Wayne Walters

Some Pittsburgh Public Schools staff are haunted by whether a change in school district policy might have kept student Marquis Campbell away from school on the day he was shot.

Superintendent Wayne Walters inherits issues that have plagued Pittsburgh Public Schools, including declining enrollment, poor staff morale, a wide achievement gap between Black and white students, and discipline issues that disproportionately impact students of color and students with disabilities.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: We speak to a member of Black Women for a Better Education about their reaction to the announcement of Pittsburgh Public Schools new superintendent; an investigation into how a city police officer invoked a little-known law to gain legal protection from a colleague that she alleges sexually assaulted her; and how did Squirrel Hill, and some of its streets, get named? Today’s guests include: Allyce Pinchback-Johnson, founding member of Black Women for a Better Education; Megan Harris, lead producer at City Cast Pittsburgh, and Rich Lord, managing editor of PublicSource.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board announced Thursday that it plans to fill the district’s top job with longtime district administrator and former teacher Wayne Walters.

Though applicants for Pittsburgh Public Schools’ top job will remain anonymous, seven speakers during the board’s monthly public hearing urged board members to choose Wayne Walters, who led the district in an interim capacity this year.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board wants to hear what the public is looking for in the district’s next superintendent. The district will hold six input sessions next Wednesday and Thursday, with one remote option.

The district is still short on transportation for about 200 students as it faces a bus driver shortage. Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters walked with students to school on Wednesday. There are about 800 more walkers this year.

On today’s program: Interim Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters, whose appointment is for a year, talks about building trust among families as the district searches for a permanent replacement; a Post-Gazette investigation found more than half of apartment complexes managed by the city’s Housing Authority failed their latest federal inspections; and a PNC Bank survey of small and mid-sized businesses nationwide found owners and managers are optimistic about the future, particularly those with vaccinated employees.