School let out promptly at 2:30 p.m. at Columbus Alternative High School on Wednesday.
Students strolled out of the century-old brick building and into buses, waited at the bus stop or started walking home. Columbus Alternative junior Hannah Fisher walked to her father Zach Fisher's car around the corner.
Hannah and her father said they were not aware that the night before, Columbus City Schools had announced CAHS (pronounced like "cause" by many) is possibly one of the buildings the district would close in the future. The school would be consolidated into either East High School or the downtown Columbus High School.
There are 20 buildings total that could close in the district. A district taskforce has proposed multiple scenarios where batches of 3-4 schools could close.
Columbus Alternative was established in 1978 by the district as a "magnet high school" and is designed to serve the needs of highly academic students. Columbus City School's website says all academic courses are delivered at an honors level through a humanities-based curriculum with a focus on the fine and performing arts.
Zach Fisher said the building used to be McGuffey Elementary and Middle School until the school district added the program to the building. It's been a neighborhood institution and now houses one of Columbus school's most prestigious and exclusive programs.
Fisher said he and his family all attended the school in the 70s and 80s before it became CAHS.
Both Fishers said they are not happy about the decision to possibly close the building.
“To see them close down the McGuffey school building, and who knows what could happen with it, instead of it being a staple part of this community, as it has been for 100 years now. I'm concerned with that. You know, I don't like it," Zach Fisher said.
Hannah Fisher said she is concerned because the district has recently invested in upgrades to the building like adding air conditioning and re-doing the roof during her three years there. Her father said there also wasn't any air conditioning when he was there, so it's a welcome addition.
Hannah said she is also concerned because many neighborhood families in Linden rely on the school.
“A lot of the families around here, I know they're based in Linden, and they don't want to send their kids to Whetstone, Linden-McKinley, Mifflin. They just don't want their kids there. They want them in a more academically challenging school that has a lot of programs to offer and set them up for college,” she said.
This wouldn't be the first time CAHS has changed buildings in its history. But it has been at McGuffey for a long time. Columbus Alternative was first housed in Mohawk Elementary School in downtown Columbus before it was moved to McGuffey not too long after it was founded.
Both Fishers said they plan to get engaged in the process in the next month and voice their opinions. The school district said it wants to hold multiple public hearings from mid-May to June and then make a final decision in June.
“I would really like to maintain this and maintain Columbus alternative as the fantastic top high school in the city, as it has been since its creation," Zach Fisher said.
