Eve Bolton
January 7, 2008
I had the great fortune to attend Cincinnati Public during the 1950s and 1960s. During those years, Cincinnati Public was viewed as one of the best school districts in the US; perhaps the best.
My adult life has now been spent as a teacher, extracurricular advisor and union president in another great school district.
So my standard of measurement for schools has been and will continue to be nothing less than excellence — excellence for each child in every CPS school.
The degree to which we can deliver equally excellent schools to all of our children, regardless of their capability and circumstances, is the degree to which our children can compete with their peers today and in the future.
While we are deeply proud of our district's competitive edge when compared to other urban districts in our state and beyond, we know that in our marketplace of Greater Cincinnati, CPS must compete with districts who do not necessarily face the daunting challenges that our staff faces every day. By state designation, 65% of our students are economically disadvantaged, some live in unsafe neighborhoods and many, through no fault of their own, are unable to come to school "ready to learn," Member Catherine Ingram often reminds us. These conditions are compounded by the perpetual, systemic economic weaknesses within both the state and local funding systems, as Member Melanie Bates has often stated.
Our Board, which is now seated, already has been advised that our district needs more funds and more cuts.
This Board knows that in the next several months we not only have to face the normal challenges and answer the routine questions but we also must develop district goals, anticipate budget decisions, evaluate the status of our Strategic Plan, develop a Superintendent selection process, and deliver our primary legal responsibility — the responsibility to provide adequate funding for the education of all of our children.
So the help you all (incumbent Board members) provided during the transition period was critical in bringing us, the new members, closer to speed so the Board can be ready to act.
We know that we Board members have differing views, passions and values — as it should be for such a diverse community as Greater Cincinnati.
Our challenge will be to make those differences assets, not obstacles, as we do our work. By doing the Board's work, or as Member Susan Cranley calls it — "working on the work" — we can build a consensus, exercise oversight, and increase transparency, accountability, and efficiency.
I know from those transition conversations that this Board is committed to putting children first.
I know that this Board intends to be as professional as it is demanding.
I know that this Board wants to reach out to the employees of Cincinnati Public in an effort to keep building a team mutually committed to educating our children.
I know that this Board is committed to being a good steward of our taxpayers hard-earned dollars, which they have so generously given us for both operations, rebuilding and re-envisioning.
I know that this Board pledges to our CPS families and CPS children a continued effort to improve so that excellence remains our standard for each child in every school.