Few East suburban school districts will see as much change this fall as Penn Hills, which has closed buildings and programs to address declining enrollment, bring expenses in line with revenues and offer equitable education opportunities in a geographically large district.

Changes will affect elementary school students the most. Nearly three-fourths of them -- 1,268 out of 1,759 -- are assigned to different buildings than they attended last year.

In June, the district closed two elementary schools -- Shenandoah and William Penn -- and reconfigured the grade levels in the remaining four. Dible, Forbes and Washington elementary schools will offer kindergarten through grade three, and students in grades four and five will attend Penn Hebron. Previously, all elementary schools were K-5.

Changes also have been made at the high school. Its vocational technology program, one of the few in the county in a high school building, has been eliminated. Vo-tech students will attend Forbes Road Career and Technical School.

The district also is in the midst of major administrative changes. The high school and Linton Middle School will begin the year with interim principals because the incumbents recently resigned to take positions outside the district. Two retired Penn Hills teachers will bridge the gap until the positions can be filled -- Arnita Stagger at the high school, Robert Patterson at the middle school.

Although district officials want to fill the principal positions promptly, they want to ensure they choose the right people, said acting Superintendent Joseph Carroll.

Dr. Carroll, himself, is in a new position. He was promoted from assistant superintendent in June after Patricia Gennari resigned abruptly. Dr. Carroll, assistant superintendent since 2004, will hold the position for one year and may apply for the job on a permanent basis after six months.

Several other areas of school district administration -- transportation, instruction and assessment, human resources, food service -- have new leadership.

Despite the amount of change, there's a sense of excitement, school officials say. Open houses for the reconfigured schools have been well attended.

PTA Council President Meryl Thomas said change is often a good thing. "We've had so much change, it's mind-boggling, but it's a chance to grow and get a different point of view."

"What I'd like to say to parents is 'calm down.' Let it happen and be a part of it. Kids are much more resilient than parents think. I think they will be excited about the changes."

Ryan Osorio, president of the Penn Hills Education Association, said that many in the teachers' union believe the changes have been implemented too quickly but are handling the situation in a professional way.

The union filed a grievance this spring in regard to the 30-plus teachers who were laid off due to building restructuring. The union maintains that the district did not give sufficient time for notice. Although the majority of those teachers have been rehired, the grievance will go to arbitration.

Class sizes in the elementary schools also are a concern, said Mr. Osorio. "I think the numbers are growing to larger than the district thought they would, especially in the younger grades where you want smaller classes for fundamentals."

At Tuesday's school board meeting, President Erin Vecchio noted the work of a 23-member committee of district officials, community members and consultants that will make recommendations for long-term building use. The board approved the hiring of Architectural Innovations and Turner Construction Co. for future work.

District officials at the meeting announced an adjustment to a new plan for bus transportation to and from day care centers used for before- and after-school care. In response to parent concerns, the district has decided to bus Penn Hebron and Linton students to and from any day care center in the district because those schools serve the entire district.

The district, however, made no change to the policy for K-3 students, who will get bus transportation only for day care centers that lie within the attendance areas of their schools. The board also approved a plan to allow the YMCA to offer before- and after-school programs at all elementary schools.

The new limits on day care transportation and other types of streamlining are upsetting for parents who have been accustomed to a more open policy, but are necessary financially, district officials say.

The district is in better financial shape than it has been in several years. Despite a 1.42-mill property tax increase this year, the district's business manager, Richard Liberto, has mapped out a five-year plan that shows that further tax increases can be avoided even as capital improvements are made -- if the district stays on the financially responsible course.