Joint Columbus City Schools and Columbus City Council Hearing on Funding & Partnerships – June 5, 2026

Council President Harden and Board President Dr. Antoinette Miranda co-chaired the inaugural joint hearing of Columbus City Schools and Columbus City Council. The session was held to align priorities, share financial and partnership data, and explore collaborative solutions to pressing challenges facing the district. Presentations covered existing city–school partnerships, the district’s severe financial outlook, and a community schools model piloted in Cincinnati. Eight community members provided public testimony, and leaders committed to continued joint meetings.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Stephanie Hightower (Columbus Urban League) – Reported that the Urban League has lost over $600,000 in funding for credible messenger programs, while serving nearly 800 youth in 2025 (154 paid interns, 22,000 hours, ~$330,000 in wages), and diffusing over 1,000 potentially violent incidents. She urged the committee to protect safety nets.
• Munir Lynch – A CCS alumnus, Lynch stressed that abatements cost schools $80 million/year and called for every council decision to be evaluated by how it strengthens neighborhood schools. He asked the committee to keep the community informed.
• Adaro Robinson (Communities & Schools of Ohio) – Reported that CIS partnered with nine CCS schools, impacting over 3,500 students and providing 14,000+ tiered supports (tiers 1–3) for nearly 500 case-managed students. He urged focus on chronic absenteeism, family supports, and neighborhood partnerships.
• Ruth Lomax (City Year Columbus) – City Year supported five CCS schools with 28 AmeriCorps members, delivering 5,312 ELA sessions, 5,880 math sessions, and 14,271 coaching sessions. 100% of surveyed administrators agreed members positively impacted student growth.
• Lisa Cortis (United Way) – Expressed support for the “Success by Third Grade” collaborative, which aligns schools, families, nonprofits, and funders to improve reading proficiency. She noted it currently serves six Franklin County districts with 66 nonprofits and 317 corporate partners.
• Chris Monteiro (Northland High School teacher and first community schools coordinator for CCS) – Reported that the Northland pilot reduced chronic absenteeism, improved test scores, and cut behavior referrals by 56%. He expressed fear that the initiative could be co-opted by private interests and urged the committee to platform students, educators, and parents, not just leaders.
• Lakretia Darling – A CCS alumna, parent, and former attendance program specialist, she argued that out‑of‑school suspensions are a pipeline to prison and a major driver of chronic absenteeism. She called for restorative practices to be implemented as transformational, not transitional.
• Brie Losi (Student Success Stores) – In the last school year, the organization served 1,700 students across 15 schools, distributing more than 82,000 items (a 44% increase from the prior year) through 3,299 shopping visits valued at $78,000. She noted 13 schools are on a waitlist and called for basic needs access to be a permanent priority.
• Jonathan Bashir – A CCS graduate, he advocated for merit‑based pay for top teachers and for removing severely underperforming teachers. He cited his own AP chemistry teacher, Mr. Fawcett, as an example of an educator who should be rewarded.

Discussion Items

• City–School Partnership Overview (Kirsten Sessa, Council Legislative Assistant) – Reviewed existing collaborations: Early Start Columbus (CCS provides a third to half of pre‑K slots), Columbus Promise (college access), revenue sharing from economic development incentives (income tax revenue shared per ORC 5709), and COVID‑19 partnerships (over $7M in city funding for Chromebooks, learning extension centers, credit recovery, Digital Equity Coalition). Other examples included a $4M+ ODOT safe‑routes project near Independence High School and Liberty Elementary, and the Northeast Indoor Aquatic Center (built on a CCS parcel, intended for student use during the day).
• CCS Financial Overview (Ryan Cook, Chief Financial Officer) – Cook detailed a $50M budget reduction already executed for FY2026. He presented charts showing the state share of K‑12 revenue dropping from 47% in 1999 to a projected 32% in 2027, and the residential property tax burden rising from 46.1% in 1975 to 67.5% in 2023, while business tax abatements in Ohio grew from $5.7B to $26.6B. He warned that a ballot initiative to abolish property taxes would leave CCS with only about six months of operating funds. Cook noted that 80%+ of the budget is personnel, and that the $50M reduction already eliminates staff positions.
• Community Learning Centers Model (Annie Bogenschutz, Executive Director, Community Learning Center Institute, Cincinnati) – Presentation via video. The Cincinnati model began in 1999–2000 amid a facilities crisis and enrollment decline. After a failed levy, the district engaged communities in deep engagement and passed a new levy to rebuild schools as community learning centers (CLCs). Today, all 65 CPS schools operate as CLCs, with resource coordinators employed by lead agencies. Bogenschutz highlighted five best practices: schools serving as community centers; ongoing community engagement (not just surveys); site‑based choice and governance; shared goals and accountability; and financial sustainability of partners independent of the school budget. She reported that since adopting the CLC model, all district levies have passed, and that the graduation rate at one high school (Euler) reached 92%.
• Expanding Partnerships and Sustainability – Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman emphasized that wraparound supports (early childhood, after‑school, mental health) are non‑negotiable but strain CCS’s limited state funding. Council pro tem Rob Dorans and Vice President Sarah Ingalls noted that many nonprofit partners are themselves squeezed by budget cuts, and that coordinated, sustainable funding models are needed.

Key Outcomes

• The committee will continue to meet; the next joint hearing is scheduled for September 2026 and will be held in a school or community location, not downtown.
• Council President Harden and Council Pro Tem Dorans reiterated that “nothing is off the table,” including re‑evaluation of tax abatements, TIFFs, and other economic development tools that affect school funding.
• Vice President Ingalls identified several priority areas for future work: chronic absenteeism, funding solutions (abatements, TIFFs, property taxes, building repairs), sustainable energy partnerships, and maximizing shared city‑school properties.
• No votes were taken; the hearing was informational and intended to launch a permanent joint committee structure.