A lot of these changes make sense, except I would prioritize moving Columbus Alternative High School into a different building. Either Linden-McKinley (which was prioritized for a lavish renovation under former superintendent Gene Harris despite cratering attendance and neighborhood demographics) or North High would be better options for CAHS than their proposed uses as middle schools

CAHS needed to be replaced when my daughter was a student 10 years ago and I thought North would've been a good location. My understanding is that Dominion is overcrowded and the move to North places it closer to the center of it's enrollment area. Moving CAHS to North was the plan if Dominion didn't relocate.

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181015/new-columbus-school-closing-plan-would-spare-marion-franklin-linden-mckinley

 

After getting feedback in a series of public meetings, Columbus City Schools has a new school-closing plan that does not include closing Marion-Franklin High School or Linden-McKinley High School.  Here is the new plan:

• Convert South High School into a middle school and keep Marion-Franklin open as a high school.
• Co-locate Buckeye Middle School (grades six through eight) in Marion-Franklin, having two separate schools with unique administrations on the same site.
• Convert Linden-McKinley, which currently includes grades seven through 12, into a separate middle school and high school within the same building, keeping the school open. The middle school would include grades six through eight and have its own principal and staff.
• Convert South High School, also grades seven through 12, into separate schools for middle- and high-school students within the same building. The middle school would include grades six through eight.
• Close Seibert Elementary, on the South Side regardless of what reconfiguration of other South Side schools is chosen.

^ Hey, you know all those school closing recommendations that a task force worked six months on?  Well, forget about them.  The school board just over-ruled them, again.  So no schools will be closed:

 

Columbus school board again votes against closing any schools

 

After a citizens’ task force worked six months on a plan to close under-enrolled schools, the Columbus Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday evening to ignore the group’s recommendations to close Linden-McKinley High School and shutter four other buildings.  It marks the second time in just over two years that the board has simply ignored key recommendations from a task force that it appointed to study how to better use its aging buildings.

 

Under intense pressure from parents, students, teachers and neighborhood backers, the board instead offered up a surprise resolution accepting some minimal boundary changes to a few schools, closing some administrative sites, and studying such things as selling a North Side bus compound and finding a better facility for its academic flagship Columbus Alternative High School.

 

MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181107/columbus-school-board-again-votes-against-closing-any-schools

 

In the wake of the school board's non-decision about the closing and/or relocating of existing school buildings, they heard community input on its former North High School at 100 E. Arcadia Avenue in the University District, which closed as a full high school almost four decades ago and is now being used as the Columbus North International School.

 

Two groups are fighting over the old North High building for their programs:  Supporters of Columbus Alternative High School in North Linden, the district’s premier lottery high school, and those representing the overcrowded Dominion Middle School, 330 Dominion Boulevard in Clintonville.

 

The facility task force recommendation (that the School Board ignored) was that Columbus North International would move out of the former North High building and into the former Brookhaven High School to co-locate with the current Columbus Global Academy.  The task force then recommended that Dominion Middle School would move into the former North High building.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181120/ragland-named-to-columbus-school-board-as-two-groups-vie-for-old-north-high

The Columbus Schools' Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy won a 2019 award from the Columbus chapter of the AIA.  DesignGroup won in the “large project” category for the $13.7 million, 66,000 square foot building at 3940 Karl Road on the city's North Side.  The new school was constructed using tilt-up concrete panels commonly used in new warehouse construction around Central Ohio.  This design approach reduced construction time and cost - but also was handled with a more creative style to be appropriate for its school function.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/business/20191107/architecture-awards-include-two-central-ohio-libraries-franklinton-apartments

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/11/07/slideshow-here-are-the-best-designed-buildings-in.html

 

Below are some photos of the Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy building.  More photos are available at https://designgroup.us.com/work/education/columbus-spanish-immersion-academy

 

 

 

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200107/5-vacant-columbus-school-buildings-to-be-sold

 

The Columbus Board of Education has agreed to sell five vacant school buildings, which include two buildings that historic preservationists hope will continue on in other uses:

• Beck Elementary School at 387 E. Beck Street is the most valuable of the group, appraised at $1.67 million in January 2019 by the Franklin County auditor’s office.  The 136-year-old building in the Schumacher Place neighborhood, near German Village, closed in 2017.  Since its closure, Columbus Landmarks has touted its importance by placing it on its “most endangered sites” list in 2018 and 2019.

• Starling Middle School, built in 1910 at 120 S. Central Avenue in Franklinton is the other building with hopes for renovation uses.  It closed in 2013 and was appraised in March 2019 for $1.23 million.  It is located in West Franklinton, away from rapidly redeveloping East Franklinton, but near I-70 and across the street from the new Starling Middle School property.

• Clearbrook Middle School was built in 1957 at 31 N. 17th Street in Olde Towne East.  This single-story structure is located about three blocks east of downtown and one block north of East Broad Street.  It closed in 2013 but has since been used for operations training and storage.  It was appraised in May 2018 for $1.05 million.

• Douglas Alternative Elementary School was built in 1974 in 51 S. Douglass Street in Old Towne East.  This single-story structure is located about three blocks east of downtown and one block south of East Broad Street.  It was closed in 2013 and appraised in May 2019 for $1.55 million.  Both of these Olde Towne East locations could be valuable as redevelopment sites.

• Stockbridge Elementary School was built in 1960 at 3359 S. Champion Avenue on the South Side.  This single-story structure was closed in 2006 and appraised in January 2019 for $340,000.

By Ohio law, these unused public school buildings must first be offered to charter schools at the appraised market value before it can be sold.  But given the high appraised values of the four centrally located schools, its unlikely any charter school will make an offer.

