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Columbus City Schools proposes closures to address $50M deficit
Read the full articleFacing a projected $50 million deficit and 13,000 surplus seats across 109 buildings, Columbus City Schools presented multi-year consolidation proposals ahead of community sessions and a December board vote.
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The sources and records behind this story, with the facts they support.
Supporting evidence (15)
Speaking at an "Empower Your Voice" community town hall at the Fort Hayes Performing Arts Theatre, Superintendent Angela Chapman and Chief of Strategy and Performance Russell Brown detailed measures designed to eliminate an anticipated $50 million operational deficit.
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The Columbus Board of Education has directed the administration to identify at least $50 million in operational reductions for the upcoming school year, and this is far from the first round of cuts.
"No one should hear a proposed change tonight and mistake it for a final board vote," Brown said.
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“No one should hear a proposed change tonight and mistake it for a final board vote,” Brown said.
District financial projections indicate those reserve funds could run dry by 2030 without significant structural spending cuts.
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District officials said those reserves are shrinking and could run dry by 2030 without more reductions.
"We had to identify our first $50 million in reductions, and now we’re facing another $50 million in cuts," Chapman said.
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“We had to identify our first $50 million in reductions, and now we’re facing another $50 million in cuts,” she said.
Columbus City Schools currently maintains 109 academic buildings containing roughly 57,000 seats, while actual district enrollment stands at 44,056 students.
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CCS oversees 109 academic facilities with approximately 57,000 student seats, but current enrollment is 44,056. That leaves roughly 13,000 surplus seats and puts districtwide building utilization at about 77%.
District officials argued that consolidating buildings allows resources to be concentrated rather than spread thin across half-empty sites, noting that larger schools do not mean larger class sizes.
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“Larger schools do not mean larger class sizes,” Brown said.
Under the plan, Columbus Gifted Academy would move into the Franklin Middle School building, which currently houses the girls prep school.
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Columbus Gifted Academy would move into the Franklin Middle School building, which currently houses the girls preparatory school, while Adult & Community Education and the district’s Support Center would move into the Eastmoor Middle School building
Duxberry Park Arts Elementary: Merging the Duxberry Park Arts Impact Elementary program into Sullivant Elementary to save approximately $1.2 million, alongside boundary adjustments for Sullivant and Avondale elementaries.
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Another proposal would merge the Duxberry Park Arts Impact Elementary program into Sullivant Elementary for the 2027-28 school year.
Siebert Elementary: Closing the German Village-area school, where district data shows fewer than 50 students live in the neighborhood and fewer than 20 attend, and reassigning students to Stewart and Southwood elementaries.
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fewer than 50 students live in the Siebert neighborhood and fewer than 20 of those students currently attend the school.
Highland Elementary: Ending regular school operations at the 1895 building, which operates at 60.2% utilization, and sending students to West Mound and Burroughs elementaries.
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Highland is currently 60.2% utilized, according to the district, and the building dates all the way back to 1895. Under the proposal, the Highland building would then become the temporary home for West Broad Elementary students while CCS builds a new West Broad Elementary.
Columbus Alternative High School (CAHS): Relocating CAHS from its McGuffey facility into Columbus Downtown High School, a move estimated to save $3.3 million while integrating career-oriented pathways under the district's academy structure.
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Columbus Alternative High School would move from the McGuffey facility into Columbus Downtown High School.
South Side Merger: Combining South High School and Marion-Franklin High School at the Marion-Franklin campus, preserving the location for a planned new South Side high school.
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Buckeye Middle School students, along with South Side sixth-graders, would move into a South Side middle school housed at the current South High School building. At the high school level, South High School and Marion-Franklin High School would come together at the Marion-Franklin site.
Mifflin Realignment: Closing the aged Mifflin Middle School facility and repurposing Mifflin High School to serve middle school and Area STEM students in grades six through eight, yielding an estimated $3.7 million in savings.
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The current middle school building would close, and Mifflin High School would stop operating as a high school. The high school building would then become the new home for Mifflin Middle School students in grades six through eight, along with Area STEM students in those grades.
Under one scenario outlined by administrators, the district would eliminate yellow bus transportation for most high school students, yielding an estimated $6.5 million in direct operational savings while curtailing state fines associated with high school routing non-compliance.
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One option would reduce district-provided transportation for most high school students. CCS estimates that change would save $6.5 million
The district begins community feedback sessions, focus groups, and surveys on Oct. 14, continuing outreach through November.
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CCS plans to keep discussing the options during committee and full Board of Education meetings throughout October, November, and December.
Supporting evidence (2)
Under Ohio Senate Bill 311, which has passed the Ohio Senate and was introduced in the House, school districts could face state mandates to dispose of facilities operating at under 60% capacity at below-market value.
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If Senate Bill 311 passes, the district said the state could force CCS to sell buildings that are less than 60% full for less than the properties are worth. The bill has cleared the state Senate and was introduced in the House.
Single-Gender Preparatory Schools: Closing Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls and Columbus City Preparatory School for Boys, which together serve fewer than 300 students.
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The district said the two programs serve less than 300 students total.