Two separate Oct. 14 meetings will explore future of Heights High

Representatives from the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District will participate in two overlapping meetings tonight, Oct. 14.

From 6–8 p.m., the district will hold a community forum in the Cleveland Heights High School Social Room, to discuss the need for academic program changes at the high school.

A meeting of the University Heights Planning Commission is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. The primary item on that agenda is the school district’s plan to temporarily relocate the high school to the Wiley Middle School building. The meeting will be held in the Dolan Science Center auditorium at John Carroll University, at 1 John Carroll Blvd.

Superintendent Talisa Dixon is slated to provide the introductory remarks at the community forum, and Assistant Superintendent Andrea Celico will provide a brief history of the small schools at Heights High, and explain why some changes are needed. Then, Zoraba Ross, administrative principal, and Bob Swaggard, coordinator of educational services, will facilitate community discussion around three questions:

• What aspects of our current program are useful and effective, and should be considered when planning for one high school?

• What academic experiences do you think our students should have as we continue in the 21st century?

• What characteristics are important to you that you think would enhance our high school program?
  
  

Dixon is also scheduled as a presenter at the UH Planning Commission meeting, along with Steve Zannoni, project consultant; Steve Shergalis, director of business services; Jeffery Johnston, director of student services; and Bryan Loretz, coordinator of safety and security. All of the members of the CH-UH board of education are expected to be in the audience, according to Angee Shaker, the district’s director of communications and community engagement.

University Heights Mayor Susan Infeld stated in her October newsletter that the city’s planning commission “will need information about stormwater management, landscaping and fencing along the perimeter of the site, and police/safety concerns.”

The mayor has asked the school district to bear the cost of hiring additional police officers to patrol the vicinity of Wiley, citing the “up to eight” CH police officers that patrol the Heights High neighborhood on school days.

According to a post on its website, the district expects safety and security to be the main topic at the Oct. 14 UH planning commission meeting, and stated that it “cannot accept [UH’s] request to have the district purchase five new police cars and pay for the hiring of five full-time police officers. . . . The district can only spend funds for school-related purposes.” The post cites several alternatives the district has proposed to UH’s safety and security request, including partnering with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department and stationing up to 12 security monitors around the Wiley campus.

The district expects the planning commission to vote on the plans tonight, Oct. 14, and states that “any further delay of the project could create a financial hardship for the district and threaten our ability to meet the objective of providing continuous, quality education to our students.”