Columbus teachers’ union leader leaves task force looking at which schools may close

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — The leader of the Columbus City Schools teachers’ union has stepped down from the group planning the future of the district’s buildings.

In a letter released on Monday, Columbus Education Association President John Coneglio wrote that the direction the district’s Community Facilities Task Force is taking does not align with the goals of the union.

“I anticipated that our discussions would include transformation and growth of our District to meet these needs,” Coneglio wrote. “Instead, through the course of six full meetings, it has become apparent that the focus of the committee is solely on the mass closure of neighborhood schools and the further managed decline of our District.”

Among the complaints levied in Coneglio’s letter are:

• The totality of community input has consisted of a short, multiple choice, online survey that did not even have the option of providing comments.
• Members of the task force have been instructed not to submit questions for upcoming meetings.
• Data provided to the task force was incomplete and failed to account for factors such as state caseload requirements, and building use by community partners.
• There have been no discussions regarding Columbus’ recently announced plan to add tens of thousands of new housing units within the city’s urban core.
• There have been no discussions regarding two years of increasing enrollment in Columbus City Schools, or any plans to restore trust with families who have left the district.
• There have been no discussions about the litany of research showing the disproportionate impact of school closures on disadvantaged neighborhoods and communities of color, in direct contrast to the district’s publicly stated equity goals.

The task force will recommend which of the district’s school and administrative buildings could be closed or consolidated as part of the district’s plan to address growth in Columbus.

In response to Coneglio’s letter, a district spokesperson said that despite the passage of a $99 million levy last November, CCS must consider some schools for consolidation and/or closure.

“We were transparent in the CCS board’s adopted statement of facts for the recent levy, stating that, regardless of the levy outcomes, the district must focus on consolidating buildings to reduce overall building cost,” a district statement read.

The task force , made up of district and community leaders, is expected to release a report of its recommendations in June. Meetings are scheduled for:

• Tuesday, April 30, Linden Recreation Center, 1:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 14, Marion Franklin High School, 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 28, Whetstone High School, 1:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 11, Barnett Library, 1:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 25, East High School, 1:30 p.m.

Conligo’s full letter can be read below.

Coneglio, in an interview, outlined a list of issues, saying there seems to be an emphasis on closing neighborhood schools. There were six task force meetings before he stepped down.

“There was no talk about a plan to engage the community, what are we going to do to bring our kids back, because Columbus does amazing things and sometimes we don’t do a good enough job of letting people know,” Coneglio said.

One issue he touched on was the survey sent out to the community. In 2018 when CCS went through this process it received 66 online survey responses.

This time that number was a little more than 4,000. However, it is the format of the survey that Coneglio is pointing to.

“It reminded me of one of those surveys that they give, where it’s just kind of leading you to the outcome that they want, right?” Coneglio said.

He also says Columbus’ growth wasn’t a prominent topic.

“There was no discussion about where our competition is, whether that’s private schools or charter schools. There was no discussion about the city’s proposed you know, zoning changes,” he said.

NBC4 asked the co-chairs about this.

“We’re looking at, you know, all different data points on, you know, not just where we are today, the trajectory of where we’re heading to tomorrow,” Community Task Force Co-Chair Jim Negron said.

The co-chairs did not touch on many specifics in the resignation letter; however, on the topic of community input, they said that phase is ramping up now.

“We’re going to have a panel discussion about some of the recommendations that may be coming forth and people will be able to engage,” Community Task Force Co-Chair Al Edmondson said.

“We closed one phase right the quantitative. Now we’re going into qualitative phase. So inevitably the community is going to give us a lot of input,” Negron said.

The co-chairs said an event Thursday is the going to be a space to hear from the community about what they want to see.

The panel will be CCS Elevate and will feature Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman and one of the task force co-chairs as well as two other panelists. This will happen Thursday, May 2 from 5:30-7 at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center.

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