CPS and City Council
See Joint Benefits of Facilities Plan

New or fully renovated school buildings will provide a boost to the City of Cincinnati’s efforts to revitalize its neighborhoods, and city and district officials want to work together to help assure the district’s Facilities Master Plan is a success.

To that end, the Cincinnati Public Schools’ Board of Education and the Cincinnati City Council have met twice in joint session (March 23, 2004, and March 26, 2002) to focus on areas where city and school district officials could work in partnership and combine resources on CPS’ $985-million Facilities Master Plan. The plan will rebuild or fully renovate schools for all CPS schoolchildren over the next 10 years.

The joint meetings, considered an important mark in district history, are designed to maximize the benefits of the Facilities Master Plan — and will provide economic development and revitalization to all neighborhoods in the district.

CPS Board of Education President Florence Newell (right) and Cincinnati Vice Mayor Alicia Reece.

“This is a shift to a new level of commitment and of integration between the city and the district never seen before.”

Rick Williams, CPS Board

The meetings are “an opportunity for the city to partner with the school district for neighborhood improvement,” said Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken.

“Let’s have a strong, continuously stable, working relationship between the city and CPS,” Luken said. “We are setting a course for the future of our city.”

CPS Superintendent Alton Frailey (left) leads discussion during joint city/school board meeting.

City officials say the upgraded schools will help create “neighborhoods of choice” in Cincinnati.

Some areas where CPS and the city could work together include:

• Buying land and improving infrastructure for new schools

• Creating schools that serve as Community Learning Centers; for example, allowing community use of meeting rooms and playfields, and providing space for social- and health-service agencies

• Finding new uses for buildings the district no longer will operate as schools

To further promote discussion, committees from both sides will meet monthly to focus on issues.

Superintendent Frailey (right) and Vice Mayor Alicia Reece.

Also, since the initial meeting in 2002, the administration from both the city and the school district have met frequently to work out problems.

The City of Cincinnati supports CPS by providing $5 million per year for 20 years in lieu of property tax payments on the riverfront sports stadiums and by providing school nurses and crossing guards for over $3 million per year.

3/24/04