Jun 12, 2008 4:23 pm US/Eastern
City Councilman Proposes Plan To Save Schenley
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
A Pittsburgh City Councilman says he has a plan that could save Schenley High School from closing its doors permanently.
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt recommended closing Schenley, which has an asbestos problem, because it would cost $64 million to fix - an expense the district can't afford.
Councilman Bill Peduto, D-Shadyside, says the district can save the school without borrowing a dime. At a press conference, Peduto proposed a design-build-lease plan.
It means the school district would turn Schenley over to a private developer, have the developer fund the cost of the renovations and then the district could lease the school back from the developer.
The plan also calls for the sale of Reizenstein Middle School - a school the district plans to renovate as an alternative to Schenley.
"I'm sure that you've all heard the school's response that they don't have the money to borrow, that if they borrow money their bond taking will go down, that they need money for other projects," Peduto said. "But there's a way to do it where the schools don't have to borrow a dollar, where the bond makret will never be affected, and that's called a design-lease-financing plan."
Supt. Roosevelt was unavailable for comment.
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