Dear Editor:

Make it make sense. In a stressful time when school districts struggle to meet budgetary needs, while consistently losing funds from Ohio and federal government funding, Ohio lawmakers propose extending the academic school year without an increase in funding.

Lawmakers will say it is to catch up on student performance losses due to Covid. However, if there is true concern, why dismantle crucial services designed to meet the educational needs for students with disabilities? Do they really care? Make it make sense?

Once again, Southwest Ohio school districts face challenges in providing services, teachers, counselors and staff due to inadequate government funding. Administrators and school community stakeholders must make budget cuts as academic demands on students increase, despite shrinking budgets.

Lawmakers say dismantle the Department of Education along with crucial federal funding. This is not the solution. Certainly, all children in all states and territories should have access to [high]quality education. However, these efforts could result in differences in educational quality between states. Make it make sense.

State and federal tax dollars should be allocated to provide all children with quality educational experiences. It’s hard to believe that these same lawmakers care when they support requiring public school students to register for the armed services, but do not require the same for students attending private schools. Say it with me, “Make it make sense.”

Please engage with your local government representatives. Advocate for our youth by holding government officials accountable. It’s time for a local town hall meeting to address lawmakers on how they can better support our schools. We demand that our children be given priority. Let’s hold their feet to the fire.

Charlene Cleveland
A former teacher and principal

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By Roy Betts, UNCF Communications

     HBCUs have long been pillars of educational excellence and economic engines, driving prosperity in their communities and across the nation. Despite these contributions, chronic underfunding threatens their ability to sustain this impact. Transforming Futures: The Economic Engines of HBCUs, underscores the urgent need for equitable and sustainable funding to ensure HBCUs can continue their vital role in promoting social mobility and economic growth and calls on the public to advocate for these essential institutions.

     “As UNCF observes its 80th anniversary, one of the highlights of our yearlong celebration is the release of the sequel to our groundbreaking 2017 report. This report reaffirms what we have always known about the resilience of HBCUs: despite a deadly pandemic, social unrest caused by the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the economic uncertainties of the past seven years, HBCUs continue to do more with less—not only in preparing the next generation of leaders but also in contributing to our nation’s economic impact,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO, UNCF.

     “At this critical moment, with a crucial election on the horizon, we all must immediately actualize our commitment to these cornerstone institutions.”

    Key findings in the 2024 HBCU Economic Impact Report include:

• HBCUs generate $16.5 billion in direct economic impact nationally.
• If they were a company, the nation’s HBCUs would place in the top 50 of the nation’s Fortune500 companies in job creation.
• Collectively, 136,048 jobs exist because of HBCUs.
• On average, for each job created on campus, 1.5 off-campus jobs exist because of spending related to the institution.
• HBCUs are far more accessible to students and more successful at moving students from the bottom 40% of a country’s income distribution to the top 60%, signaling social mobility.
• The 51,269 HBCU graduates in the class of 2021 can expect work-life earnings of $146 billion, 57% ($53 billion) more than the $93 billion they could expect without their degrees or certificates.

    The 2024 HBCU Economic Impact Report is a continuation of the landmark 2017 study, HBCUs Make America Strong: The Positive Economic Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which showed that HBCUs’ economic benefits extend beyond the students they educate. In addition to the comprehensive report, a website has been launched where users can explore state-specific data and insights for individual HCBUs. This resource allows users to explore the localized impact, emphasizing the critical role HBCUs play in communities across the nation.

     “Transforming Futures: The Economic Engines of HBCUs represents the latest chapter in a longitudinal research initiative by UNCF’s Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute.

     By leveraging robust methodology and extensive data, we highlight how HBCUs continue to be critical drivers of economic growth and social mobility,” said Dr. Nadrea R. Njoku, assistant vice president, of Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute, UNCF.

“This report not only underscores the substantial economic benefits generated by HBCUs but also contextualizes the broader challenges they have faced over the past three years, including the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the threats of violence that have been levied against many of these institutions.”

    “Now more than ever, we must recognize the indispensable role HBCUs play in shaping not just the future of their students but the future of our nation. This report is not just a call to awareness but a call to action,” said Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president, of public policy and government affairs, at UNCF. “As we move forward, it is imperative that we leverage this data to galvanize our communities and demand the necessary support from our policymakers by voting for HBCUs. We urge every supporter to make their voices heard, to advocate for the equitable funding our HBCUs deserve, and to ensure that these institutions can continue to thrive and contribute to America’s future.”

    To view the brief and full report for Transforming Futures: The Economic Engines of HBCUs, visit: UNCF.org/HBCUImpactReport.

For more information on how to actualize a commitment and be a voice for HBCUs, visit: UNCF.org/EquityPledge.

Feature Image: Photo courtesy United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

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By: Chloe Franklin , Taylor Weiter

CINCINNATI — The Purple People Bridge is closed after sandstone fell from a pier on the Cincinnati side of the bridge Sunday afternoon.

An official said someone called 911 after they “heard or saw a piece of the bridge pier — either concrete or sandstone — fall.” No one was injured and the bridge was closed “out of an abundance of caution.”

