North Hills to outline possible changes to deal with district's growth

The North Hills School District’s superintendent is scheduled to present a report and analysis on a proposal to move sixth-grade students out of the elementary buildings and into the middle school to address the district’s growing enrollment.

Superintendent Pat Mannarino will hold the presentation during the Jan. 24 school board meeting at 7 p.m. in the middles school.

Mannarino is expected to cover a range of topics including the district’s available space and capacity, the current configuration of buildings, curriculum and scheduling, staffing needs and changes, transportation, costs and the anticipated time line if any changes are approved.

No students would be moved prior to the 2020-21 school year, according to district officials.

The changes are needed to begin dealing with the growth in elementary student population, which climbed to 2,546 students this school year — the largest enrollment since 1997-98.

Two elementary buildings also are operating at more than than 98-percent capacity and a third school is at 93-percent of capacity, according to the district.

The district’s enrollment is expected to continue to grow through 2025, according to an analysis conducted by a demographer.

To address growth during the past several years, the district changed the elementary school attendance boundaries, constructed a two-story addition to MacIntyre Elementary School and relocated special education programs to different elementary buildings.

Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tony at 724-772-6368 or tlarussa@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TonyLaRussaTrib.