Board clears first wave of budget actions; public speakers urge protecting school social workers and paraprofessionals

Cincinnati school leaders presented a multi-part budget package June 2 and the board approved initial steps that administration said are needed to close a fiscal gap. The meeting drew sustained public comment pleading for preservation of school social workers and paraprofessionals.

Administration presentation: Treasurer Brayden Wagner and Superintendent Murphy led a review of district contracts and staffing proposals. Wagner said the district reviewed roughly 1,044 vendor contracts issued in fiscal 2025 and focused the current balancing effort on general-fund contracts, which totaled roughly $93 million in fiscal 2025. Administration recommended lowering the general‑fund contract level to about $77.6 million for fiscal 2026—about $15 million in reductions—and flagged another $6.9 million in recommendations tied to contracts split between general and grant funds.

"All 1,044 contracts went through this process," administration said during the presentation. Officials said some cuts are deep and that many contracts are still pending because federal grant allocations have not been finalized.

Transportation and phase 2 growth: Chief Operations Officer Burkhart briefed the board on a separate, but related, cost item: student transportation. He said the district spends an average of about $3,085 per student per year on yellow‑bus transport; by contrast, a Metro transit pass costs about $364 plus the cost of printing the pass. Burkhart said moving seventh through twelfth graders to Metro service could…