Let's Broaden The Partners In The CH-UH Schools Master Planning Process: Letter to the Editor
Akiva Feinstein says the CH-UH School Board should partner with the city, private schools and other entities in the community as it finalizes its facilities master plan.
To the Editor:
The current master facilities plan in which the CH-UH School District has taken steps to initiate a process of closing unneeded schools and redesigning others has focused on the fact that individual public schools have unique needs and demographics.
This process is laudable and a very bold step for the district. This massive undertaking will have a significant on our entire community, on both public and private school students, and communities in general.
After taking this big step, I encourage School Board to take another one, bringing community leaders and private schools into the discussion to find ways to share and distribute unneeded resources better.
The closure of Millikin and its subsequently sitting for many years is an example of what happens when the reallocation of public resources occurs in a vacuum and no one else but School Board has the say. City Council, community leaders, private schools and religious groups could have worked together with the School Board to find a new purpose for the property, but instead they were kept on the outside while all decisions were made on the inside. Without this all that is left is an unused building that brings down the neighborhood and lots of resentment from local neighbors.
No one says public school assets should be given away, but appropriate sharing and selling is something we can all benefit from.
As former Cleveland Heights City Councilwoman Nancy Dietrich shared at a recent School Board meeting, times like this call for cooperation. Public school districts need to support and work with communities (government, local leadership, religious groups and private schools) and communities need to work with and support their public schools. Joint decision making is the way to go.
So, School Board, I implore you to involve communities from the get-go in this process, especially in creating partnerships to best determine the fate of closed campuses together. We don't want Gearity (Professional Development School) to become another Millikin, and if we work together, we can prevent this.
Akiva Feinstein
Cleveland Heights
Susan Efroymson
10:06 am on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Akiva Feinstein's comments are right on target. The School Board could have avoided the clash with the residents it angered by heeding their petitions and signs of life and offers. Instead, when approached, it looked, not to the school who wanted to buy it, return the playground and otherwise make the overdue repairs reviltalizing the community, but to the call center which would have brought others into our community who do not live here - while ignoring those who do.
Now, with more schools on the block and the board seeking approval in the form of passing a levy to support this plan, they have an opportunity to make up for the one they missed. To do this they need to work above board with the residents to (1) build trust in their system by dealing forthrightly with Millikin which means getting a speedy appraisal and then moving to sell lawfully via public procedures. and (2) by doing so thereby showing that the proper disposition of Geartiy, Noble and Fairfax is a priority so they too won't end up abandoned for years (3) that they care what happens to the neighb orhoods and keeping them desireable and (4) that those who voted for them can trust them with their charge
School Board, you have an opportunity. Use it
Emily Jones
10:06 am on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Is the CH-UH BOE listening? I am a strong supporter of our public schools. That does NOT mean that I oppose private schools in our City, I support education regardless of private or parochial. The CH-UH school board needs to get their act together and sell Millikin. I get the feeling that the school board is more interested in stalling than actually working to solve the Millikin problem.
Garry Kanter
10:06 am on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
What a nice letter!
John H.
5:36 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012
I believe this district is stalling on the sale to Mosdos for a reason- Master plan first, then the sale of Milikin. And that is the responsible thing to do. For the district to sell one building when it unsure of it's future building plans would be foolish.
Then again, it would also be responsible for the district to finish this Master plan process quickly- giving Mosdos and other potential buyers for the closed buildings a chance.