CPS staff outline possible MOU to absorb Xavier University Montessori Lab School; enrollment, staffing and logistics cited as key issues

Cincinnati Public Schools administrators told the board Jan. 8 that Xavier University Montessori Lab School has asked to join the district rather than continue as a charter or lease district property. Superintendent Shawna Murphy and General Counsel Dan Hoing described early talks and said administrators have begun drafting a memorandum of understanding to define how a transfer could work.

Murphy said Xavier approached the district with three options — to become a charter, to lease district property, or to become part of Cincinnati Public Schools — and that during recent discussions the school signaled a preference to join CPS. Murphy said administrators “met with them and they said, you know what? We don't want to become a charter school. We do not want to lease from you. We would like to become a part of CPS.” Dan Hoing, general counsel, outlined potential benefits and complications for the district, saying the proposal could provide a successful K–8 Montessori program and an in-house teacher-education component that could help credential and train Montessori teachers.

Trustees asked clarifying questions about scale and timing. Administrators reported the school’s current enrollment would likely fall between about 160 and 190 students across kindergarten through eighth grade, and that Xavier’s lab school is closing at the end of the 2024–25 school year and is seeking an earlier landing inside the district. Murphy and Hoing said multiple implementation details remain unsettled: whether all students would enroll as CPS students or whether non-CPS families would continue to attend, how Xavier staff would be hired or prioritized under Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) agreements, transportation and facility siting, and the financial model (Xavier’s recent two-year operating budget was requested and will be shared with trustees).

Board members expressed interest in the concept and asked administrators to circulate the written proposal and the draft memorandum of understanding. Mister Craig and others emphasized opportunities to use a lab-school model to build district capacity for Montessori credentialing and professional development; one trustee suggested Bramble as a potential site. Administrators said they have precedent for folding an independent school into the district (the Lighthouse School) and that that experience is informing the initial MOU draft. Several trustees requested that staff continue discussions with Xavier and with CFT, and return to the board with the full proposal, the draft MOU and cost information for review before any formal decision.

No formal vote was taken on the Xavier proposal during the meeting; trustees were asked for general support to continue negotiations and to receive the materials for future consideration.