John J. Gilligan Answers Questions

Candidate for
Board Member; Cincinnati City School District

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Hamilton County and asked of all candidates for this office.

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

1. What can Cincinnati Public Schools do to restore the public's confidence in their ability to educate the district students so parents will send and keep their children there?

"A persistent campaign will be required in the Cincinnati Public Schools. I don't think the job can be done by further budget cuts to demonstrate frugality and responsibility.

We have to consider all the other extremely powerful educational influences, other than schools, which are shaping the lives and attitudes of these young people, and what can be done to modify their influence."

2. What effect(s) will the community (charter) schools have in the Cincinnati Public Schools?

It depends on how these schools are chartered, how they are supervised, and to whom they are accountable. If they receive public funding they should be accountable to some public authority. If they are to serve as complements, and useful additions, to the public schools it seems clear that they should operate under the authority of the Cincinnati Board of Education. If they are to be authorized and supervised by some state office, it would seem to be extremely difficult to be sure that they are partmers, not competitors, with the public school system in order to foster competition, the end result could be a disaster for the public schools and for all the children of the Cincinnati school district.

3. Evaluate the adequacy of support services for special needs students in Cincinnati Public Schools?

I have no detailed knowldege of the current situation, but generally speaking such services are quite expensive, and when efforts are being made to reduce expenditures across the board by the school district, it would seem to be exceedingly difficult to fund adequately both the regular school program, and special programs such as those designed to meet the needs of these special students. One group or the other is almost certain to be short-changed.