On 1/12/2020 at 3:33 PM, Columbo said:

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200107/5-vacant-columbus-school-buildings-to-be-sold

 

The Columbus Board of Education has agreed to sell five vacant school buildings, which include two buildings that historic preservationists hope will continue on in other uses:

• Beck Elementary School at 387 E. Beck Street is the most valuable of the group, appraised at $1.67 million in January 2019 by the Franklin County auditor’s office.  The 136-year-old building in the Schumacher Place neighborhood, near German Village, closed in 2017.  Since its closure, Columbus Landmarks has touted its importance by placing it on its “most endangered sites” list in 2018 and 2019.

• Starling Middle School, built in 1910 at 120 S. Central Avenue in Franklinton is the other building with hopes for renovation uses.  It closed in 2013 and was appraised in March 2019 for $1.23 million.  It is located in West Franklinton, away from rapidly redeveloping East Franklinton, but near I-70 and across the street from the new Starling Middle School property.

• Clearbrook Middle School was built in 1957 at 31 N. 17th Street in Olde Towne East.  This single-story structure is located about three blocks east of downtown and one block north of East Broad Street.  It closed in 2013 but has since been used for operations training and storage.  It was appraised in May 2018 for $1.05 million.

• Douglas Alternative Elementary School was built in 1974 in 51 S. Douglass Street in Old Towne East.  This single-story structure is located about three blocks east of downtown and one block south of East Broad Street.  It was closed in 2013 and appraised in May 2019 for $1.55 million.  Both of these Olde Towne East locations could be valuable as redevelopment sites.

• Stockbridge Elementary School was built in 1960 at 3359 S. Champion Avenue on the South Side.  This single-story structure was closed in 2006 and appraised in January 2019 for $340,000.

By Ohio law, these unused public school buildings must first be offered to charter schools at the appraised market value before it can be sold.  But given the high appraised values of the four centrally located schools, its unlikely any charter school will make an offer.

 

https://www.columbusunderground.com/city-to-buy-douglas-elementary-starling-middle-to-be-auctioned-bw1

 

CU had an update on this previous notice about Columbus City Schools putting up five properties for sale.  I've already updated the individual neighborhood threads relevant to each school property, but I wanted to complete the update with this rundown from the above-linked CU article:

 

-- Douglas Alternative Elementary School at 51 S. Douglass Street in Old Towne East -- Purchased by the City of Columbus to be the new Senior Creative Campus run by the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.  More info at https://forum.urbanohio.com/topic/255-columbus-near-east-side-king-lincoln-olde-towne-east-developments-and-news/page/11/?tab=comments#comment-976537

 

-- Stockbridge Elementary School at 3350 S. Champion Avenue on the South Side -- Purchased by the City of Columbus to expand the adjacent Stockbridge Park.  More info at https://forum.urbanohio.com/topic/14813-columbus-southside-developments-and-news/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-976471

 

-- Beck Elementary School at 387 E. Beck Street in Schumacher Place -- Acquired by the South Columbus Preparatory Academy charter school.  More info at https://forum.urbanohio.com/topic/1167-columbus-german-village-schumacher-place-developments-and-news/page/8/?tab=comments#comment-976522

 

-- Clearbrook Middle School at 31 N. 17th Street on the Near East Side -- Acquired by the United Preparatory Academy East charter school.  More info at https://forum.urbanohio.com/topic/255-columbus-near-east-side-king-lincoln-olde-towne-east-developments-and-news/page/11/?tab=comments#comment-976526

 

-- Starling Middle School at 120 S. Central Avenue in Franklinton -- Unclaimed by a charter school or the city.  Will be auctioned off by Columbus City Schools on August 27.  More info at https://forum.urbanohio.com/topic/21-columbus-franklinton-developments-and-news/page/18/?tab=comments#comment-976554

 

On 8/18/2020 at 2:38 PM, Columbo said:

-- Starling Middle School at 120 S. Central Avenue in Franklinton -- Unclaimed by a charter school or the city.  Will be auctioned off by Columbus City Schools on August 27.  More info at https://forum.urbanohio.com/topic/21-columbus-franklinton-developments-and-news/page/18/?tab=comments#comment-976554

 

Woda Cooper Development Inc., a Columbus-based affordable-housing developer and property management company, plans to purchase the former Starling Middle School in Franklinton for $1.23 million:

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/education/2020/12/16/columbus-state-housing-developer-buy-former-columbus-school-buildings/3897742001/

16 minutes ago, Columbo said:

 

Woda Cooper Development Inc., a Columbus-based affordable-housing developer and property management company, plans to purchase the former Starling Middle School in Franklinton for $1.23 million:

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/education/2020/12/16/columbus-state-housing-developer-buy-former-columbus-school-buildings/3897742001/

Hopefully they plant to renovate it. Would be a shame for it to be torn down. Seems like there is plenty of parking lot that could be filled in with additional buildings or an attached building. 

CCS Facilities Master Plans Seeks Community Input

Apr. 19, 2021 -  ColumbusUnderground - Taijuan Moorman 

 

"Columbus City Schools is asking for community input for its Facilities Master Plan. The plan is taking a regional approach to discussing the future of Columbus City Schools’ buildings and facilities. 'This is a critical moment in our District where we have an exciting opportunity to talk about what is the future of our buildings,' said Columbus Board of Education President Jennifer Adair. 'An important piece of our strategic master plan is to figure out what our actual buildings need to look like to meet our mission and vision. This is an opportunity to take inventory and discuss what our community and school buildings need.'"

 

Facilities Master Plan Committee - Regional Community Conversation