Janeece Keyes is one of the six candidates running for the Columbus City Schools' Board of Education.
During 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. The election is Nov. 4.
Why is Janeece Keyes running for school board?
Keyes said she is running for the school board because she has a history of working within the district and wants to continue that work. She has four children who graduated from Columbus City Schools and was a parent mentor to other students who were at risk of not graduating.
"I was the Booster Club president for many years, raising funds for scholarships, as well as for athletes to ensure that they had a meal prior to a game," Keyes said. "So I was in the hallways. I painted fences, painted bleachers. So I am not new to this."
Keyes said in her roles as an involved community member and district parent, she came to understand it was a journey in which she got to give back to Columbus and feel good about it.
Keyes works as the director of provider experience with the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation.
Keyes also didn't like what she framed as the untrustworthiness of the current board. Keyes said she wants people to know it isn't just the Columbus Board of Education making the decision.
"I know that I will be instrumental in ensuring that everyone gets a voice, that everyone gets to sit at the table," Keyes said.
Keyes wants administrative trims, tax abatement changes to address the district's budget deficit.
Keyes said it is difficult to swallow the fact that the district has a $50 million budget deficit.
The district faces more cuts due to federal and state school funding rollbacks. The district, including Superintendent Angela Chapman, accuses the Ohio government of underfunding public schools and the federal government of threatening to roll back grants.
Keyes said she believes the district is "top heavy" and there is room for cuts there. Administrative jobs make up roughly 3% of the district's budget.
Keyes is also concerned with transportation in the district. She said she doesn't want to cut busing, as the district considers eliminating busing for high school students.
"I saw two and three students getting off of a bus. A big yellow bus with two to three students. Is that economically sound to continue that?" Keyes asked.
Keyes said other parts of the transportation can be looked at to improve the situation. She said she likes that CCS uses vans to transport students and that method could be used more rather than utilizing a whole bus for so few students.
Keyes sees less tax abatements for developers as one solution to the district's budget woes.
"(That's) a lot of money that we could be utilizing as a resource. If you're coming to our city and developing apartment complexes, putting in buildings for businesses, you should have a responsibility in the role of our children publicly receiving an education," Keyes said.
Keyes said the tool, which is used to encourage new housing, is important to address the region's need for housing. But, Keyes said the children that will be living in these new homes need a good school district to attend.
"The (Columbus) Development Commission needs to have a very good relationship with Columbus City Schools, you know, almost a tie to the hip, especially when it comes to businesses and apartment complexes," Keyes said. "Because there are monies that we could actually receive for our school systems that could actually eliminate some pressure."
Keyes and all the other candidates say they would have opposed the decision by the current board last year to close five school buildings throughout the district.
Keyes said she potentially sees more schools being closed or even staff cuts, but she said she doesn't have a "magic wand."
Keyes said she is more focused on what happens after a school is closed. She wants a plan for the building after it closes and also more transparency in the school closure process.
"The transitional piece is the piece that is havoc for the students as well as the parents, and probably the administration and the teachers as well. So ensuring that there's a good transition is vital," Keyes said.
Overall when it comes to budget cuts, Keyes wants to prioritize students and making sure cuts don't dimmish a child's success.
"We do not need special needs programs cut. We do not need programs that are beneficial to our students cut. So we've got to figure out a way to manage what we've got going on," Keyes said.
Keyes wants school board meetings to be spread around Columbus, parent advocacy programs and adding more social workers
Keyes said she doesn't like that community members have to drive to the far south side of town for board meetings. That's a 20+ mile commute for community members in the far north reaches of the district's boundaries.
Keyes said the times when the board meetings are held aren't favorable to many families who are getting off from work, trying to get children fed and then trying to find the place where the board meets.
"Holding those board meetings at area schools, jumping here to there so that it gives the opportunity for those parents in that specific community... to come to a meeting. That's what I'm speaking to, spreading the wealth," Keyes said.
She called the Southland Center a barrier that prevents parents from being involved if they want to be a part of the district's decision making and discussions. The board does livestream its meetings.
Keyes sees career technical schooling as a solution to chronic absenteeism. She said as a former "career techie," the program helped her get motivated to come to school every day.
"I went to career tech in 11th and 12th grade. And I will tell you, I was more engaged in my 11th and 12th grade years, because it was something that I wanted to do," Keyes said.
Keyes said she was not chronically absent as a child, because her parents wouldn't have allowed that. She said the district needs to make sure parents understand that their child needs to come to school.
"The responsibility does fall back on our parents and ensuring that they understand that if your child does not come to school, they are lacking in the education that could actually allow them to be successful in life," Keyes said.
Keyes said the district should target problems at a child's home that are preventing them from coming to school by creating more parent advocacy programs.
"I'm a single mom. I was a single mom when my children were raised up in the Columbus City Schools district," Keyes said. "There were times I could not go to a parent-teacher conference because there was another one going on and I needed to be at that one. So ensuring that we really, really band around our parents and help them to have successful outcomes with their children."
Keyes said the district needs to hire more social workers, saying some of the current social workers are splitting their time between multiple schools. She said this can leave the burden of dealing with a mental health problem or a meltdown on the teacher.
"Teachers are not social workers. Teachers are teachers, and ensuring that there's a social worker on hand to ensure that that student gets the tools that they need to be able to actually be a successful individual is important," Keyes said.
Keyes said this can limit classroom distractions and make sure students have an environment that's conducive to learning.
