The Columbus City Schools' Board of Education is set to vote on more than $40 million in cuts Tuesday night, as the district seeks to shore up its finances after reductions in state and federal funding.
School closures, major staff reductions and discontinuing busing for certain students are among the items board members will consider at the 6 p.m. meeting at the district's South High Street office.
Board members may decide to close and demolish as many as four school buildings.
Fairwood Alternative Elementary School may close as soon as the 2026 - 2027 school year, with Como Elementary School and the former Everett Middle School, which houses Columbus Gifted Academy, potentially closing the following year.
Duxberry Park Arts Impact Elementary School could also close. Should board members vote to close the school, the elementary arts program would be relocated to the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center Campus.
The school board may ask Superintendent Angela Chapman to recommend as many as 60 administrative positions to eliminate, with most of those coming from the district's central offices and non-school-based staff. Those cuts are set to amount to about $6.6 million.
An unknown number of teaching and classified staff positions could also be cut, with a goal of saving $34.6 million.
The board will consider several changes to busing, including possibly ending transportation for high school students, except when required by law. In place of traditional school bus services, the district would partner with Central Ohio Transit Authority or other providers to offer students a way to get to school.
The board may reduce busing for students in kindergarten to eighth grade who do not attend their neighborhood school or who attend 100% lottery schools.
Overall, the board may mandate the district to reduce its busing to the minimum required by state law.
Finally, the board may direct Chapman and her staff to reduce general spending by another $8.8 million.
The board may decide to go forward with all of the changes, or they may choose to do some while holding off on others. A discussion will precede the vote.
