Columbus Community Stands Up Against Proposed School Closings

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Yesterday evening the second of four community meetings was held by the Columbus Public School Board at the North Adult Education Center. The purpose was to gather community input about the board-appointed Facilities Assessment Task Force's recent recommendation to close 13 CPS school buildings.

The meeting was moderated by William Waldron, Acting Director of Adult and Community Education. He briefly went over the purpose of the meeting and the process the task force was following, Board Policy and Regulation 3226.1. While questions and comments could be posed regarding any of the 13 listed schools, the meeting was intended to be focused on the schools in the North section of Columbus.

The eight-member task force has made their conclusions thus far based on a Facilities Assessment Template outlining 14 factors. The factors mainly focus on declining enrollment, as CPS has lost 8,410 students since 2001. Their current enrollment rate is 59,101.

The goal of last night's meeting was for the members to get input on the aspects of the schools that they weren't familiar with or currently observing. The meetings are necessary out of respect for all of those who would be affected. Not just the students that would be moved around and displaced, but all of the teachers and staff members who have given years of dedication to their schools. Rightly so, the community demands that the task force be fully informed in their decision.

Once the task force finalizes their recommendations, it is then up to the CPS Board to decide whether to approve the closings. Present at the meeting were all eight members of the task force, Betty Drummond and Andrew Ginther of the CPS Board, and Superintendent Dr. Gene Harris. Most importantly, there was a strong showing of support from the community, with the entire cafeteria filled up. Throughout the two hour meeting chairs were constantly being set up to accomodate everyone.

There was a sign-up sheet people had to use in order to formally make a comment or pose a question to the task force. Some people arrived an hour early just to make sure they got on the list. Eventually forty-six people signed up to have a 1.5 minute turn on the mic.

Two schools had a dominating presence, Northtowne Elementary and Second Avenue Elementary. An estimated 60 people came in support of keeping Second Avenue open, with 20 of them formally speaking. The speakers consisted of current teachers, parents, and school partners. They highlighted the commitment and effectiveness of the teachers and staff, the unique year-round schedule the school offered, and the fact that 70% of its students are not assigned to the school, but choose to go there.

One supporting member was Janet George, Service Director for City Year Columbus, an international non-profit AmeriCorps organization that has provided one-on-one literacy tutoring for the students at Second Avenue for the past eleven years. Past and current City Year Columbus Corps Members made up 7 of the 20 speakers for the school, which clearly showed the continuous support of its students. George ended her speech by saying "a building does not make a school, it's the teachers, parents, and community that make it."

Northtowne supporters came wearing white and red "Save Northtowne" t-shirts. A couple of the school's students took turns on the mic, clearly nervous and unsure of what to say, but their simple "please keep our school open, I really like my school and my teacher" was more than enough. One student even brought a petition she had signed by her fellow classmates.

Other schools that were brought to attention were Innis Elementary, Crestview Middle School, Clinton Elementary, Spanish Immersion School, Southwood, and Beck Elementary.

Mark Brown, who ran last year as a democratic candidate for Congress in the 15th district, stood up towards the end and brought up the topic of charter schools and their effect on the public education system. He noted the situation in New Orleans and the possibility of there someday being no public schools left in the rebuilt city. Brown is fearing the same fate for Columbus schools.

Charter schools were a main focus for many of the speakers, some citing that they had tried charter schools and were unsatisfied so they returned to Columbus Public. One Northtowne supporter showed an ad for the Academy of Columbus that ran in Northland News to point out the way she thinks charter schools are marketing themselves against their public school competition.

Jim Eley, the music teacher at Second Avenue, pointed out that year after year the staff has been told by the Ohio Department of Education to "test, test, and test" and as a result the school has brought themselves up to a "Continuous Improvement" standing for the past two years. Yet they are still on the chopping block, fearing their doors will be closed. Strong academic standing should mean reassurance for the school, but the absense of this factor in the Task Force's decision angered many teachers, not just those from Second Avenue.

The Facilities Assessment Task Force will be submitting their final list which will be presented by the board of education by December 13th and a final determination of approval by the board will be made by the end of December 2005 or in early January 2006.

Here are the dates for the last two community meetings:

2005
12/2
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