The Columbus City Schools' Board of Education and Columbus City Council announced a joint leadership committee on Tuesday to collaborate on shared interests and pursue a community campus model for schools.
Columbus City Council President Shannon G. Hardin, Council President Pro Tem Rob Dorans, Columbus City Schools' Board President Antoinette Miranda, CCS Board Vice President Sarah Ingles and other leaders gathered at a news conference at Northland High School to discuss the various ways the new partnership may work to better support students and families.
Dorans said the committee will look at every Columbus City Schools parcel the district owns and reconsider the future of those properties, with the hope to create more affordable housing for Columbus City Schools' families.
“One of the things that we need to do is link arms with our land use policies and identify ways that the city of Columbus can better support this district as they think about their built environment, their future, and think about creative ways for us to work with the district to create more affordable housing for Columbus City School families, to think about how our land use policies are going to shape neighborhoods that our schools are in that our kids call home,” Dorans said.
The community campus model that the new committee is pursuing is based on an initiative that started at Cincinnati schools 20 years ago, CCS Superintendent Angela Chapman said. The committee took a trip to Cincinnati to learn more.
“What we learned from them is that they have been able to garner partnerships and relationships from the community and all of the services, supports and resources that the students need are provided at the school,” Chapman said. “And so we visited a school where the health department had a vision clinic, a dental clinic and health services at the school. Where we had after-school programming provided at the school for every student who needed it during the school year and during the summer.”
Council members also announced a grant to fund a pilot program at Northland High School with the purpose of bringing in more resources without straining school funding.
Hardin said politicians and leaders at the local level need to push to support public city schools because the state refuses to.
“This committee is how the city council and the school board can come together regularly, align priorities and make smarter, more coordinated decisions on behalf of our students and our families,” Hardin said. “But also our facilities, the neighborhoods around our schools, our land, our economic development policies, our funding priorities and our programs. And it's important now more than ever, because we live in an environment where the state government is going on offense against public schools.”
