Saturday, March 04, 2000
Four-year districting battle over
Students might go to Anderson
BY ROBERT ANGLEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Students in a small pocket of Anderson Township who have attended Cincinnati Public Schools may soon be able to attend classes in Forest Hills School District with most of their counterparts.
After four years of legal battles, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed an appeal that would have blocked efforts by residents to be redistricted into Forest Hills, where the bulk of Anderson Township students attend classes.
“We are ecstatic,” said Mary Anne Christie, one of about 125 homeowners who will no longer be part of the Cincinnati School District. “The children can now feel like they are much more part of the community. We were really out in the boondocks to be considered as part of the (Cincinnati) school district.”
The state's high court declined Wednesday to hear arguments by the Ohio Department of Education and the Cincinnati School District against a lower court decision to allow the transfer of students.
“We are very pleased by the decision. We are hoping and believe the battle is finally over,” said lawyer Paul Calico of Strauss & Troy, who represented the homeowners. “This was the only area in Anderson
Township that was not in the Forest Hills School District.”
While the ruling affects students from kindergarten to high school who live in an area bordered by Sutton Place, Four Mile Road and Kellogg Avenue, Mr. Calico said the biggest impact is on about 20 middle and high schoolers who now attend Cincinnati schools.
He said transfers won't occur right away and will have to be approved by the state board and the Forest Hills School District.
State and Cincinnati school officials could not be reached for comment Friday.
In 1996, homeowners asked the Ohio Board of Education for the district change. Despite an independent hearing officer's recommendation, the board voted against the homeowners, who sued and lost in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
But the state appeals court rejected that decision in 1998 and sided with the homeowners, saying that instead of giving primary consideration to the interest of students, the lower court considered them last.
The court also dismissed arguments by the school district that the transfer would affect the racial mix of the Cincinnati school district and cause significant financial damages because of lost taxes.
Mr. Calico said homeowners did not ask that all property assigned to the Cincinnati school district in Anderson Township be transferred. He said the district will still benefit from taxes collected at River Bend, Coney Island, River Downs and the Washington Marina.
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