The Purple People Bridge Company said in a statement that an engineering firm was inspecting the bridge Monday to determine the scope and cost of repairs. The firm inspecting the bridge is the same firm that inspected it in 2021, when a stone fell from an adjacent pier.

“We are keenly aware that the bridge is especially popular this time of year with people using it for daily transportation to and from work, events, walking, running and biking,” the company said. “We are working diligently to open the bridge as soon as possible, and safety is our top priority.”

There is a chance the bridge could be partially reopened amid repairs, the company said.

The president of the bridge said funding from cities or the community is needed to keep the bridge open to the public for free.

Reposted with permission from WCPO 9 Cincinnati.

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By: WCPO staff

CINCINNATI — Voters in Hamilton County have passed Issue 20, a ballot measure renewing and expanding the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library tax levy.

The library’s board of trustees voted unanimously in July to ask taxpayers for a larger levy this election. The levy will cost county taxpayers $18 more per year for each $100,000 in assessed property value, meaning taxpayers would pay $43 total per year.

The levy is separate from the one voters approved in 2018, which was largely for capital improvements for the library’s branches. It will be for operations and addressing the library’s changing landscape.

Board member Colleen Reynolds previously noted the money will help with the library’s e-book expenses. While the library’s digital collection is more popular than ever, the cost of e-books and audiobooks is much higher than paperback.

For the library system to get their e-book wait time to match the print book wait times, it would cost the library an additional $2 million per year, said Paula Brehm-Heeger, CHPL director.

Money will also go to increased public safety initiatives at the branches, Reynolds said.

The library gets much of its funding from the state’s Public Library Fund, though that amount fluctuates and is not a given, Reynolds said. She said the staggered levies — and the fact the CHPL is the only major library system in the state that carries no debt — will hopefully help maintain financial stability.

Reposted with permission from WCPO 9 Cincinnati.

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By: Molly Schramm

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati residents have voted to reject Issue 24, which would have increased earned income tax to benefit affordable housing.

Issue 24 specifically asked voters whether or not they would like to amend the city charter to raise earned income tax from 1.8% to 2.1%, which is where it was prior to its reduction in 2019 as part of Hamilton County’s transit and infrastructure levy.

The charter amendment was proposed by Cincinnati Action For Housing Now, which is made up of multiple groups, including Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, the ACLU of Ohio and more.

The increase would have generated between $40 million and $50 million in funds that would help finance affordable housing.

This extra funding would have been used to build new affordable housing, maintenance for current affordable housing units as well as funding toward services that help those in affordable housing.

Ballot language specified that 65% of spending must be allocated to those making at or below 30% average median income (AMI), and up to 30% of funding would be put toward housing for those making 50% AMI. It also says that the funding could be used for financial assistance to existing homeowners whose income is up to 80% AMI.

According to the Cincinnati Action for Housing Now, this funding will allow a two-bedroom apartment to cost no more than $1,075 per month, and most will cost $645 per month or less.

Those in support of Issue 24 included the ACLU of Ohio and Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. Those in opposition included the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the Hamilton County Democratic Party and the Hamilton County Republican Party.

Reposted with permission from WCPO 9 Cincinnati.

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By: Molly Schramm , Anna Azallion

Crews began demolition of the former Lincoln Heights High School last week.

The site of the school has been sitting vacant for years. The property and the adjacent abandoned Lincoln Heights Elementary School are the two largest developments in the Village of Lincoln Heights.

The demolition was made possible by funding from the Ohio Department of Development’s Building Demolition and Site Revitalization program. Funding was applied for by the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority in partnership with the village, and the Port is overseeing the demolition.

Other than that funding, the village also received additional money from Hamilton County to put toward the high school’s demolition. In 2022, Hamilton County gave close to $1 million to Lincoln Heights, and village officials planned to use the money for three different projects, including $175,000 toward the demolition and remediation of the high school.

The village is also using that funding from Hamilton County for road repairs and improvements to Memorial Field for community use.

“Lincoln Heights has not gotten their fair share of resources and we’re making sure that Lincoln Heights and other small cities and villages around Hamilton County are no longer overlooked,” said Alicia Reece previously when she was the then-Hamilton County Commission Vice President.

The long-abandoned high school was cleaned of asbestos and other hazardous materials before it was demolished.

Prior to demolition, there were multiple speakers from the Port, the village, Hamilton County and more. One was Donald Darby, who graduated from Lincoln Heights High School.

“It was a gathering place, not only for the students that attended there but also for the community,” he said.

And what stood out most to Darby was the staff.

“The kids coming here, myself included, had lots of needs, really a lot of needs, but the staff was such that they took care of those needs,” he said. “I knew probably after my 10th grade year that I wanted to go into education.”

He ended up teaching Lincoln Heights students after the school merged with Princeton. Among the list of his former students, is the current mayor of Lincoln Heights.

According to the village’s website, the site will be used for “mixed uses and enhanced recreation facilities for these parcels to compliment the refurbished Memorial Field.”

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