2021 – Ohio’s Fair School Funding Plan, designed to calculate the true base cost of educating a child and phase in equitable funding through 2027, remains incomplete, leaving districts like Columbus facing a projected $2 billion state‑funding gap that drives later budget cuts[11].

Dec 2, 2025 – The Columbus City Schools board prepares to vote on a $50 million reduction; Superintendent Angela Chapman recommends cutting K‑8 transportation, consolidating schools, and eliminating nearly 450 staff positions, while parents warn the plan could harm special‑education services and force early retirements of senior teachers[13].

Dec 3, 2025 – The board votes to close four schools (Duxberry Park Arts Impact Elementary, Fairwood Alternative Elementary, Como Elementary, and the former Everett Middle School) to save $50 million, tasks Chapman with cutting $25.9 million in staffing and identifying up to 60 administrative positions for elimination, and sparks parent concerns about future closures[10].

Dec 3, 2025 – The board formally approves $50 million in cuts, citing the $2 billion state funding shortfall and the incomplete Fair School Funding Plan, ends bus service for many K‑8 students attending non‑neighboring or 100 % lottery schools, and notes the state budget adds $700 million to public‑school funding but does not address the local gap[11].

Dec 3, 2025 – The board adopts a detailed cut package: eliminates $8.7 million in K‑8 transportation, reduces $15 million in administrator and non‑personnel positions, tasks the superintendent to finalize staff eliminations by end‑January, and creates a mass‑transit work group that must report recommendations by Jan 2027[12].

Dec 8, 2025 – Superintendent Chapman explains the district will first pursue retirements and resignations before applying reduction‑in‑force rules, confirms the four school closures announced earlier, and states the board has no levy planned, aiming to contain expenses within district control[9].

Dec 16, 2025 – The board unanimously votes to demolish four buildings (Broadleigh Elementary, Buckeye Middle, Moler Elementary, and the McGuffey Facility), planning to start with Broadleigh and Moler next school year and delay Buckeye and McGuffey until program relocations are complete, to prevent neighborhood blight[7].

Dec 17, 2025 – The board rescinds the censure of member Brandon Simmons, who apologizes for his role in a leaked “Taking Control of the Task Force Narrative” document, while noting the district’s recent school closures and emphasizing his commitment to serve 47,000 students[8].

Dec 31, 2025 – The board releases a mixed evaluation of Superintendent Chapman, praising community relationship building but criticizing her inability to articulate a district vision and noting millions of grant dollars remain unspent, prompting a recommendation she collaborate with other superintendents[6].

Jan 7, 2026 (12:04 a.m.) – Chapman tells the board that staffing cuts will be on the agenda at the next meeting, describes the discussion as a “heavy conversation,” promises advance notice to affected employees, and outlines a phased transition through the spring, prioritizing natural attrition before involuntary cuts[4].

Jan 7, 2026 (4:09 a.m.) – New board members Patrick Katzenmeyer, Jermaine Kennedy, and Antoinette Miranda are sworn in; Miranda, elected president, demands a strategic plan with five‑, ten‑ and fifteen‑year goals, calls the plan “ambitious and measurable,” and stresses that “some necessary decisions may be unpopular or uncomfortable”[5].

Jan 7, 2026 (11:12 p.m.) – Columbus City Schools announce a K‑8 transportation overhaul for the 2026‑27 school year, eliminating bus service for students attending non‑100 % lottery schools except those needing specialized services; Chapman frames the change as a trade‑off to protect classroom staff and programs, while parents and a Stewart Elementary teacher warn it will disrupt most of the school’s 300‑plus students[3].

Feb 2, 2026 – The South‑Western City Schools board grants Superintendent Randy Banks emergency authority to keep schools operating if the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 211 proceeds with its Feb 9 strike, allowing unlimited spending discretion for hiring temporary staff and adjusting schedules[2].

Feb 3, 2026 – OAPSE Local 211 criticizes the emergency‑powers resolution, calling the “essentially unlimited discretion” to spend money a “troubling contradiction” given the district’s claim of budget constraints, and argues that replacing classified workers would cost more than offering higher wages[2].

Feb 4, 2026 – The Columbus City Schools board unanimously cuts 62 administrative roles, saving just over $7 million and exceeding its $6.6 million target, freezes salaries for non‑school‑based administrators, and Board President Antoinette Miranda emphasizes that the priority is to protect “people, programs and learning environments” in classrooms[1].

Feb 4, 2026 – Superintendent Chapman clarifies the cuts target vacant or soon‑to‑be‑vacant central‑office posts, not performance, noting most eliminated roles supervise other adults far from classrooms, while parents like Sheila Hill warn the reductions could strain special‑education services[1].

Feb 9, 2026 (planned) – If the classified‑staff strike proceeds, Superintendent Banks can hire additional personnel, adjust class schedules, and incur expenditures without clear financial limits, actions that could significantly affect instructional continuity and district costs[2].

Jan 2027 (planned) – The mass‑transit work group, created by the 2025 board resolution, must deliver recommendations on high‑school transportation alternatives (e.g., COTA passes, shared rides) by January 2027, shaping future district transit policy[12].

2027‑2028 school year (planned) – The district plans to close Duxberry Park Arts Impact Elementary, Como Elementary, and the former Everett Middle School (Columbus Gifted Academy) by the 2027‑2028 academic year as part of its long‑term facility consolidation strategy[10].