Education Center « P.0. Box 5381 + Cincinnati, OH 45201-5381 * Phone: 513-363-0000 + TDD: 513-363-0155 August 5, 2021 Kreg Keesee SORTA Board Chair 525 Vine Street, Suite 500 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Dear Mr. Keesee: On behalf of the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) Board of Education, I enclose a resolution strongly opposing the elimination of XTRA routes, which was passed unanimously by our board last night. During our conversation on this critical issue, board members spoke frankly about their frustration and their grave concerns with the decision to eliminate XTRA routes, as well as with the haste with which this decision was made and executed. We understand that SORTA is working to resolve a significant operational challenge and that the choices before the board and leadership are difficult. However, a change of this magnitude not only merited board-to-board level discussions prior to being announced, but also was unrealistic to execute within such a short timeframe. It is unfair to expect schools, students and families to have full awareness of, much less understand, such an abrupt change announced only a few weeks prior to the beginning of school. It has resulted in chaos. Primary among board members’ concerns is safety as nearly 13,000 students flood bus routes, neighborhood and city-wide transportation hubs, and dismissal areas adjacent to high-traffic streets. We cannot risk the lives of our students as hundreds of teens and preteens wait outside our schools for a regular bus after school lets out for the day. This plan opens our young people and community up to an unprecedented level of risk. We are especially concerned about our preteen riders needing to navigate the regular Metro system. Our numbers indicate that 58% of CPS’s approximately two-thousand 7th and 8th-grade bus riders would be required to make a bus transfer. Also concerning is the unlimited access students will have to alll Metro routes well outside school hours, including late into the evening and on weekends, 2651 Burnet Avenue + Cincinnati, Ohio 45219-2551We believe that after decades of working together to ensure equitable and safe transportation for Cineinnati’s students, CPS and SORTA have a mutual goal of resolving this issue immediately. Our historically strong partnership is the reason that CPS board members were such staunch advocates of the recently-passed transportation levy. This is an opportunity for our leadership and boards to work collaboratively versus in silos to get to the right answer for Cincinnati students and families. Given the two weeks we have before the start of school, and for the sake of our students and community, the best answer is to restore XTRA routes immediately. If the routes were able to be eliminated and other routes adjusted in only a few weeks, it seems logical that they could be reversed within a similar timeframe. Took forward to meeting with you, along with CPS Vice Chair Ryan Messer, Interim Superintendent Amat and Mr. Haley in the next few days in an effort to return where we should have started, with our boards and leadership sitting down together to determine the best path forward. Eve Bolton, Board Member, Finance Chair Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education Ce: Carolyn Jones, President Ryan Messer, Vice President Melanie Bates Pam Bowers Mike Moroski Ben Lindy Tianay Amat, Superintendent Jennifer M. Wagner, Treasurer / CFO Darryl Haley EnclosureAugust 4 2021 CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE ELIMINATION OF METRO XTRA SERVICE ROUTES FOR CINCINNATI STUDENTS WHEREAS, the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) recently announced a plan for the 2021-22 school year to eliminate XTRA service routes which supplement regular Metro service routes to facilitate the transportation of students to and from school; and WHEREAS, Ohio school districts are not required to provide pupil transportation to students in high school, but Cincinnati Public Schools has partnered with SORTA for many years to provide Cincinnati students with a pass to use Metro public transportation, The option to use public transportation is crucial for students who choose to attend one of CPS’s high schools of choice outside of their own neighborhood; and WHEREAS, for at least 30 years, Metro has used so-called “XTRA” service routes to help supplement Metro’s regular routes and to facilitate the transportation of Cincinnati high school students to and from school. XTRA routes may be used by the general public, but they are generally established to provide a more direct route from schools to a students’ neighborhoods. WHEREAS, the XTRA routes reduce travel time for students and minimize the number of transfers for students trying to get to and from school. The XTRA service routes also help to climinate overcrowding on Metro's regular service routes and avoid a high volume of students at transportation hubs and neighborhood bus stops in the mornings and afternoons. By aligning to school schedules, the XTRA service routes also help to ensure that students arrive to school on time and have a timely means of getting home ~ minimizing student tardiness and the difficulty of supervising and accounting for children arriving at school and leaving school at dispersed times; WHEREAS, in determining its routing schedules, Metro has always included XTRA service routes for schools ~ to improve the safety and efficiency of transporting students in grades 7-12 to and from school; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education of the Cincinnati City School District strongly objects to the plan proposed to eliminate all XTRA school routes for the 2021-22 school year. It is in the best interest of everyone involved to find a resolution that prioritizes Cincinnati's children and maintains the XTRA service routes. The Board of Education urges Metro to reconsider the service plans proposed to be implemented for the 2021- 22 school year.