Cincinnati Public School's Interim Superintendent Shauna Murphy has unveiled details about a proposed Phase 2 redistricting plan scheduled to be implemented in 2025.
Phase 1 was first introduced to the public in the summer of 2024. It moved students at a handful of schools to different buildings and launched the district's only middle school. Phase 2 appears to do much of the same but on a larger scale, impacting many schools across the district.
District leaders say the restricting plan will address overcrowding at area high schools while balancing enrollment at a number of elementary schools and preparing CPS for the possibility of a growing student population.
The new proposal would move students at nearly 30 CPS schools to different buildings and create six new middle schools at existing district buildings.
East corridor
The district's initial proposal would move 7th and 8th graders out of Withrow High School and into Evanston Academy's building, which would become a junior high school.
Students in preschool through 5th grade who attend Evanston Academy would be absorbed into Frederick Douglas School. Sixth grade students at Fredrick Douglas would move to South Avondale School, which will then be converted into South Avondale Middle School for 6th through 8th grade students.
Clark Montessori High School would send 7th and 8th grade students to Woodford Academy. Woodford would lose its status as a magnet school and become Woodford Montessori Middle School. Students who previously attended Woodford would join Silverton Elementary.
RELATED: CPS interim superintendent asks board to consider plan to reorganize a handful of schools
Central corridor
Seventh and 8th graders at Hughes STEM High School and Woodward Career Technical High School would shift to a new South Avondale middle school, joining 6th graders from Frederick Douglas, Rockdale Academy, and Hays-Porter School in the building.
Kindergarten through 5th grade students previously attending South Avondale School would go to Rockdale Academy.
Rothenberg Academy, currently a school for preschool through 6th grade, would become a neighborhood Montessori school for preschool students starting next fall. After the first year, Rothenberg would add more grade levels to its Montessori program each year until it fully becomes a Montessori school for students preschool through 6th grade. Non-Montessori students would be moved to Hayes-Porter School.
Aiken High School would move its 7th and 8th grade students to Pleasant Hill Academy to create Pleasant Hill Middle School. Preschool through 5th grade students at Pleasant Hill Academy would be sent to College Hill Academy. Sixth graders at College Hill would attend the new Pleasant Hill Middle School.
Winton Hills Academy and Mt. Airy School would have their boundaries adjusted to include students from the Pleasant Hill and College Hill areas.
William H. Taft Elementary, which CPS says is the only elementary-level STEM school in the Tri-State, would lose its magnet status and add students from the Rising Stars @ Vine preschool program. The building that houses Rising Stars @ Vine would be converted into a center for student and family resources.
Hartwell Elementary School would transition into a school solely for students in 5th through 8th grades. Second through 4th grade Hartwell students would be sent to Carthage School. Preschool students at Carthage would go to Bond Hill.
West corridor
Western Hills University High School would send its 7th and 8th graders to Ethal M Taylor Academy, which would be converted from an elementary school to a middle school. Elementary school students at Ethal M Taylor will be absorbed into Roll Hill School.
LEAP Academy, the district's Spanish-language magnet school, would expand to add grade levels for 7th and 8th graders.
Saylor Park, a neighborhood school, would add high school grade levels and expand to offer Junior ROTC and early college programs.
RELATED: CPS principals say the district's restructuring effort has gone smoothly
What's next
The Board of Education has yet to approve Phase 2 of the district's restricting plan or any additional school property sales, construction, or renovation projects that may be included in future phases.
District leaders also floated the possibility of creating a new high school at the former site of Heingold Junior High on the West Side.
With all those possibilities included, the restructuring is estimated to cost CPS more than $215 million.
The scope and potential cost of the plan, which was first introduced to the school board on Saturday, has members divided.
Board member Ben Lindy told fellow members he won't vote to approve the plan as it stands because it would shake up too many schools in the district and doesn't take into consideration concerns some school communities have.
"I'm not convinced the plan has strong community support," Lindy said. "I don't think this is the time and place to be spending our resources."
During Monday's school board meeting, community members from several schools spoke out against the proposal, saying it would be too big of a change happening in a short amount of time for many students and their families within CPS.
Others, like Board President Eve Bolton, have expressed their support for a restructuring plan, previously saying it will be a necessary change for CPS so it can balance its enrollment and be fiscally sound in the long run.
The Board has not said when it plans to vote on the proposed plan, but it may have to decide on it soon. A timeline shared by district leaders shows CPS intends to start implementing the plan as soon as Jan. 2025 and school employees could start moving to different buildings by June, a few months before the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
The Board will meet again Nov. 4.
