A study by Kimball Architecture released last night has determined that buildings in the Keystone Oaks School District are underutilized and class sizes are not as full as they could be.

The firm was hired 12 months ago to conduct community demographics and building utilization studies. The study results were released at the school board meeting attended by about 60 people.

The district has five buildings -- Dormont, Myrtle and Aiken elementary schools, the middle school and the high school.

Based on its finding, demographic projections, present and projected student counts, cost/value and other factors, Kimball offered 17 recommendations, most revolving around the elementary schools.

Among the suggestions are keeping the status quo, closing all the elementary schools and consolidating them into a new complex, and using each elementary school for specific grade sets.

The district faces a significant decline in enrollment over the next five to 10 years, according to demographic projects by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Carnegie Mellon University professor Dr. Shelby Stewman.

Dr. Stewman, who was commissioned by Keystone Oaks, predicts the district will lose roughly 256 students within 10 years. The PDE estimates a loss of approximately 447 students in the next decade. Current enrollment is 2,231.

According to Superintendent William Urbanek, about 80 percent of the district's residents in Castle Shannon, Dormont and Green Tree have no children in the school system.

Chief among concerns voiced by speakers was the possibility of mixing fifth-graders with middle school students in the same building and falling property values if an elementary school should close.

The school board, which received the study partially completed in June, has not set a time frame to make a decision.

"This is very important. The board wants to take our time on this...and do all the research," board president Marian Randazzo said.

In many of the recommendations, a full-time kindergarten option was given. Dr. Urbanek said the school board is "leaning strongly" towards full-time kindergarten.

The district's 2008-2009 budget anticipated revenues of $33,925,875 and anticipated expenditures of $35,745,393. Rather than increase real estate taxes, the school board approved taking the needed $1,819,518 from the district's fund balance.

As a cost-saving measure, Keystone Oaks closed the elementary buildings for most of the summer. It was the fourth year the district did so. During summer 2008, approximately $84,000 in energy costs were saved, according to the district newsletter.

Recommendations and demographic specifics from the study are available at www.kosd.org.