On Wednesday, August 5, the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) Board of Education met in a special joining meeting with the Cincinnati City Council Healthy Neighborhoods committee to discuss upcoming changes this school year. Metro bus passes,
The school board has placed wraparound services as a high priority because more families are experiencing housing instability.
CPS is working with Project Connect to implement the district’s wraparound program, the WRAP (Wellness, Resources, Access and Partnerships). According to Project Connect’s presentation to the council committee and school board:
- Last school year, Project Connect identified and supported 4,326 students experiencing homelessness – double the number of students served 10 years ago.
- The nonprofit this year also identified 312 students living outdoors in vehicles, or in “places not intended for human habitation,” like storage units. That number has increased 79% since last year.
The WRAP is expected to launch with a soft opening this month. Project Connect will be headquartered in Mount Auburn at William Howard Taft Elementary School.
New services for Cincinnati Public Schools’ WRAP program, other student services
Plans call for expanding several services addressing an uptick of housing instability in CPS’ student population.
Wraparound services: The WRAP connects families with various agencies that partner with Project Connect. Among the services: health clinic, school supplies, housing services, food, legal support, academic support, and multilingual support.
The district also currently has a temporary emergency shelter for families without shelter or at imminent risk. There is a planned safe sleep lot for families sleeping in their vehicles, which would open March 1. Location is to be decided.
Changes to CPS student Metro passes
This year, CPS purchased over 12,000 passes, which are provided to all CPS students grades 7 through 12 as well as to students at parochial and charter schools. State law requires CPS to provide those schools transportation.
The student passes are only valid during the times that students are expected to travel: weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Students involved in extracurricular activities received passes that are valid until 10:30 p.m.
Parents can ride with their children for free the first week of school.
District closes $51 million budget gap, but state policies threaten further reductions
Michael Gustin, who will assume the CPS treasurer this September, said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine used line item vetoes to remove many provisions adversely impacting funding for public schools, but some budget threats still loom in the Legislature.
The Ohio Senate has yet to schedule a vote on whether they will concur with the House’s vote to override DeWine’s veto of item 66, which, if passed, would ban fixed-sum school levies.
A ban on fixed-sum levies would mean a direct loss for CPS, which has three included in the 2025-26 budget. One of the three, a fixed-sum levy of $48 million, will be up for renewal this November, Gustin said.
The U.S. Department of Education paused allocations for Title II, III, and IV on June 30. CPS is also still awaiting official allocations from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
Follow-Up Questions from Documenter Emily Jaster:
- Why has the Ohio legislature supported a fixed sum levy ban if most school levies are already voted on by the public?
- Why has the number of students experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati increased so drastically?
