Parents to CPS: We'll move

CORRYVILLE – It was a common refrain Monday at the board of education meeting: If we can't ensure the right school for our kids, we'll move.

School performance is a strong indicator of neighborhood desirability, said Shaun McCance, who said he and his wife bought their house in Clifton partially because of its proximity to the Fairview-Clifton German Language School.

"Many of my neighbors will tell you the exact same thing: It's not good for Clifton," McCance said. "If our children have to go to a failing school -- if our children don't have access to a quality education -- then people like me are going to have to leave Clifton and possibly leave the city. That makes me very sad."

The Cincinnati Public Schools board of education voted unanimously this summer to suspend the "first-come, first-served" policy that led to weeks-long campouts at magnet schools such the German language school and Sands and North Avondale Montessori schools.

Board members say the decision is a step toward equality. The last campout was 16 days long, and not every family has the time or money to participate.

Some parents, though, say it's a death knell for neighborhoods.

"Because I will do anything for my children," McCance said. "And if we can't get our kids into good schools in Clifton, people will leave Clifton."

CPS magnet schools are steeped in history, first opening in 1973. Prior to 2007, when a Supreme Court ruling outlawed the practice, CPS balanced its magnet school enrollment by race and gender, according to a district summary.

From then until now, the district and parent groups have gone back and forth about how to best divvy up seats. There was talk about eliminating first-come, first-served about five years ago, but the board at the time decided to keep the system.

The magnet school shift is part of CPS' quality seats discussion, said board member Melanie Bates. The lottery will give the district a truer picture of demand for its schools, telling officials which programs to expand and which to shrink.

It's about increasing access for everyone, Bates said – not keeping people out.

And dissenters are more vocal, but there are supporters of the move. Several Enquirer commenters wrote that the lottery system is simpler. It's random and fair – with no preference based on income or race.

Monday night, several speakers took the board to task for what they called a lack of transparency. One dad, Sean Kelley, said the decision was pushed through "in the dark of July."

"If we wanted parental involvement, why didn't we do that first and then this?" he asked.

The district is planning community meetings to discuss and explain the changes.

Matt Bourgeois, dad to a second-grader already enrolled at the Fairview school, said he doesn't love the campout system, but the proposed solution, a lottery, "seems lazy."

"I strongly urge you not to suspend the first-come, first-served until you have a plan," he said.

Rick Wolf has a daughter who turns 5 on Friday. He could have sent her to school this past year – her birthday was on the fence for the cutoff date -- but he and his wife decided to wait. Now, they're filled with regret.

They bought a house in Northside about seven years ago, specifically because of its proximity to the magnet school, Wolf said. His wife got laid off shortly after, and finances have been a struggle since.

Wolf's wife went back to school for a nursing degree, and she started her new job Monday – the same day they learned plans for their daughter's education might not work out.

"Right when it feels like we're getting our lives together, it feels like something else beyond our control kicks us right back down," he said.

Wolf is not impoverished, but he doesn't have money to spare, he said. And he'll sacrifice anything to get his daughter into a great school.

He doesn't want to move. But he's willing.

"My wife cried all day yesterday," he said. "And she got onto (the Real Estate website) MLS, and she was searching homes in Wyoming."