Cincinnati Association of Administrators

and Supervisors (CAAS)

2651 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45219

March 9, 2023

VIA HAND DELIVERY &

ELECTRONIC MAIL
Ben Lindy, President
Board of Education
Cincinnati Public Schools
2651 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45219
lindybe@cpsboe.k12.oh.us

Re: Request for meeting with Board of Education

Dear President Lindy:

We are the Executive Board members of the Cincinnati Association of Administrators and
Supervisors (CAAS) Union, which represents over 200 Administrators, Principals and Assistant
Principals employed by the District. Our Executive Board consists of a diverse group of CPS Field
and Central Office Administrators.

We are contacting you to apprise you of serious ongoing concerns with Superintendent
Wright’s performance. Despite our efforts to continue in our historical spirit of collaboration with
Superintendents, we are being blocked at every turn. We are asking to meet with the Board in the
next few weeks to discuss how to move forward.

For at least the last 20+ years prior to the current Superintendent, the relationship between
CAAS and the District had been one of collegiality and collaboration. CAAS has always worked
well and cooperatively with the District to ensure its success and that of the students it serves.

Yet virtually from the beginning of Superintendent Wright’s tenure, the CAAS Executive
Board has been faced with unprecedented concerns being voiced by its members. CAAS
leadership, including the Administrative Issues Board and the Executive Board, has attempted to
work with the Superintendent on a variety of concerning issues, some detailed below, over the last
months. None of our attempts have resulted in any resolution. Superintendent Wright’s proposed
solutions seem to only exacerbate existing issues. We are deeply committed to the long-term
success of CPS but are concerned that long standing highly successful practices are being eroded,
as the Superintendent has conceded “my process may differ.”
Ben Lindy, President
March 9, 2023
Page 2

The CAAS Executive Board is currently exploring all available options, including but not
limited to filing grievances under the contract, filing unfair labor practices with the State
Employment Relations Board, speaking publicly at Board of Education meetings, and holding a
vote of no confidence. It is vital that we make the Board aware of the seriousness of our concerns
and discuss these concerns with you, as we weigh our options.

Leadership Model
● The Leadership Pipeline Institute (LPI) structure has been abandoned. The result has been
much confusion in connection with what employees were traditionally doing compared to
what they are doing now. For example, job descriptions, responsibilities and the direct
reporting structure have been changed with short notice.
● The Superintendent is engaging in excessive micromanaging, resulting in inefficiency and
confusion as to employee roles.
● The Superintendent has detrimentally changed the communication structure. Central
Office employees are not permitted to email principals as a group, which is causing work
to slow down and not occur in some cases.
● There is a void of institutional knowledge in the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).
Almost the entire ELT is from outside the District. Some members do not seem to
understand the successful practices established in Ohio, as well as in our District:
o Directors and Managers report to new team members that have never performed
the work that has been assigned. As a result, employees must constantly teach and
explain to the new members that were hired as “experts” in the field.
o Some of the new positions could have been, but were not, filled with equally
qualified current staff possessing key institutional knowledge. In fact, several such
individuals within our District applied for these positions but were not even granted
the courtesy of an interview.
o The amount of District funds being used for ELT positions is concerning.
● There is a lack of responsiveness in connection with ELT members; they seemingly must
check with the Superintendent about nearly everything, which inhibits work and requires
additional time to complete tasks (the wait time can be very long).
● Organization and planning:
o The Superintendent holds meetings without providing agendas in advance, such as
Principal meetings, team meetings led by new team members, etc.
o The Superintendent schedules meetings with little or no notice and with little or no
explanation of purpose or intended outcomes.
o 1:1s to support and have clear expectations seem to be inconsistent across teams.

Lack of Collaboration
● While there had always been a positive and productive working relationship between prior
Superintendents and CAAS, there is now little to no collaboration with CAAS. The
Superintendent is making final decisions without discussion or consideration, has virtually
eliminated the strong committee structure, and the few committee requests that have come
from the Superintendent and ELT have been hampered by communication protocols that
are unrealistic.
Ben Lindy, President
March 9, 2023
Page 3

