Columbus schools task force to make recommendations about school closings, consolidations

Columbus City Schools should have a task force in place by next month to help officials determine which school buildings to close by August 2025.

That's according to a facilities task force report Superintendent Angela Chapman gave at Tuesday's school board meeting at Beechcroft High School on the North Side.

Consolidating the district's 113 school buildings will reduce costs, the report said, noting that 47% of the schools have not had any major renovations in more than 50 years.

The report said that Columbus City Schools spend more on facilities maintenance per school than similar districts across the country — $544,000 per Columbus school building compared to $459,000 nationally — with the age of Columbus school buildings likely a factor.

According to the timetable, the task force is to make recommendations to the school board by June, with implementation of final decisions by August 2025.

Chapman will create the task force and the school board will vote on it, likely at its Feb. 6 meeting. Included in the task force are to be students and parents, labor groups, community organizations and social service agencies, representatives from local government and higher education, small and large business representatives, and those within the schools.

Chapman said 23 people have agreed to be on the task force so far.

"These are hard decisions to make," Chapman said.

"We know we're not just talking about facilities," Chapman said. "We're making sure we are prioritizing academics. We want to provide more robust programing to all of our students."

Columbus City Schools is the state's largest district, but enrollment peaked at 110,173 during the 1971-72 school year. It is now about 46,000 students.

In December, the board approved a $506,520 contract with a Connecticut company that will evaluate conditions at the district's schools to help officials decide which buildings might close and which ones to repair and upgrade.

In November, Columbus City school district voters passed a 7.7-mill levy that will raise close to $100 million a year for operating and building expenses.

In other business Tuesday, the board heard about reading proficiency rates mid-year in kindergarten through second grades, between last school year and this school year:

● Kindergarten: An increase from 35.8% to 36.7% reading at grade level.

● First grade: An increase from 32.5 to 35.3%.

●Second grade: An increase from 40.3% to 44.1%.

Russell Brown, the district's chief of strategy and performance, said the first-grade percentages drop from kindergarten because first grade tends to be harder. "You see a rebound when you get to second grade," he said.

Brown said he's hoping such gains ultimatley will have a positive impact on the state report card, but it may take longer than a year. "This is the path to get there," Brown said.

"Our students are showing progress," agreed Board member Jennifer Adair. "They're making growth."

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Which Columbus schools will close? Task force to make recommendations