District announces interactive resource ‘map’ for families, staff, community

Agenda 

Call to Order: 

• Meeting started promptly at 5:44 p.m.
• Pledge to the Flag by April Simmons, principal of South Avondale Middle School 
• All Board officers and Council members were in attendance:
  • President: Kareem Moncree-Moffett
  • Vice President: Eve Bolton
  • Treasurer: Michael Gustin
  • Superintendent: Shauna Murphy
  • Member: Brandon Craig
  • Member: Jim Crosset 
  • Member: Ben Lindy 
  • Member: Kendra Mapp
  • Member: Mary Wineberg 

Announcements and Acknowledgements: 

• Superintendent Murphy:
  • Acknowledged the retirement of Susan S. Shure, psychologist 
  • Recognized the Spencer Center for Gifted and Exceptional Students. This school has been named one of Greater Cincinnati’s best elementary schools by Niche, a leading school ranking program. 
  • Gave kudos to the students and their accomplishments at the recent Athletic Department induction 

Hearing the Public and Guests:

• Vice President Bolton: 
  • Each speakers had two minutes to speak
    • Speaker Jackson: As a mother of seven children, with one  graduating from Hughes last year, Jackson had an issue with the IEP (Individualized Education Program) and the homeless parking lots. Jackson said that many parents don’t have a clue about the rights of the IEP are not aware of the laws that stand behind them and their children. She asked if the staff can be retaught these laws that support children with learning disabilities so that they don’t fall behind. Jackson also mentioned that the homeless parking lot holds a lot of trauma with children sleeping in cars, so it was asked if parents can learn how to better advocate for their children and be heard. 
    • Speaker Christain Davis (CEO and founder of Parent Empowerment Network): Recently launched a paid eight-week fellowship training to help parents be civically engaged. They had their first field trip during this meeting to learn the structure of the board and meetings and will send updates about their progress.  

Presentations and Discussions: 

• Chief Information Officer: Jeremy Gollihue
  • Announced the CPS Resource, Asset, and Service Maps
    • A strategic plan for this upcoming school year that provides an online, interactive resource for families, communities, partners and staff. 
  • This was a superintendent-led conversation with leadership and district directors that provides a whole child lens and approach. 
  • Gollihue explained how the map system worked on Google Maps (he walked board members through all four of the maps). All locations on the map show the provider and the address. 

• Comments and suggestions from the board: 

• Craig said that this can be easily attainable and can help inform parents and the community. As the board continues to find partners and opportunities, some of the partners might not have a stagnant spot or have multiple spaces, so the current map may change to add  resources and locations. 
• Crosset said that this map is very impressive but suggested that the schools on the map include more information. 
• Wineberg liked the interactive aspect of the maps and the before/after school care options
• Bolton said that this is a fantastic project, but he wanted to know where the extracurriculars will be, especially in proximity to schools. Bolton suggested adding libraries, health centers, and private providers to the map. 
• Mapp wanted to know if there was an opportunity for each school to have an impact report that showed the assets available in proximity to the school and at the school. This report could also include highlights of the school as well more engagement and enrollment. Gollihue said that there has been conversation about this.  
• Moncree-Moffett said “I love it” but suggested that they ask the public about the maps, especially parents, staff and students. The board president also suggested creating a mobile version instead of driving people to the website for more engagement, and possibly tying this into Metro’s existing route information. He also suggested that they add PTO’s contact information for each school and make it more accessible to ESL families and staff (non-English speakers). 

Board Matters, Inquiries, and Updates:

• Vice President Bolton, Treasurer Gustin, and General Counsel 
  • Mike Moroski explained to the public and reminded the board of the size and length of the levy renewal that will be happening in two weeks. 
  • The Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) Board of Education has approved the placement of a 10-year renewal property tax levy on the Nov. 4, 2025, ballot. If approved, the duration will be from 2026 to 2035.
    • More information here
  • There will be a $48 million “fix on the levy” that will be renewed for 10 years. Note: Fix on levy = brings back a set income every year
    • $33 million will be used for K-12 education 
    • $15 million will be used for for pre-school expansion 
• Moroski explained that the district will be closed on Election Day — 18 schools will serve as polling locations — and the district may not use its property to support or oppose a specific political candidate or issue. 