● CAAS has attempted to work with Superintendent Wright in a variety of ways, yet the
Superintendent has made clear that while she may discuss concerns, she will not deviate
from her predetermined path. She has repeatedly displayed the attitude that because she is
the Superintendent, she will get what she wants.
● Employee work is being changed without notice or involvement of the affected employees.
Many changes make no sense because they are being made in a vacuum without
collaboration.
● Past successful practices have been virtually eliminated. Practices and procedures which
have existed for more than a decade are being abandoned because the Superintendent
believes that there is a better way. Examples include but are not limited to budget practices,
communication protocols, and centralization of nearly everything.
● There is no Central Office budget process; the Superintendent has stated that she plans to
move away from department budgets. Additionally, up until this year, there has always
been a collaborative budget process for the field and Central Office.
● The CAAS Executive Board met with the Superintendent in October 2022, yet there has
still been no satisfactory resolution on:
o Transportation
o HS Principal 10 Days - still awaiting the reporting form to ensure Principal days
are approved
o Communication
● Title 1 mandates have been a huge concern, leaving some schools with little discretionary
spending. As a result, working with Instructional Leadership Teams and Local School
Decision Making Committees has been challenging. Site-based governance and board
policy are being devalued.
● The Superintendent is adding new positions which are duplicative and causing issues with
other unions, even after she has been made aware of the conflicts. Current positions may
be impacted by so many new positions. Because the budget appears to be a big concern,
employees are in fear of losing their jobs.

Workplace Atmosphere
● The Superintendent has created a culture of intimidation and fear. Employees are afraid to
raise concerns and have their names associated with concerns; they fear retaliation. As a
result, there is little trust or faith in the Superintendent to lead.
● The Superintendent embarrasses employees in meetings. Employees are prevented from
addressing an issue, knowing they will be demeaned in front of their colleagues.
● The Superintendent regularly asks employees how they think things are going, yet
employees feel pressured to say only positive things because of the intimidating presence
of the Superintendent.
● When inquiring how employees view issues that are occurring, the Superintendent expects
employees to come up with solutions to the problems that she is creating. She then ignores
the proposed solution.
● Calendars no longer mean anything. The Superintendent and ELT members routinely
schedule meetings with little or no notice and there is total lack of regard for the work that
employees are doing when this occurs. The Superintendent seems to decree that employees
Ben Lindy, President
March 9, 2023
Page 4

should “drop everything you are doing and do this…;” this approach trickles down from
the Superintendent to Chiefs to Directors.
● The Superintendent and other ELT members are denying remote work in spite of the
Board’s policy for remote work to be widespread. When the current policy was developed
by the Board, it was clear that the Board wanted this to be something to attract and retain
employees. The Superintendent has made clear that she does not want employees to work
remotely and is now stopping most employees from doing so. The remote work option
attracts and retains employees; without it, many employees have left or plan to leave CPS.
● The Superintendent apparently does not believe that professional development is important
and is denying the use of professional development monies for some employees. There
have been instances where the requests cannot even make it to the CAAS approval level
since they are being denied. (CAAS has a professional development fund).
● There is very little recognition of employees’ past and current hard work.
● Institutional knowledge is going out the door at a rapid pace. Many employees have left,
are leaving, or looking for employment elsewhere. The Superintendent seems
unconcerned.
● The Superintendent has made clear that CAAS or its members are not to interact with Board
members. This is contrary to past practice and impedes collaboration that can support
programs and enhance outcomes for students and families. Such a position also raises
legitimate concerns regarding potential infringement of First Amendment rights.

Our number one priority is and should be student achievement. However, all of the
attention that should be focused on our students is not occurring because of the Superintendent’s
creation of a high amount of dysfunction and stress. We are truly concerned about our students as
well as the mental health of CAAS represented employees.

We can be available for a meeting at the Board’s convenience in the next two weeks to
discuss our concerns. Please contact CAAS President Mike Turner at caasturner@gmail.com or
513.379.4600 to schedule the meeting. It is our desire to have a great working relationship with
CPS Leadership, as we have had in the past, and we would greatly appreciate your help moving
forward.

Sincerely,

CAAS Executive Board

Michael Turner, President (Career Tech Manager)
Angel Roddy, President-Elect (Principal)
Jeffrey Chrystal, Past President (ITM Director)
Amy Randolph, Treasurer (Alternative Programs Director)
Jackie Rowedder, Secretary (Principal)
Whitney Simmons-Newton, Administrative Issues Board (AIB)
Rep (Principal)
Antwan Lewis, Elementary Rep (Principal)
Tiffani Maher, Membership Rep (Principal)
Ben Lindy, President
March 9, 2023
Page 5

Brandon Kingman, Political Action Rep (Assistant Principal)

Amber Simpson, Professional Rights Rep (Principal)
Michael Allison, Public Relations Rep (Principal)
Lisa Garofalo, Retiree Rep (Retiree)
Carlos Blair, Secondary Rep (Principal)

cc: Brandon Craig, Eve Bolton, Carolyn Jones, Kareem Moncree-Moffett, PhD, Mike Moroski,
Mary Wineberg.