools will stay at those schools for fourth grade, and the Elementary School will only house fifth and sixth grade. The following school year, 2027-28, the fourth graders will stay again at the primary schools for fifth grade, and the two grades at the Elementary School will both move up to the Middle School for sixth and seventh grade which will leave the Elementary School vacant, the Primary Schools housing grades K-5 and the Middle School housing grades 6-8.

Shaler Area Superintendent Dr. Bryan O’Black explained the decision was made based on the demographics of the district where there has been a decrease in student enrollment.

“At one point not that long ago, our student enrollment was well over 5,000 students. We now sit at about 3,800 students. So, you do the math. We’re almost 1,200 students less than we were maybe ten or twelve years ago,” Dr. O’Black said.

With fewer kids registering and coming into Shaler Area schools, there is a lot of empty space in district buildings, prompting the idea of downsizing and restructuring. Dr. O’Black said it wasn’t exactly easy deciding how to downsize, but the Shaler Area community did help in making the decision.

There had been rumors about the district shutting down Reserve Primary School, but after hearing the community’s opinions, Dr. O’Black knew that was not the solution the district was looking for.

“We talked to parents and surveyed parents. They really, really liked their neighborhood school model: those four primary schools that we have. I think you all heard the rumors that Reserve was closing. Reserve is very near and dear to that community. So when our team was looking and surveying, it became abundantly clear to us that this community wanted to keep intact that neighborhood school model. They didn’t want us to go down to to three primary schools and absorb Reserve into another building,” Dr. O’Black said.

With that information, the district’s attention turned to the Elementary School.

“When our architects went in and assessed the nuts and bolts of that building it became abundantly clear that that building was in need of a lot of money to the tune of 30 plus million dollars just to basically replace and repair what we have in that building. That wasn’t adding on to the building, it was just really doing a facelift of what existed there. Then about 18 more million for the swimming pool in that building. So if we got out of this on a good day, we were well over 40 million dollars,” he said.

So the school decided the best decision was to phase out the Elementary School building and sell that property. Dr. O’Black described the whole situation as a “win-win”.

“We’ve got this huge elementary school complex that needs a lot of money. We’ve got families who continue to tell us they love their neighborhood school model. Within that neighborhood school model, we have a lot of empty seats in the classrooms. We saw that as a win-win. Our families can keep their youngest child children close to their home and stay in that building K through five. We can then sell the property that the Elementary School sits on. Hopefully we can use that for development of homes. We can take the increased revenue from those houses and the money from the sale of the property, and invest that in the remaining buildings in the school district.”

Keeping up with the schools is really expensive, so not only will there be one less building to worry about, the district can actually use the money from selling the Elementary School to invest into the others.

“The more buildings you have, the more expensive they are. Right now, the cost of doing construction, renovation, roof  projects, anything with oil, asphalt, or concrete is really, really expensive and we need to invest in our facilities,” Dr. O’Black said.

There is a roofing project that needs to be done at the Middle School, and none of the Primary Schools, with the exception of Scott, have air conditioning. These are issues that can be looked at now.

Dr. O’Black reassured everyone that there is room in all of the primary schools to fit two extra grades. None of the primary schools are at their full capacity of students, and the K-5 model is not an unfamiliar one. Shaler Area used this model about 18 years ago, In addition to the financial benefits, there are also educational ones as well. He specifically noted there are a lot of early literacy benefits with keeping children in K-5 school model.

Another benefit that Dr. O’Black mentioned was bus rides. The bus rides will be a lot shorter with kids staying closer to their houses through 5th grade and an entire bus round will be eliminated. Dr. O’Black hinted that might allow for some shifting in the time that school starts and ends.

“That may allow us to bump dismissal for our elementary school students in those K-5 schools up a little bit. And it may allow us to look at our high school start and end times. (The high school) building has notoriously had a really early start time,” Dr. O’Black said.

One issue that will need to be addressed is the swimming pool located at the Elementary School.

“The pool will stay open through next school year. We are actively looking for a pool very close to the district. I feel confident that we’re going to have an announcement soon. We are committed to having space for our student athletes here. It just won’t be within a school building,” Dr. O’Black said.

The community’s reaction to this reconfiguration has of course brought a wide range of emotions, but has been mostly positive according to Dr. O’Black.

“The news about the future of Shaler Area Elementary School has understandably brought a wide range of emotions from our community. Many families, alumni, and staff have a personal connection to the building. We recognize that this decision is not just about facilities, but about memories and traditions as well,” he said. “At the same time, we are also hearing from community members who understand the financial and educational challenges associated with maintaining aging buildings and who want to ensure that district resources are focused on providing the best possible learning environments for students. We appreciate the thoughtful questions, feedback, and engagement we have received.”