'We have more to talk about:' Columbus School board votes not to close schools Tuesday

Booing, jeering, and then applause came from the crowd Tuesday night as the Columbus City school board voted to take additional time to consider whether to close nine school buildings.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to not take action on the recommendations, but also to receive them and thank the Superintendent's Community Facilities Task Force for its work examining school closures. Board President Christina Vera told the media that the board needed to take more time to hear from the community.

More: Task force recommends Columbus City Schools board close nine schools, realign four

"We have to really put in the time and energy to ensure authentic engagement — when we say that it can't just be a tagline," Vera said. "We're okay with taking the time that we need to go out and to have these conversations. It can't just be on the task force, it can't just be on our superintendent. As your elected officials. We also need to go out and we need to be able to have these conversations directly with our community."

Before the vote, members of the audience jeered and booed the board and task force, but after the vote they received a standing ovation from the audience.

Throughout the process, concerned parents and community members held rallies and "tailgates" outside the CCS board meetings, urging them to pause the process. Elizabeth Brown, a parent of a student in the district and former city council member, said she was pleased that the board listened to the community.

"I think what we saw tonight was community unity behind the idea of engagement," Brown said.

Last month, the Superintendent's Community Facilities Task Force presented preliminary options where up to 20 possible school buildings in the state's largest district would face the possibility of closure under nine different recommended scenarios. But on Tuesday, the task force recommended six elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school and its Downtown administrative building for closure.

Jim Negron, task force co-chair, said he was proud of the work that the task force had done to progress discussions around school closings.

"We took steps forward, the board is going to hear things and we're going to continue to make progress as a district," Negron said.

'We have more to talk about:' board members say more feedback necessary

During the meeting, board members said they had heard from the community that more opportunity for feedback was needed.

Board Member Michael Cole thanked the task force for their work and thanked the community for their input, and said a "no today from me only means not now."

"Today, I was in no position knowledgeably to make the decision that I think is best for 47,000 children and our 9,000 plus employees," Cole said.

Board Member Jennifer Adair said the district would be "committing educational neglect by not doing anything," but the board needed to have the "right conversation" with the public about the future of the district.

"This isn't about taking things away from our students. This is about creating a district of the future," Adair said. "We have more to talk about with you. We have to do this together."

What schools are considered for closure?

The task force recommended closures of seven schools, and two buildings currently housing programs:

• Broadleigh Elementary School: Students would be redistributed among the Eastgate, East Columbus, and Fairmoor elementary schools. The task force said the transition will maintain the quality of education and provide students with a broader range of academic and extracurricular opportunities.

• Buckeye Middle School: Students would move to Marion-Franklin High School, creating a 6-12 grade site.

• Columbus City Preparatory School for Boys: Students would join the Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls.

• Fairwood Elementary School: Students would be moved to the Ohio Avenue or Livingston elementary schools.

• Lindbergh Elementary School: Students would be redistributed among the Binns, Burroughs, and West Mound elementary schools.

• Moler Elementary School: Students would be moved to the Lincoln Park or Livingston elementary schools.

• North Linden Elementary School: Students would be redistributed among the Huy, Maize, Innis, or Northtowne elementary schools.

• West Broad Elementary School: Students would be redistributed to the Westgate, Highland, or Valleyview elementary schools.

• McGuffey Road Facility: Columbus Alternative High School would move its programming to East High School, which would remain open and CAHS would share space in the building.

The task force also recommended that Marion-Franklin High School, Linden-McKinley STEM Academy, South High School and Starling K-8 be adjusted to include additional grade bands.

Community members: slow down process

Parents and community members held another rally before the meeting Tuesday, urging the board to pause the vote.

Stacie Proitsis, a parent of Valleyview Elementary students, said before the meeting that if the school chose to close her school she would consider an alternative like homeschooling. Valleyview was not among the schools proposed for closure Tuesday night. She also said she has been disappointed in how the district chose to communicate with parents during the process.

"As a parent, I've had to do all of my own research on everything," Proitsis said.

Hanif Abdurraqib, Columbus resident and award-winning author, was also at the rally and said he was concerned that more school closures would mean more gentrification in Columbus communities.

"I want everyone who is here to have an opportunity to build up the city as I've come to love it," Abdurraqib said. "And you cannot do that when the city is transforming from in front of your eyes, and exiling you from places where you felt you once belonged."

Throughout the closure process, the district has faced concern from parents and community members about the closure process. Concerns focused on the schools facing closure that had strong English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, the speed of the closing process and uncertainty about where children will attend school if their current school closes.

In addition to speaking out during meetings, parents and advocacy groups also held several events, including a "tailgate" before a June board meeting, as well as a rally at a Downtown church to call for a pause to the closure process so more community input could be provided.

District facing financial headwinds, could deficit spend by next year

Last month, Interim Treasurer Jennifer Vanover presented Columbus City Schools' five-year financial forecast, which showed that the district may be deficit spending (meaning it is spending more than it is making in revenue) by the 2025-2026 school year.

While the district currently has over $350 million in cash on hand, the five-year projection shows that the district will only have just over $36 million in cash balance by the 2027-2028 school year and a negative $135 million, 60-day cash balance by 2028.

Last year, voters approved a nearly $100-million, permanent improvement levy. Adair said bluntly Tuesday that the board would need to come back to taxpayers in coming years and ask for more money from the public.

"We are going to be coming back for more money," Adair said. "It is what it is. Money is important. Our community does not have unlimited funds. We have to speak about money in a way that is very clear and understandable."

Under Ohio law, charter schools get first dibs on old schools for sale

Columbus City Schools currently maintains a dozen properties it doesn't use directly for academic purposes, with seven vacant buildings, four properties rented to tenants and one vacant lot.

More: As Columbus Schools looks at closing schools, it already maintains 12 closed properties

Under state law, when a district declares a property "surplus," or property a government body does not need, it must first solicit bids from "high-performing" community or charter schools if it has been unused for over a year. Declaring a property surplus is different than maintaining a vacant property. If the district receives a bid, it must sell to the charter school at market rate. If more than one applies, it goes to an auction.

If no "high-performing" charter schools solicit bids, all other charter, STEM or college preparatory schools will be permitted to bid on surplus schools. Only then, if there are no takers, does the property go to the public for sale.

Columbus City Schools currently has no surplus properties, according to public records. The board does have the option to lease property, according to board policies.

Board Member Ramona Reyes encouraged the public in attendance to stand up to the state legislature and encourage lawmakers to change the law and allow the district more flexibility with what to do about vacant properties.

"Let's go, and go after these folks — and tell them these are buildings we paid for. You, me, everybody in this room," Reyes said. "We paid for those buildings, why can't we do what we need to do in order to make sure that our community is prospering?"

Leaked memo scandal roiled district early in closure talks

In May, Board Member Brandon Simmons found himself at the center of a scandal after the district's teachers union released a leaked memo and called on him to resign.

The document was a draft of a proposed strategy for handling opposition to the district's closure plan and alls for driving a wedge between the district's two unions, bringing in loud machines if unions hold a news conference on school property, not ignore "racial dynamics" in the effort to divide the unions, and even to make last-minute changes on the location of public input meetings on the closures to keep opponents confused.

In May, the board voted to censure Simmons and in June voted to release an external legal investigation that concluded that Simmons acted alone in authoring the document and possibly attempted to destroy evidence related to it.

On Tuesday, Simmons arrived at the meeting more than a half hour after it began and did not speak during it except to vote.

The board's next scheduled meeting is Aug. 6.

@Colebehr_report

Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus school board said more talks needed before closure decisions