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Parents and staff urge board to keep school social workers as CPS approves eight‑position cut
Summary
After more than a dozen public speakers urged keeping or restoring school social workers, the Cincinnati board voted to approve an eight‑position reduction to the district’s social‑work staffing; board members and public speakers framed the choice as a painful but necessary budget tradeoff under state funding pressure.
The Cincinnati Public Schools board voted on June 23 to approve the elimination of eight school social work positions as part of a broader cost‑reduction plan, despite extensive public comment from social workers, parents and community members who said cutting the roles would harm students.
The nut graf: Dozens of public commenters and several district social workers told the board that social workers provide crisis intervention, suicide screenings, home visits and continuing grief support — services that commenters and staff said cannot be absorbed by other staff without increasing risk to students.
Public speakers included current CPS social workers and parents. Ali Rizvi, who cited local child‑gun‑violence and suicide data, told the board social workers "save lives" and linked mental‑health support to attendance and graduation. Sandy Hartman, a school social worker at Hartwell, asked how core functions — threat and suicide assessments, restorative practices, home visits and chronic‑absence follow‑up — would be provided if positions were cut. Victoria Oakley, West High social worker, described repeated crisis responses where ongoing processing was needed days after a critical incident and said social workers “handle the aftermath.” Parents and community members also described concerns about immigrant students and gaps in multilingual support.
The board discussion recognized the emotional and practical stakes. Some board members voiced regret but supported the reduction as part of a larger package the board said was necessary because of state budget uncertainty and projected revenue losses. The motion to approve the reduction passed by a 4–3 vote: Craig, Crossett, Lindy and Bolton voted yes; Mapp, Weinberg and Moffitt voted no. Treasurer Wagner and other staff said the cuts were necessary to close a multi‑million dollar shortfall while preserving the district’s ability to meet payroll and other obligations.
Ending: The district said it will work with lead social‑work managers and school teams to reallocate remaining staff based on need and present updated staffing plans; the board asked administration to report on how core social‑work responsibilities will be distributed to avoid service gaps.
Votes: The board recorded the vote on the social‑worker reductions (approved, 4–3).
