Jermaine Kennedy is one of the six candidates running for the Columbus City Schools' Board of Education.
On the first week of early voting for the 2025 general election, WOSU is breaking down the policies and positions of each of the six candidates on the ballot for the CCS board.
Three seats are up for election after board members Michael Cole, Ramona Reyes and Christina Vera decided not to run for re-election.
Early voting begins Tuesday, Oct. 7. The election is Nov. 4.
Why is Jermaine Kennedy running for school board?
Kennedy is a chief program officer at the Boys and Girls Club of America and a parent of one graduate and one current student in the district. Kennedy said he's been heavily involved in education for 20 years as family ambassador in the district.
Kennedy said the crux of his candidacy began watching the board the last two years and seeing a lack of centering young people and lack of a focus on growth. He thinks his skill, talent and education can bring a level of leadership that can help move the district forward.
"I've always had a vested interest in our young people and wanting to see the best for them and helping them reach their full potential," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said being a parent on the board is important because he has a stake in the community since he lives in Columbus, raised his children in Columbus and wants to see the best for the city.
His passion is in youth development, which he said comes from facing his own challenges in schooling. Kennedy said he was suspended all throughout middle and elementary school and was expelled his sophomore year of high school.
Kennedy said that since then, he's learned the power of education and how it can help people overcome challenges.
"What those teachers and mentors were able to pour into me to help guide me back on the track is why I do this," Kennedy said.
Kennedy calls budget cuts a tough situation and more school closures inevitable.
Kennedy acknowledged all new board members will have to deal with the "tough situation" of a $50 million budget deficit. CCS faces more cuts due to federal and state school funding rollbacks that district Superintendent Angela Chapman blames on the Ohio government underfunding public schools and the federal government's threatening to roll back grants.
Kennedy said the district's plan to consider cuts to busing is one avenue he wants to pursue.
"We have to be able to shift some of that number of around transportation so we can ensure that our young people are not losing those resources that they so desperately need," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said Central Ohio Transit Authority bus routes could be expanded to help students get to school. This is something that will have to go before the COTA board, whose members are appointed by area governments like Columbus City Council.
Like the other five candidates, Kennedy said he would have voted against closing the five school buildings the current CCS board voted to close last year. He is critical of how transparent the district's facilities realignment process was.
But, Kennedy said closures are likely inevitable as budget cuts are considered. He said he wants plans in place for what happens for these buildings before a vote occurs.
"No one wants empty school buildings in their neighborhood," Kennedy said. "It's an eyesore and brings down the value of the neighborhood. So really understanding what does this look like and how these buildings can now be utilized and repurposed for other workforce readiness centers for after school programming, for housing."
Kennedy is one of several candidates who wants to create a 10-15 year facilities master plan to look ahead long term for building closures and maintenance.
"Certainly there still will be some challenges because there are some hard decisions that need to be made. But in the service of our young people, we need to make some of these decisions to ensure the longevity of this district moving forward," Kennedy said.
Kennedy wants to invest more in neighborhood schools, rework district lottery system to address transportation costs
One new policy idea Kennedy shared is to slowly change the district's lottery system to be limited to regions, rather than citywide to address transportation costs. He said resources aren't currently distributed equitably in Columbus.
"Do we minimize some (busing costs) if we have to bus a student from the south side to the northeast side? How about we just start looking at that? The lottery for within regions or within closer regions," Kennedy said.
Columbus City Schools currently has regions, but through the lottery system students can apply to attend schools that aren't near their homes.
Kennedy said he's a proponent of ensuring that all young people have access to equitable education, which to him means redirecting resources for them to go to a school that's closer.
Kennedy said a transformation like this would need to be made easier by building up neighborhood schools, to make sure every student has good options near their home. He said the south side of Columbus in particular lacks that equity and access.
"When I say community school in terms of public schools, right, a community school model to ensure that the necessary resources for that neighborhood are prioritized and then layered in with other types of innovative types of programming that makes it special with that. That community can have an identity around (the school)," Kennedy said.
Chapman's advocacy for career academies is a viable strategy Kennedy gave to build so-called "anchor schools" in each community.
Kennedy said each neighborhood should have schools that are equitable resources to make sure there is innovative programming and some innovative opportunities for young people to take advantage of without traveling far.
To address chronic absenteeism, Kennedy wants to turn to neighborhood resources for outreach to young people like libraries and community centers.
"How can we start to look at, maybe we have counselors go to some of these other, in this larger ecosystem, go to some of the other community-based organizations, libraries, rec centers, where young people are closer and they're there and how we bring some education to them there," Kennedy said.
Kennedy called the chronic absenteeism rate, which sits above 50% for CCS, "ridiculous" and said the issue needs to be addressed.
