COLUMBUS, Ohio — After months of consideration, the Superintendent’s Communities Facilities Task Force has identified the nine Columbus City Schools that it’s recommending to be shut down.

What You Need To Know

  • Columbus City School board is wanting to do more community engagement after learning about the final recommendations from the task force Tuesday evening

  • The Superintendent's Communities Facilities Task Force recommended to close nine schools in the Columbus City Schools District

  • One of the schools that could potentially close is Buckeye Middle School which will be consolidated with Marion-Franklin High School

The list includes six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. Among them, Buckeye Middle School, which if the recommendations are adopted, would see its students move into Marion-Franklin High School.

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea. That’s makes me feel kind of like they’re going backwards. It’s not a good choice,” said Marion Franklin High School alumna, Karen Roddy-Spikes. 

Karen Roddy-Spikes graduated from Marion-Franklin in 1980. And it’s that type of feedback that she’s giving that the district may be looking for.

“Hoping to create open dialog on the work of the task force and gain crucial feedback from our community to help the task force make informed recommendations that reflect our community’s needs and priorities,” said Columbus City Schools Superintendent, Dr. Angela Chapman. 

Dr. Chapman says the board opted not to vote on the recommendations yet and instead will seek more input from the communities that will be impacted. While it appears to be a step in the right direction, not everyone’s convinced that their voice will be heard.

“It’s felt difficult to trust the word of our school board members at times. Again, the scandal involving board member Simmons comes to mind. It’s not difficult to trust our administration, but I do feel like a bit of trust has been restored tonight,” said Stuart McIntyre with the Columbus Education Justice Coalition. 

The district says in the end, the goal is to do what’s best for the students, which is why it’s seeking more input. Input that Roddy-Spikes is happy to share.

“I feel that if they make this transition, that there’s going to be some children that are going to miss out on what they actually could have learned if they had not, you know, merged the two together,” said Roddy-Spikes.