PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Board of Education is considering a proposal to save $8 million by closing 15 of the district's 86 school buildings, including three that have been shut down before.

A recent analysis found that Pittsburgh Public Schools have space for 50,149 students, but the enrollment for the current school year is only 34,619.

"Nobody wants to close a school," school board President William Isler said Thursday. "We have to do this."

Proposed recommendations call for the following buildings to be shut down before the 2004-2005 school year:

Rogers CAPA Middle School -- programs would move to the former CAPA High School (Baxter).

Arlington Middle School -- students would be assigned to Arlington Elementary, which will expand to a K-8 facility.

Belmar Elementary -- students would attend the new Homewood Elementary School. (Belmar Elementary facility will remain open to house the Montessori program.)

Beltzhoover Elementary -- students would be assigned to Prospect and Knoxville elementary schools.

Bon Air Elementary -- students would be assigned to West Liberty Elementary.

Chartiers Elementary -- feeder patterns would be realigned to assign students to Sheradon, Stevens and Westwood elementary schools.

Homewood Montessori -- close building; move program to Belmar.

Mann Elementary School -- feeder patterns would be realigned to assign students to Manchester and Morrow elementary schools.

Miller Elementary -- students would be assigned to Weil and Vann elementary schools. African-centered programs would be infused within Weil and Vann.

Regent Square Elementary -- students would attend the new Homewood Elementary.

Schaeffer Elementary -- feeder patterns would be realigned to assign students to Sheradan, Stevens and Westwood elementary schools.

Spring Garden Elementary -- students would be assigned to M. L. King.

Letsche Education Center -- programs would move to another location, yet to be determined.

Connelley Technical Institute and Adult Education Center -- district phases out Adult Education.

South Vo-Tech High School -- programs would move to other high schools.

Also recommended is the relocation of Greenway Middle School programs and students (not Pittsburgh Classical Academy) to Langley High School. Administrative offices from Connelley and Boggs would move to Greenway.

The recommendations, if approved, would also result in projected staff reductions of 129 employees.

Dr. John Thompson, superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools, said the recommendations "identify potential solutions to preserve the overall academic mission of our schools while ensuring a solid financial future for the district. By realigning resources, the district would have greater financial flexibility to support its mission to improve the social and academic achievement of every child."

Arlington, Bon Air and Spring Garden were shut down in 2001, then reopened one year later by a school board.

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Public Participation In The Process:
A public hearing is scheduled for March 22 at the school board Administration Building, 341 South Bellefield Ave., Oakland. The first session is 1-4 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. session.

Anyone wishing to speak is asked to register by calling 412-622-3600 from March 15 until noon on March 19. Written testimony can be e-mailed to publichearing@pghboe.net by 5 p.m. on March 22.

More information: Board of Education Web site, http://www.pghboe.net.