The leader of the Equity Now Coalition is reversing course after initially sending a letter this week to the Columbus City Schools' Board of Education expressing concerns about the upcoming levy and calling for the board president to step down.
The Equity Now Coalition (ENC), a group of 75 Black community leaders authored the letter. The group includes Franklin County Administrator Kenneth Wilson and former CCS board member and Columbus Urban League President and CEO Stephanie Hightower.
The letter stated the group would not endorse, but would also not explicitly oppose the levy; called for the levy to be delayed for a year; called for more transparency as to why the levy is needed; and called for Board President Jennifer Adair to step down.
The letter said the levy should be delayed "in recognition that there has not been sufficient effort made to engage the community and cited a lack of transparency by the board, in addition to persistent inflation in the U.S. economy and rising home prices. The letter said that without these changes, the group would not support the levy.
The group's chair, Jerry Saunders, told WOSU his group met with the board prior to a school board meeting held Tuesday. Despite the board not making any of these concessions, Saunders said he is now supporting the levy and encourages citizens of Columbus to vote for it.
"Our concern was trying to make sure it passed. You know, we were out in the community talking to folks and it just wasn't sounding this favorable as we would like for it to be. And so if it passes, and we hope it does, we'll be dancing in the streets," Saunders said.
Saunders insisted his group never opposed the levy and said the board's explanation of the levy during the Tuesday meeting alleviated concerns. He said his group penned the letter after hearing from community members about their concerns and lack of knowledge about the levy.
"People need to understand what's going on. When we were asking, we weren't getting the information we thought we needed. And since we talked with them, we looked at different places that there is information and we're hoping that they can communicate that more to the community within these next 20 days or so," Saunders said.
The 7.7 mill levy — called Issue 11 on this November's ballot — would generate about $99 million in annual revenue, if passed. The money would go toward operating expenses and for maintenance of the district's more than 100 school buildings.
Saunders said he now realizes CCS needs money from this levy immediately, not next year. He said more information needs to be put out to the community before early voting starts next week.
"People need to get this message and messages from the school district before then. So people can see that they are working to be as fiscally responsible as they possibly can," Saunders said.
The levy would cost $269.50 per $100,000 of current 2023 appraised property value according to Issue 11's language on the November ballot. The 2024 assessed value rate of homes will make that amount different in the new assessment year.
Saunders and the ENC received criticism for their letter Wednesday from Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, who said he was not consulted by the group about the letter. Saunders said Ginther is not a member of the group, but ENC has tried to communicate with the mayor consistently.
“The Equity Now Coalition does not speak for the City of Columbus,” Ginther said in a statement. “I support the levy because I wholeheartedly believe in (CCS) Superintendent (Angela) Chapman and her vision for students. This levy will provide critical resources to the superintendent, so she can provide the schools, our students and our teachers what they deserve.”
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners released a statement that said Wilson, who is a member of the ENC board, was not consulted about the letter and does not support ENC's actions here.
"The Board of Commissioners is an enthusiastic supporter of every school district in the county but has never taken a position on a school levy and does not intend to in this case. The commissioners are steadfast in their support for our community’s students and committed to the goals of addressing structural racism and creating more equitable systems in Central Ohio," the statement said.
The ENC is not the only group representing Columbus' Black community that has expressed concerns or outright opposition to the levy. The Columbus NAACP is opposing the levy, alongside a coalition of Black churches.
Ginther's opponent on the 2023 ballot for mayor, Joe Motil, says he also opposes the levy.
