The North Hills school board wants to hear from residents as it begins to restudy the question of how many elementary schools the district should have.

"We're facing a decision that will have an impact on the district for the next 30 to 40 years," board President Jeff Meyer said Monday night. "If members of the public can come up with ideas that make economic and educational sense, please let us know."

He asked Eloise Peet, head of the board's facilities committee, to develop a plan for involving residents in studying revised consolidation plans.

"This won't be a two-week process," he said. "But it can't take four years."

About 80 people attended the board meeting at the district's junior high school. Members agreed not to take any more steps to carry out a 2006 plan that called for closing three buildings -- Northway, Perrysville and Seville. Three other elementary schools, McIntyre, Highcliff and Ross, would have been expanded or renovated.

West View, the district's seventh elementary school, was renovated in 1998.

A major element of that original plan -- the expansion of Highcliff -- was derailed last month by a zoning dispute. Allegheny County President Judge Joseph James affirmed a decision by the Ross zoning hearing board to deny a variance needed for the project.

The board voted 8-1 Monday not to appeal Judge James' decision. "We cannot wait 24 months for a decision from the [appeals] court," Mr. Meyer said.

Board member Lou Nudi, voting by phone, was alone in seeking to take the school district's case to Commonwealth Court.

The school board voted to delay any action on hiring a construction manager for the Ross Elementary project. Members also tabled proposals to survey and do site analysis at Seville Elementary School. Expansion of Seville was one of four options floated as alternatives to the stalled Highcliff project.

One part of the consolidation project remains on track. The board voted Sept. 22 to move Northway pupils into a larger McIntyre Elementary next fall.

Ross Commissioner Lana Mazur urged school administrators to keep township officials informed of any future expansion plans to head off problems like the Highcliff dispute. The township's engineer and planning officials could alert the district to potential problems, she said.

Patricia Urich, of Jackson Circle in Ross, questioned why the district would even consider expanding Ross Elementary to handle 1,100 students -- one of the options to not expanding Highcliff -- if the "magic number" for a school's size was around 500 pupils.

Suzanne Bass, of Homer Avenue in Ross, urged the board to reconvene a facilities action committee to study the district's options.

The almost 70-member advisory group had included parents, administrators, business owners and senior citizens. Its members took about 18 months to make their recommendations.

Mr. Meyer promised that whatever group was created to reconsider consolidation, it would include representatives from all elementary schools.

Susan Hockenberry, of Thompson Drive in Ross, urged the board to keep in mind the importance of neighborhood schools in keeping communities healthy. The district should consider "economics, equity and the environment" as it considered consolidation options.

Residents should be given a chance to comment on any proposals before the board votes on them, she said.

Susan Schwab, who also lives on Thompson Drive, asked the board to consider keeping Perrysville Elementary School open. "I have been encouraged by what I heard here tonight ... about making this a fair process," she said.

Mr. Meyer warned after the meeting that the school board still faces hard choices.

"I don't want to get people's hopes up," he said. "We are going to have to close some more schools."

Board Member Rob Barto wasn't so sure.

"I believe in neighborhood schools," he said. "I think we can still have six elementary schools."