• Superintendent/Board Guardrail Discussion
  • Began further clarification for Superintendent Murphy’s goals for the 2025-2026 Strategic Planning Timeline and a proposed desire to suspend guardrails discussion.
    • Note: Guardrails are supposed to hold the superintendent accountable to represent the values of the community and align with the district’s strategic plan. 
  • Superintendent Murphy said that all of the goals for the 2026-2027 school year align with the current goals of the board. The new strategic plan needs to be completed by June 2026, so the superintendent is working closely with the treasurer to create a plan that will be finalized by the fall of 2026. The current strategic plan should be finished between spring of 2026 and summer of 2027.  
  • Board members Wineburg, Crosset and Moncree-Moffett said that the board should keep the guardrails in place. Crosset specifically wanted the  strategic plan to coincide with fiscal years. 
  • Board member Craig said that the board needs to take a more direct approach with board outreach to communicate with the public.
  • President Moncree-Moffett said that the board needs to “publicly face [their] values out there and have the communities hold them accountable.” The president added that the community also needs to be more involved with the strategic plan by creating community involvement sessions. “It is aggressive to publish a plan too quickly,” but the state/federal economic changes means that the plan needs to be established within shorter windows with tangible goals. 
  • Vice President Bolton said that the new strategic plan is based on governance, not as much with the community. Bolton looked forward to keeping the guardrails and possibly having a three-year plan and further suggested that the board ask the community for money.
    • The president suggested that the board engage with the public before asking for financial contribution. 

• Strategic Plan Timeline (2026-2028: Bid & Implementation)
  • Note: This timeline was not presented during the meeting 
  • Community information sessions, workshops and retreats 
  • Questions and Concerns
    • Board Member Craig said that there are different ways to nuance feedback; maybe asking a parent, teacher or administrator about the process. 
    • President Moncree-Moffett said that the three-year contract is concerning because of financial constraints and that community feedback should include more members and engagement. 
    • Vice President Bolton had no interest in having a three-year contract but suggested that the board have a third party  help facilitate the strategic plan for fairness and impartiality. 
    • Board Member Crosset said that the board should bring in helpful partners like United Way or Cincinnati Foundation. 
  • Comment on Goals (Page 2 of Strategic Plan Timeline)
    • Board Member Mapp is opposed to the goals because only two goals are actually approved. 
  • Timeline:
    • October to November 2025: Bid Development 
    • December 2025: Vendor Onboarding 
    • January 2026: Stakeholder Sessions (Community Engagement)
    • February 2026: Strategy Workshops 
    • March 2026: Department Planning
    • March to May 2026: Budget Refinement
    • June 2026: Finalization
    • July 2026 – Ongoing: Implementation  

• Middle School and Junior High Enrollment and Attendance:
  • Superintendent Murphy 
    • Presented enrollment vs. attendance data, but the finalized presentation will be prepared in December. 
    • In the presentation, it will discuss the current academic structure, parent engagement, student outcomes from the first quarter,  transportation, athletics and extracurriculars, the needs for the gifted schools, and the focus areas for each of the schools. 
    • There were concerns about the projection numbers and that some of the schools are under/over enrolled. There was a significant misalignment with projections and there needs to be a deep dive on the trends between attendance and enrollment, members said. 
    • The “No Show Process” is applied for those that don’t attend school in the form of a “No Show Homeroom.” 
    • There were concerns with the funding being allocated to students who are not attending school/not enrolled in the district. 
    • The capacity of each building was discussed amongst the growing numbers of students in the district.
    • Gollihue presented numbers showing a drop in 6th-8th grade levels. Below is the data:

6th Graders	7th Graders	8th Graders
2,379 students	2,325 students	2,304 student
46 students under the projections	47 students under the projections	16 students over the projections

• Overall, they were 500 students off of the original projection, with the biggest area of challenge at the pre-school level — 400 students off. 
• The enrollment for 5th graders will be given at the next meeting, as the president was interested in seeing the decline for students who could be attending these schools before 6th grade. 
• The board planned to discuss capacity and the plan to grow through engagement and putting discipline on enrollment numbers in the next meeting. They also planned to look at capacity from a legislative standpoint. 

Assignments: 

• Assignment for Superintendent Murphy: Create the enrollment vs. attendance for middle schools presentation and share with the board in December. 
• Assignment for Superintendent Murphy: Create the goals and guardrails presentation. This presentation should show the overlap between the goals and guardrails that the district is already measuring (summarizing the overlap, the five goals, and how have those goals within the strategic plan changed over time — look at the interim goals and guardrails of the board that align with her goals) 
• Assignment for Superintendent Murphy: Present the initial plan before/after middle school enrollment.
• Assignment for Superintendent Murphy: Provide an update on the enrollment process pertaining to students with disabilities to make sure they are enrolled in a school that is a good fit for them and receiving the support they need. 
• Assignment for Superintendent Murphy: Provide an update with Metro regarding it causing problems with student attendance.  
• Assignment for treasurer: Find how many millions of dollars the board could have gotten from the State of Ohio. 

Proposed Consent Agenda Items:

• Treasurer’s Report
  • Michael Gustin: 
    • Overview of corrections (document not provided). It was very hard to understand what the treasurer said, so corrections can’t be explicitly provided. 
    • Motioned to approve the correct language on the report (Passed)

Adjournment:

• Adjourned at 8:45 p.m.  

These notes can be found on documenters.org.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcincinnati.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

Find more Documenters’ notes on Cincinnati City Council here.