First plan for Columbus school closings presented

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) – For the first time, the Columbus City Schools superintendent’s task force working to decide if certain Columbus school buildings will be closed or consolidated presented its initial recommendations Tuesday night.

From the turnout, it was clear that the issue – the potential of schools closing – is something many in the community are passionate about.

There were tears, cheers and many speakers, all advocating to keep schools open as the city continues to grow.

“It didn’t feel real until I saw my children’s school up there,” district parent Susan Cavendish said. “My children attend West Broad Elementary School. I feel absolutely heartbroken, but more so, I feel angry.”

The Columbus Education Justice Coalition addressed the board with demands including pausing school closures, planning for growth, and moving toward true community-led decision-making.

“We have an opportunity at this moment to embrace a growing city, to transform our school district together, and we just don’t want to take this path of business as usual that the task force seems to be leading us down,” coalition member Stuart McIntyre said.

The task force outlined multiple scenarios and said now is the time it wants to hear from the community.

“As we said from the beginning, community feedback is needed on what will be presented as a final recommendation to the Board of Education in June,” Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman said.

Chapman emphasized that none of the recommendations are set in stone.

“We know that the learning spaces of yesterday are not preparing our students for the opportunities of tomorrow,” she said. “This process allows us to redesign our learning spaces and footprint across the district.”

The complete report presented to the board is below. For more on the task force, click here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.