CINCINNATI — Changes are coming to thousands of students in the Cincinnati Public Schools district. The school board gathered Monday evening to hear public comment and vote on Phase 2 of the district’s performance, redesign, sustainability and growth.
After hearing from nearly 50 parents and teachers, both in person and virtually for two hours, followed by more than four-hour of discussion, the Cincinnati Public Schools Board voted on each change for Phase 2.
It was a full house and a long night for board members, parents, teachers and administrators as the future of Cincinnati Public Schools was decided.
“I am coming to you imploring that you really engage the community, really talk to those that don’t have the capacity to get online, Facebook, that’s what we need to see," one Woodford art teacher said during public comment.
Major decisions were made, including creating separate middle schools for seventh- and eighth-grade students, shuffling students from different schools in order to save costs and help with overcrowded schools.
“No one wants to leave their small classes," said one community member in favor of the changes. "But at the same time we have to be responsible to taxpayers.”
It was clear two board members were against the changes: Ben Lindy and Kendra Mapp.
“Decisions like this one are about whether we are strengthening public trust or eroding it," Lindy said. "If we want to ask for more money in the future levy, which I think we will need to do sooner rather than later, we need to be doing everything we can to strengthen public trust.”
While Superintendent Shauna Murphy and board members Jim Crosset and Mary Wineburg were for the changes.
“We have to address it," Murphy said. "I know it’s hard. I’ll be right there working with you on whatever might be accepted and it is my wish, desire, goal that everything presented today is accepted.”
The changes will impact thousands of students and would go into effect starting next school year.
Click here for more information on all of the proposed changes, but note some of these changes were amended during the meeting. Most notably, Rising Stars at Vine and Taft Elementary staying in tact, as well as the possibility for an additional Montessori school while keeping Clark Montessori 7-12 for the time being.