The Shaler Area School Board voted Wednesday to begin a process that will lead to the closing of the district’s elementary school.

The board voted 8-0 to submit a reconfiguration plan to the state Department of Education to create four elementary schools to house kindergarten through fifth grade, and for Shaler Area Middle School to house grades six through eight.

The vote also authorizes district administrators to start closing proceedings for Shaler Area Elementary School.

The board approved the motion without its members making any comments. Board member James Burn Jr. was absent.

The plan keeps open the district’s four existing primary schools — Burchfield, Marzolf, Scott and Reserve — that now house kindergarten through third grade.

The 2026-27 school year would be the last for the elementary school, with fourth grade staying at the primary schools and the elementary housing fifth and sixth grades.

At the end of the 2026-27 school year, both grades would advance to the middle school.

Superintendent Bryan O’Black said the plan, “Building for Tomorrow,” positions Shaler Area to strengthen academic programming and better support student learning from kindergarten through eighth grade.

“By transitioning to a K–5 neighborhood model and aligning Shaler Area Middle School for grades 6–8, we are creating fewer transitions for students, increasing instructional continuity, and providing more time for teachers to build deep, lasting relationships that directly impact achievement,” O’Black said.

“This structure also allows us to expand academic opportunities, enhance interdisciplinary learning, and design programming that is developmentally aligned across each grade band,” he said. “Teacher work groups will be engaging in shaping curriculum, extracurricular offerings, and school operations to ensure a smooth transition, and we look forward to sharing their progress during community forums early this spring.”

Shaler resident Don Andrezjwski expressed his support for the plan and the school board. He was the only resident to speak.

“I know there’s been a lot of blowback and everybody talking about what’s being done,” he said. “These are tough decisions. You got to make these tough calls. I think this is the right thing to do. This plan was put together very well.

“I know this is going to lead to the closing of the school down on Scott Avenue and I think that has to be done,” he said. “I applaud the board for making the tough decision.”

In other business

• The Shaler Area School Board approved seeking bids for renovations at Shaler Area Middle School.

The work includes replacing the entire roof, the air handler units for its cafeteria and library, and the fire alarm system.

The construction cost was estimated at $5.5 million when HHSDR Architects & Engineers in September presented scaled back plans for renovations at the school.

The district will advertise for bids in January and award contracts in February. Work would be done in the summer, with the roof being done over two summers unless the contractor can complete it in one.

• The board will pay Trans Associates up to $22,750 for engineering services to review the existing school zone signage at Shaler Area Middle School and Marzolf and Burchfield primary schools and provide recommendations and bidding for flashing school zones at those schools.

The district would seek bids in January and award contracts in February, O’Black said, with the goal of having the new signage in place for the start of the 2026-27 school year.

Flashing school zone signs are already in place at Scott Primary School, O’Black said.

He said they are not necessary at Reserve, which is on a road that dead-ends at the entrance to a cemetery, or the high school, which sits off of Wible Run Road.

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