Students and families urge Cuyahoga Falls board to protect open‑enrolled students facing cutoff

Hundreds of parents, students and alumni packed the Cuyahoga Falls City School District board meeting on March 4 to plead with trustees to preserve continuity for children affected by the district's planned end to interdistrict open enrollment.

"This is not just a policy change," said Kyle Watts, who told the board the change would affect about 254 students who have "spent years building their lives in this district." Watts asked the board to allow students already enrolled in Cuyahoga Falls to complete high school there, to consider a pay‑to‑attend option, or at minimum to survey families to understand the true financial impact.

Students described the potential disruption in personal terms. "They deserve to finish as a Black Tiger," said Ava Myers, a junior, noting the district's mission statement and urging the board to protect students' extracurricular, social and academic investments. Dexter Sunderland, a senior and open‑enrolled student, proposed charging tuition for future open‑enrolled students as a compromise to help the district's budget while allowing current students to stay.

Other commenters flagged safety and program concerns if families are forced to transfer. "Families who live in Akron choose not to send their children to Akron public schools for a reason," said Alexandra Conan, citing safety incidents reported in neighboring districts and urging the board to address underlying concerns rather than close pathways for parents.

Board members thanked the speakers and acknowledged the difficulty of the choices. Several trustees emphasized that state funding shortfalls were putting districts across Ohio in similar positions and urged constituents to contact state legislators. At the meeting Mr. Harris (board member) encouraged parents to reach out to their state representatives about school funding.

The board did not reverse the enrollment decision during the meeting; after public comment the board proceeded with routine business including adoption of policies and consent agenda items. The speakers asked the board to consider practical mitigations (grandfathering currently enrolled high‑schoolers, surveying families, or a paid‑tuition option) and to clarify whether the 254 students were included in enrollment projections used for facilities planning.

What happens next: Board members fielded the public comments and discussed budgeting pressures; there was no vote to restore open enrollment on March 4. Community members said they will continue advocacy and requested clearer financial data and family outreach from the district.