When Plans A and B don't go over so well, there's always Plan C. That's what Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District leaders are finding out following a contentious community meeting in which residents voiced concerns about a facilities plan that could shutter up to six elementary schools.

The meeting, held March 1 and organized by FutureHeights and the Sustainable Heights Network, brought out a crowd of over 100 people. Since then, the school district has announced that it is postponing a final meeting scheduled for March 21 and will be holding meetings in all seven elementary schools. School leaders say that they want to garner additional community input before moving forward.

The facilities plan was spurred in part by an April 2010 report from the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC). The report determined that the CH-UH district has declining enrollment and excess building capacity. To address this inefficiency and win state support for improvements, the OSFC said it was necessary for the district to complete a facilities plan and raise matching funds. The district has planned to put a bond issue before voters in November.

Yet Deanna Bremer-Fisher, Executive Director of FutureHeights, says that the district's plan was too drastic and did not include enough community involvement. "Don't sell the public on a plan; get their input first," she says. "Our schools are the anchors of our community. The plan should take into account the need to close buildings, but we should also keep a sense of neighborhood schools."

Bremer-Fisher points to Lakewood as a model of community involvement. The Lakewood School District organized meetings in 14 different school buildings and came up with a list of values with the aid of community members. Residents identified neighborhood schools and "no busing" as non-negotiable items. They also identified teaching and learning priorities. Lakewood has subsequently reduced its total number of school buildings from fourteen to nine.

Bremer-Fisher adds that the issues facing the CH-UH Schools are similar to those affecting many inner suburban districts with declining enrollment and excess capacity. She points out that the community has expressed significant support for the schools -- a recent school levy passed on the first attempt -- and that Superintendent Douglas Heuer is moving the needle on student achievement.

"People recognize that you can't have a strong community without strong public schools -- regardless of whether or not you send your kids there," she says.

Source: Deanna Bremer-Fisher
Writer: Lee Chilcote