Public weighs in on Columbus City school closures as board members differ on document leak

Controversy erupted at a packed Columbus City school board meeting Tuesday evening after board member Brandon Simmons told a very different story from the board's version about how a leaked document on strategy for school closure opposition came to be.

After the board went into executive session, the meeting resumed and several members of the public addressed the board about the proposed school closures announced earlier this month, with some saying they were in support of closures and others arguing for a pause.

Board President Christina Vera said in a statement before the meeting that Simmons' proposed document was done independently of the board and does not reflect the board's position.

The document, which was leaded Tuesday morning, discusses how the district should fight against misinformation regarding the school closure plan, including trying to divide the school's two labor unions and to not ignore "racial dynamics," in this fight. The document also describes the Columbus Education Association in terms of a "war," and frames the school closure as a "fight," and the union as "opponents."

Simmons said in two abrupt news conferences that he collaborated with board members and others on the document.

Who is Brandon Simmons? What to know about CCS board member at center of leak scandal

Board president: Simmons acted 'independently' of rest of board

Before Tuesday's board meeting, Columbus City school board President Christina Vera issued a statement about the leaked document, stating that an unnamed board member had "expressed personal opinions about how they thought the Community Facilities Task Force work should be communicated."

Vera stated the board member "was not asked to provide any recommendations and did so independently." The member's opinions "do not represent the perspectives of the Columbus City Schools or the entire Board of Education," she stated.

"The Columbus City Schools Board of Education expects civility, respect, and the highest ethical standards in the important work on behalf of our students," Vera stated. "No action has been or will be taken by the district or the Board of Education to implement the board member’s suggestions."

More: Columbus City Schools could close up to 20 schools. Here's what to know about each of them

Simmons: Not resigning from board, document was collaboration

Simmons told a very different story than Vera to a large gathering of media immediately before the meeting, saying the draft was the product of collaboration between board members and other stakeholders. He also said multiple versions of the document existed and it was an early draft.

Simmons, 23, did not provide any evidence for his claims of multiple meetings or multiple versions of the document.

"There was input from many, many different people and ideas from many, many different folks," Simmons said. "I want to emphasize that this is a collaboration from multiple people."

After the board meeting began and while Vera was reading her statement, Simmons went over to the media gathered for the meeting and told them he had a second statement, where he reiterated without evidence that others were involved in the planning of the document. Simmons did not take questions from the media following his statement.

Following his return, the board entered executive session.

Simmons previously enjoyed the endorsement of both district unions as a candidate at the expense of incumbent board member Carol Beckerle, who was not endorsed by the unions or the local Democratic party. Last year, Franklin County Democratic Party chairman Mike Sexton told The Dispatch that Beckerle had not received the party endorsement because she did not have union or community support that other candidates, including Simmons, had.

CCS teachers: Simmons should still resign

Kelsey Gray, an English teacher at Independence High School and a member of the Columbus Education Association, which represents some 4,500 teachers and other educators, told The Dispatch that the strategy document is absolutely abhorrent.

“To see someone so adamantly write up actions that do nothing for our students and do everything to rip apart the staff is really hurtful, and it’s truly shocking," said Gray, who was at the meeting Tuesday night.

Gray said she was relieved that Vera addressed the document immediately at the beginning of the meeting. She said it is a little hard to believe that the document came out of nowhere or is from just one person, but that it helps that the board does not feel that way.

“I think they have a real opportunity to prove that to us,” Gray said of the school board.

Catherine Perry, an instructional aide at Indianola Informal K-8 School who attended the meeting, told The Dispatch that she felt sheer shock when she read the strategy document on her break. Perry started working in education two years ago.

Perry said she supports the CEA recommendation that Simmons should resign from the board, and that it’s the obvious answer to the night’s meeting.

“It just dumbfounded me that the people who are supposed to be keeping our kids in mind are so focused on taking down the grownups who are there to help them on an everyday basis,” Perry said.

Board considering closures of as many as 20 schools

The meeting Tuesday was the CCS school board's first full body meeting since they received the nine proposals to close as many as 20 of the district's 112 schools earlier this month from the Superintendent's Community Facilities Task Force.

While there are nine scenarios, some are alternates of each other and the board of education may or may not approve any or all of them. Over a number of meetings earlier this year, the task force considered factors such as building utilization, or how full a building is, transportation data and whether a building has been aging without substantial renovation before reporting their proposals to the board, The Dispatch previously reported.

West Broad Elementary third grader: 'Don't close our second home'

Jaxon Landis, 9, a third grader at West Broad Elementary on Columbus' West Side, urged the school board during the public meeting not to close the school, calling it a "safe space" for students.

West Broad, along with Lindbergh and Valleyview elementary schools, would consolidate with other area elementary schools under one closure proposal presented to the board.

"It's our home away from home and affects us all," Landis said. "Please pause the vote and give our schools a second chance — don't close our second home."

District parent: 'We need to do something'

Craig Kenney, a parent of a senior at Eastmoor Academy on the city's East Side, told the school board that although he is "not in agreement with every decision being made," he has seen enough of the district to know that something needs to be done about some of the largely empty schools he has seen.

"The point I'm making is schools have closed in Columbus — and we've gotten over it — we moved on," Kenney said. "I don't have the answer to fill up our district. I don't have the answer. Nobody does. But we need to do something to accommodate."

Cranbrook teacher concerned abound English Language Learning

Deepa Ganschinietz, a first-grade teacher at Cranbrook Elementary in the Cranbrook neighborhood north of the Ohio State University campus, said that she was concerned that if the school closed, many of the school's students in the English Language Learning (ELL) program would be negatively impacted.

Ganschinietz told the school board that Cranbrook Elementary has a larger-than-average population of ELL students, who speak another primary language, that other area schools may not be able to accommodate.

"I am not fighting for power. What I am fighting for is a voice for the ELL children, the special ed children and our parent population," Ganschinietz said.

OSU professor: District has bloated number of schools, teachers

Vlad Kogan, an Ohio State University political science professor, used a large, printed graph as a visual aid to show the board how Columbus City Schools has 30 more schools than similarly-sized school districts and also that its teaching staff has grown as enrollment has continued to decline.

Kogan urged the board to not allow the teachers union to intentionally interrupt the school closing discussions to protect teacher employment numbers in the district.

"It feels a little bit like an arsonist complaining that enough is not being done to put out the fire that they started," Kogan said.

District facing growing opposition from teachers union

The Tuesday meeting also comes on the heels of allegations regarding leaked documents that the Columbus Education Association obtained of a strategy presentation given by board member Brandon Simmons, saying in a Tuesday open letter that Simmons planned "to use racial divides to attack opponents of school closures."

The letter from John Coneglio, president of the union representing teachers and other educators, called for Simmons to immediately resign, and said the recommendations of the facility task force for closing schools must not be accepted. Coneglio resigned as a member of the task force last month before its report was presented to the board because he said it was clear the intent of the group was "mass closures of neighborhood schools," The Dispatch previously reported.

"This plan is abhorrent, vile, corrupt, and beneath the dignity of public officials entrusted with the safety and well-being of nearly 50,000 students and the trust of our community," Coneglio said in the letter, which was also signed by Izetta Thomas, representing the Columbus Education Justice Coalition.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Public weighs in on Columbus school closures as board members argue