Bortz belt humor

Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz said Thursday he'd like to explore the possibility of a city takeover of independent Cincinnati Public Schools -- or at least a radical change in how the school board is put together.

In response to a question at a lunchtime candidates' forum at the Christ Church Cathedral, Bortz explained his ideas: CPS management would still be independent for all practical purposes. But through a to-be-determined process, the Mayor, City Council and possibly other groups would appoint board members, instead of allowing voters to elect the school board. (More or less, that's how things are done in Cleveland schools today.)

"I think we'd be hard pressed to do much worse at this point," Bortz said.

Then all the city council members left the church and headed to the Underground Railroad Freedom Center to vote on the Banks project.

After they left, school board member Rick Williams, who's running for re-election, took the podium. He'd been sitting quietly in the audience.

"I'd like to begin my speech by explaning why I believe the Cincinnati school board should take over City Council."

UPDATE: As a commenter has rightly pointed out, there's a partisan dynamic to this. CPS board member Melanie Bates and Bortz are both running for Council with the Charter Committee's endorsement. Also, Williams is Charter's choice in the school board race. So it's not just run-of-the-mill political criticism -- it's intra-party criticism.