District outlines June summer-school plan, aims to use carryover Title funds and Fund 11; board raises questions on attendance, costs and job-linked credentials

Cincinnati Public Schools presented a draft plan for summer school that would run 19 instructional days from June 2 through June 27 and prioritize K–8 remediation and high‑school credit recovery.

Curriculum Director Emily Campbell and HR Director Julia Delacio joined Superintendent Brintonette Murphy to outline the proposal. The district proposes a consistent daily schedule that would start with teacher prep, run student hours roughly 8 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., and include an elementary schedule with math, ELA and an enrichment block. High‑school students would be offered teacher‑led credit recovery, credentialing opportunities and volunteer or work‑based experiences.

Funding and capacity: administration said the district expects to use carryover Title I funds and a district-held Fund 11 allocation to pay staff, materials and transportation. The presenters said those carryover Title I funds are available for summer programming and estimated roughly 260 teachers could staff the program; projections put capacity at roughly 6,000–7,000 students depending on configuration. The administration said approximately half a million dollars had been allocated for transportation but did not supply a complete, line‑item budget at the meeting.

Attendance and design concerns: board members raised concerns about past summer‑school attendance patterns and the program’s return on investment. Board Member Weinberg said she wanted detail on total cost, transportation, staff pay and attendance strategies. Board Member Craig and others urged the administration to make summer school attractive to families (through enrichment and career‑oriented offerings) and to target students with greatest academic need.

Partnerships and credentialing: several board members suggested partnering with the City of Cincinnati, the AFL‑CIO and the district’s Business Advisory Council to create paid or paid‑for job training, apprenticeships or certification pathways during summer school. Vice President Bolton noted in‑house opportunities for Montessori teacher training linked to other district initiatives and suggested career cafes and job‑shadowing as possible enhancements.

Next steps: the district said the presentation was an initial design and that staff would return with a detailed budget and finalized site list. Administration said recruitment and registration would start in spring, that principals and counselors would identify priority students from benchmark and credit data, and that staff would provide professional development before June.

What the board asked for: a line‑item budget, clearer attendance strategies, a plan to measure student learning gains (for example fall‑to‑fall benchmark improvement and credit attainment at the high‑school level), and specific partnership proposals for paid work experiences or credentialing. Several members suggested exploring after‑school alternatives that reduce transportation costs and increase family participation.

What’s next: administration committed to returning a detailed budget and site list, plus clearer metrics for measuring learning gains, to the board for review.