MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio — Concerned parents, staff and community members gathered at St. Mark A.M.E. Zion Church in Mt. Healthy on Tuesday to discuss their lack of confidence and worries within the Mt. Healthy City School District (MHCSD).
We asked Mt. Healthy Schools parent Keyone Allen if she had any trust or confidence in MHCSD. She replied with a simple, "No."
That is the mindset of many in the community.
"I found the problem, and the problem led to the current superintendent and the current board," said Angelo Brice, a local Mt. Healthy reverend and organizer of Tuesday night’s meeting.
One of the first problems, he said, was the district letting go of 80 staff members, most of whom were teachers, back in March.
“In addition to those 60 to 80 people that were fired and laid off and told to get jobs elsewhere, are those that just left,” Brice said. “There were almost 100 people that resigned.”
The district claims Brice's numbers are not accurate.
"While initial notices were sent to approximately 80 staff members, many of these individuals were subsequently recalled. In total, about 100 staff members have left the district," according to a district statement emailed to WCPO on Thursday.
A few months later, a state audit looking into MHCSD was released, showing they were on the path to a $90 million deficit by 2028.
A former employee and alum of MHCSD who wished to stay anonymous due to fear of retaliation told us they were shocked to hear of the financial distress the district was facing.
"How did it happen so quickly that it actually affected students, staff, administrators? That people were concerned about getting paid their salaries, students receiving the resources that they needed to be successful, and from a community member standpoint and alum, I was disheartened and hurt," they said.
They added that the fact that dedicated and invested staff, in the district for many years, jobs were in jeopardy because of financial incompetence saddened them.
With these two major issues and others looming over the district — such as a lack of space in schools, minimal trust from the community and a $11 million loan to pay back to the state — community members are worried come the first day of school.
"I have no doubt that these students are going to have a problem," Brice said. "It's either you're going to have an over-capacitated classroom or you're going to be teaching from home virtually because you don't have enough teachers."
At Tuesday’s meeting, the goal was to allow the public to voice their concerns and get some questions answered.
"I hope that we all come up with a plan that's going to be beneficial for the children, not just mine, for all of the children in our community. And we have to think first for them. I want their education to be good," Allen said.
Brice said any questions he could not answer on Tuesday night he would take straight to the board. But he also has his own ideas on how to solve the district's issues.
"They (MHCSD board and superintendent) had everything they needed to do a sufficient job," he said. "They failed to make an improvement. Is not to give them a second chance."
When asked if he wanted a new administration or a new board, he said, “Yes.”
