YOUNGSTOWN — As the time draws closer for implementing the Youngstown City School District’s two-phase reconfiguration plan, talks focused on many of the granular and fluid moves and details are underway.

“Every building (except Woodrow Wilson School) will be touched in one way or another this summer,” Nancy Mikos, the district’s business manager, said during a special buildings configuration ad hoc committee meeting Thursday afternoon at Youngstown Rayen Early College High School.

The plan, announced in May and set to take effect at the start of the 2026-27 school year, will consolidate Chaney and East high schools as well as Chaney and East middle schools into a single Youngstown High School and Youngstown Middle School, respectively. Both of them will be on the East Side.

Youngstown Rayen Early College high school and middle school will continue to operate under the plan, with a goal of having both of them at the current Chaney High School on Hazelwood Avenue on the West Side.

During her presentation Thursday, Mikos unveiled a five-phase approach – which, she said, is to a large degree, fluid and tentative — to prepare for the reconfiguration.

Phase 1 is ongoing through March, and it entails, in part, building-by-building planning conversations, along with plans related to inventory and use of spaces, she noted.

The core of the second phase centers around human-resources and Youngstown Education Association staffing, as well as bids and contracts. Also under the phase’s umbrella are discussions about classified job bidding with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employee members, along with a July 1 effective date for personnel reassignments.

Phase 3, scheduled to take place in April and May, will deal with preparing the school buildings and handling a variety of logistics, which Mikos said is “one of the most critical parts.” All reassignments need to be completed by May 1 to allow for sufficient packing and sequencing, she explained.

The fourth phase will entail necessary transitions and moves, and it is scheduled to occur this summer.

Key components of the final phase in August and September will be first-day readiness efforts, needed remaining adjustments and certain post-move evaluations, Mikos said.

In addition, late October is the targeted time for finishing central office staff relocations, though further planning conversations also will continue, she added.

The reconfiguration plan and timetable’s fluidity lies primarily in continued refinements, planned regular updates and possible adjustments as staffing and space decisions become finalized, Mikos continued.

She also outlined certain potential operational risks that could affect the plan’s voracity and movement, such as AFSCME, movers and drivers using vacation days in June, as well as possibly having to hire a moving company solely to transport items from one of the preschools.

“The preschool classroom could have an entire truckload by itself,” Mikos said.

Also at the session, board member Joseph Meranto said that two school buildings that will be vacant as a result of the plan are being appraised at fair market value. Top priority for obtaining the structures will go to any current sitting charter school in the city, in accordance with state law, Meranto noted.