The Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education will vote on whether to approve a proposed sweeping district restructuring plan next Monday night, but the final plan's exact contents remain unclear.
The initial proposal presented to the Board over a month ago would move students at nearly 30 CPS schools to different buildings next fall. Administrators say the plan will make the school district more efficient and save money in the long run, addressing low enrollment at elementary schools and overcrowding at high schools.
The proposal would change the makeup of schools across the city by merging several elementary schools and moving 7th and 8th graders out of a few high schools into new middle schools in some of the former elementary school buildings.
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While some board members say they recognize the need for the plan, others say the proposal forces a drastic change too rapidly for many educators and families. Those concerns have been echoed by teachers, parents, and community members who have spoken out against the changes over the past several weeks.
During a special meeting held Monday night, the Board discussed possible ways to proceed, eventually landing on the possibility of dividing the plan into separate packages to be voted on individually.
What those packages will include remains to be seen. Superintendent Shauna Murphy told reporters after the meeting she believes the entire plan can be implemented before next school year but is open to adjusting it to get approval from board members.
"We have plenty of time," she said. "If the Board's pleasure is to slow it down, that's their pleasure."
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Still, if the superintendent decides to divide the plan for the Board, how it will be divided will impact its chances of approval. Board member Kareem Moffett says she won't vote to approve the entire plan but would vote in favor of some of it — if it's packaged to her liking.
"Figure it however you want to, but there are things that I support, there are things that I don't support. So, if you package them together, you're going to probably get a 'no,' " Moffett said.
Board President Eve Bolton told her fellow board members that breaking up the plan into different pieces might get some of the proposals approved, but doesn't change the fact that the Board will eventually have to make some difficult decisions about whether to merge and close some CPS schools.
"We have to make some decisions that save us money, folks," Bolton said. "Or we're just kicking this down the road, deciding on stuff that we like versus the reality. The reality is we cannot have too small of schools."
The Board is scheduled to vote Monday, Dec. 9.
