Art Academy of Cincinnati urges immediate funding after daytime shooting near dorms

Sarah Stoler, academic dean at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, told Cincinnati City Council on Sept. 10 that a violent altercation involving guns broke out in front of the school on Sept. 8, endangering students and prompting renewed calls for emergency city support. “Our dorms, home to more than 80 students, most living away from home for the first time, are just steps away from where this occurred,” Stoler said, calling for camera and lighting upgrades, access-control improvements, more contracted security guards, student-ambassador safety programs and a proposed pedestrian-only street closure plan.

Why it matters: The Art Academy occupies a central place in Over-the-Rhine (OTR) as a cultural and economic anchor, speakers said, and campus safety incidents have immediate effects on students’ well-being and the neighborhood’s stability. The academy asked council to consider an emergency ordinance to allocate funds from the city’s unappropriated general-fund surplus to accelerate capital and security work.

School officials and student speakers described the Sept. 8 incident as occurring in the middle of the day when students were gathered in common areas. “We responded quickly in coordination with CPD, contained the situation, and provided immediate counseling support,” said Joe Girondola, director of student affairs at the Art Academy, who also read testimony from the campus counselor. Girondola said students reported panic, fear that bullets could penetrate windows and concerns that a single security guard was insufficient to protect dorm residents.

Resident advisor Sofia Fritz said contracted guards who could escort students between the school and nearby dorms would reduce fear and help restore normal campus life. “Gang violence should not be something that students need to be worried about happening in front of their school building and in front of their homes,” Fritz said.

Marcy Frazier, speaking for the academy later in the public comment period, urged council to consider immediate financial support and proposed using the unappropriated surplus to enact an emergency ordinance “as soon as next week” to protect students and preserve the academy’s role in OTR.

Discussion and context: Speakers emphasized that the academy has previously requested support, that representatives have walked council members through campus needs, and that the school’s presence contributes to neighborhood safety and economic activity. The academy asked for both operational safety measures (security personnel, ambassadors) and capital improvements (cameras, lighting, access control). No specific dollar figure was put forward at the Sept. 10 meeting beyond the request for an emergency appropriation from the unappropriated surplus.

Council action: The Sept. 10 meeting transcript records the academy’s appeals during public comment, but contains no council vote or ordinance adoption specifically allocating funds to the Art Academy. Council later discussed multiple budget and emergency ordinances in the meeting, but no action tying funds directly to the Art Academy was recorded in the public-comment section or the subsequent agenda items that were passed on Sept. 10.

Next steps: Academy leaders asked the mayor and council to act quickly and offered to provide clarified language and documentation for a request. They asked council staff to consider an emergency ordinance from the unappropriated surplus; whether council will add that item to a future agenda or appropriate funds was not decided during the Sept. 10 session.

Ending: Academy officials said preserving student safety is urgent and that funding now could prevent further harm to students and the neighborhood’s creative infrastructure. They asked council members to treat the request as both a safety and an economic-stability measure for OTR.