Columbus, OH – The following statement regarding the Columbus City Schools Board of Education vote to close multiple schools can be attributed to Columbus Education Association President John Coneglio:
“A sure sign of leadership failure is a shrinking school district in a rapidly growing city. Mere months after the community agreed to support school investment with a significant levy, even as other area Districts plan for growth, the Columbus City Schools Board of Education has turned its back on the future and is focused on managing its own decline. Without so much as concepts of a plan for reinvesting in neighborhood schools, those charged with providing opportunities for our students instead are handing the keys over to a network of unaccountable for-profit charter schools and developers seeking valuable city parcels.
This Board, mired in scandals and backstabbing so profound that one Board member who should have already resigned didn’t even participate in last night’s meeting, should feel shame… but we are confident they will not. It is the Board, even more than our oldest school buildings, that is crumbling and needs to be rebuilt. There is one notable exception- newly elected Board member Sarah Ingles. The community has our work cut out for us in convincing her to remain while seeking others willing to stand alongside her and lead.”
The Columbus Education Association (CEA) is the Union representing over 4,500 teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, psychologists, and other education professionals in Columbus City Schools. CEA is a proud affiliate of the Ohio Education Association and the National Education Association.
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