Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Magnet programs may be reduced
School board will review plan today
BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Some city magnet schools — Cincinnati Public Schools' popular specialized programs — may be moved or eliminated under a redistricting plan administrators will present to the school board today.
Associate Superintendent Kathleen Ware declined to discuss the details until today's public meeting at 11:30 a.m. at district headquarters, 2651 Burnet Ave., Corryville.
But board members expect the changes to affect magnet programs that aren't performing up to par, especially those in which students enroll because of location, rather than program focus, such as the Quebec Heights/Cincinnati Academy of Math and Science (CAMAS).
A report released in August showed that CAMAS students performed worse in math and science than many of their CPS peers, and their scores on state proficiency tests were declining. Most parents said they chose the Price Hill school because of proximity or a sibling's enrollment there.
Such changes could help erase a $30 million equity gap between neighborhood schools and magnet programs, school board members said. Per-pupil spending in magnet schools is higher than in neighborhood schools because their programs cost more.
They also could produce savings in a district still reeling from voters' defeat last week of its proposed $24 million levy, they added.
“The only sacred cow is achievement, and programs that enjoy the status of sacred cow are constantly at a high level of achievement,” board President Lynwood Battle said. “I will look at the results of any assessments the administration has to offer that the magnet programs we have now deserve to continue. Those that aren't making the grade should be re-examined.”
Board member Arthur Hull agreed: “Any school that is not performing up to expectations needs to be scrutinized very seriously and deliberately. Bucks are scarce and bucks are important. The last thing we should do is waste dollars on schools that perform at a substandard level.”
The district has 22 magnet elementaries, three magnet high schools and three magnet middle schools. Program focuses include arts enrichment, college preparatory, foreign language, Montessori and Paideia.
Ms. Ware emphasized that administrators' recommendations had more to do with curriculum needs than savings.
The redistricting plan is the fourth and final phase of a citywide reconfiguration of the district's elementaries and middle schools into kindergarten-through-eighth-grade models.
Administrators three years ago launched the redistricting, which involved some shuffling of attendance boundaries. Areas redistricted so far are the east side, Northside and most of the west side.
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