If Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt has his way, most if not all of the Pittsburgh Allderdice High School students involved in a large fight in school on Thursday will be expelled for the rest of the school year.

"It was a bad fight," Mr. Roosevelt said, citing a need to send a "very clear message" that violence won't be tolerated.

The administration may recommend punishment, but the school board has the final say.

Mr. Roosevelt said alternative placement options for students kicked out of the Squirrel Hill school include the Student Achievement Center in Homewood and Clayton Academy on the North Side. The district typically does not transfer students with disciplinary problems from one regular school to another.

A total of 20 students were arrested after the fight. Mr. Roosevelt confirmed that school police were reviewing video from security cameras to see whether they could identify any other participants.

District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh confirmed that some security cameras weren't working properly or that some video feeds from cameras weren't being recorded. She said she didn't know how those malfunctions would affect the investigation.

School police Officer James Corr remained in UPMC Presbyterian with injuries to the head and neck. Mr. Roosevelt said the officer was "fine" and "very up" when the two spoke Thursday night.

A second school police officer was treated after the incident, and a student aggravated a previous shoulder injury. Officials said no weapons were involved.

Jim Rieland, county probation director, said one student on the "periphery" of the fight was taken to Shuman Juvenile Detention Center. He said the youth, already under court supervision, probably wouldn't face new charges.

Mr. Rieland said he expected one student to be charged with aggravated assault, a felony, for striking a police officer or school staff member. He said many students likely would be cited for summary offenses, such as disorderly conduct.

The altercations broke out after noon, simultaneously involving a group of boys on the fourth floor and a group of girls on the third floor. The girls' dispute spilled down to the second floor, Ms. Pugh said.

In addition to students who were fighting, "you had a lot of kids just standing in the hallway," Ms. Pugh said.

In a letter to parents, Principal Robert Scherrer said "the entire incident was quelled in approximately 10 minutes."

School board member Randall Taylor said he'll monitor disciplinary proceedings to make sure the students involved in the fight -- all of them black -- receive the same treatment as other students who have been disciplined for fighting. Mr. Taylor, one of three black board members, said it would be unusual for the district to bar students from their school on a long-term basis for a fight that did not involve weapons.

Officials yesterday still were trying to determine whether the brawlers were involved in an East Hills-Hazelwood neighborhood dispute.

The first sign of trouble occurred Wednesday after an East Hills-Hazelwood basketball game, sponsored by the nonprofit group Youth Places and held at Pittsburgh Fort Pitt PreK-5 in Garfield.

Lori Schaller, executive director of YouthPlaces, said a fight broke out between two youths, one from East Hills and one from Hazelwood. She said at least one had played in the game.

While a couple of "side scuffles" also broke out, Ms. Schaller said, most members of the East Hills and Hazelwood teams stayed out of the fracas. She said two youths at the center of the dispute also had fought previously at Allderdice.

YouthPlaces and city police notified the school district of the incident, so school officials could be prepared if the dispute spilled over into the school day.

Thursday morning, extra police were on hand, school staff members went out to meet buses, and Mr. Scherrer talked to about a dozen students from the two neighborhoods to gauge the possibility of violence.

"A couple of kids were sent home because they weren't able to contain their emotions around the incident," Mr. Roosevelt said. As it turned out, he said, the tension was "wider and deeper" than officials thought.

Allderdice, with about 1,400 students, is one of the city's best high schools and a melting pot, taking students from East Hills, Hazelwood, Greenfield, Lincoln Place and other neighborhoods. The school also has students learning English as a second language.

City Council President Doug Shields yesterday called for "reconciliation meetings" between residents of East Hills and Hazelwood, neighborhoods that "traditionally have been rivals for no apparent reason."

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