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Photo By Jymi Bolden
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Hughes Center was neither saved nor closed on July
24.
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At the July 24 Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) Board of Education meeting, some Hughes Center supporters thought they'd see a resolution to further exempt the magnet school from high school restructuring.
What they got was a consensus among board members that individual schools wouldn't be discussed until the board and CPS administration gather enough concrete data to begin making districtwide decisions.
Roderick McGhee, president of Hughes' parent, teacher and student organization, felt discouraged after the meeting.
"The information was still very vague as to who would get what," he said in reference to the divvying up of CPS's precious budget dollars. "I am disturbed that (Superintendent Steven) Adamowski is willing to spend $26 million to build a new performing arts academy when the statistics in most reports from the community indicate the money could be used to fix up dilapidated properties."
The reports that McGhee is talking about are the work of two separate committees charged with determining how to best use CPS's facilities.
On June 9, the CPS High School Restructuring Committee and the Facilities Advisory Committee released their respective reports, whose results will work in concert to mold the district's schools. The first committee looked at high schools that will be restructured to fit a new model. The second determined which facilities would accommodate each program and rated their overall value to the district.
Hughes, originally slated for a restructuring that would strip the school of its magnet status and farm its five magnet programs out to other CPS high schools, was exempted from restructuring last February via a resolution adopted by the board. But, not being clear if it also was to be exempted from the facilities evaluation, the Facilities Advisory Committee included Hughes in its report.
In June, CityBeat reported that the committee didn't officially recommend Hughes' closure but did say that, based on the building conditions survey and cost estimates for repairs, it's the facility of least value to CPS ("No News Isn't Necessarily Good News for Hughes High," issue of June 22-28, 2000).
A subsequent resolution to fully exempt Hughes from restructuring despite the facilities report apparently was considered by some school board members -- although no one is quite sure.
Sue Taylor -- teacher of African-American history and culture, academic coach for student teachers and coordinator of the Professional Practice School at Hughes -- told CityBeat that CPS Board of Education President Rick Williams informed a Hughes parent that such a resolution would come before the board at its last meeting and guaranteed the parent a 7-0 vote in favor of exempting Hughes.
But the agenda for the July 24 meeting listed no resolution in regards to Hughes. Before the meeting, McGhee said he was certain the issue would at least be addressed. It was not.
Speaking to CityBeat after the meeting, Williams said such a resolution might be possible in the future but reiterated the board members' consensus to stop discussing individual schools until they and the administration are perfectly clear about what the CPS facilities situation is.
"Never has the board looked at the reality that the system does not need all of the facilities," Williams said. "We must have a meeting to discuss this before we can talk about individual schools."
That meeting won't be scheduled until all possible data is gathered, he said.
As far as the resolution to exempt Hughes is concerned, Williams said he never told a parent that one would be drawn up and put before the board at the July 24 meeting.
"The idea was 'Wouldn't it be nice to have a resolution?'," Williams said he told the parent. "But there is no guarantee."
On July 21, the school board held a special executive session to discuss personnel issues. According to some board members, Williams, who wasn't present at the meeting, issued a proposed resolution regarding Hughes' exemption by proxy and the resolution was discussed.
Board member Sallie Warner said she couldn't comment on whether a resolution was distributed because the board was in a private executive session. She said that "nothing came forward" but didn't elaborate as to whether she meant no resolution was distributed and discussed or that no action was taken on it.
Board member Catherine Ingram said a resolution was talked about on July 21 but that it was just a framework for a resolution. Board Member John Gilligan said no resolution was passed out at the meeting but he saw one later after the meeting. He doesn't know who initiated it.
"It was decided earlier that any resolution or other action requested of the board, no matter the source, would first be taken to committee to be considered and brought back to the board," Gilligan said, "to stop board members from popping resolutions up and demanding action in front of an audience."
But the Hughes resolution never made it to the table on July 21, he said.
Vice President of the Board Harriett Russell wouldn't comment on whether a resolution was distributed at the meeting. Board members Lynn Marmer and Florence Newell were out of town and unable to be reached for comment. ©
