I first met Marlena Brookfield at a protest against Ohio state Rep. Steve Chabot. The protest happened on a remote highway in Harrison, Ohio, outside of the local VFW where the Harrison Chamber of Commerce was holding a pancake breakfast for him.
Many of us didn’t know each other: We had simply responded to a notice that Chabot was going to be speaking at the Harrison Chamber of Commerce. We all shared the same frustration, though, that our representative wasn’t representing us. He would speak to the Harrison Chamber of Commerce, but he wouldn’t speak to the people of his district.
So I was filled with great pleasure this year when I saw Marlena had announced her candidacy for the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) Board of Education. Sometimes, the next step for activists is to run for public office. In her first run, Marlena has earned the endorsements of Cincinnati Indivisible, the Cincinnati Women’s Political Caucus, and Democracy for America.
I thought I’d ask her about her experience and what she’s learned about our school district.
1. Tell us a little about your background and what drives you.
My parents were firm believers in public education. I went to public school. I had the option of going to Walnut Hills because I tested in, but most of my friends were going to West High and I didn’t want to leave my friends.
I graduated as salutatorian in 2003 and one of the things I heard often was: “That must have been really rough. I hear bad kids go there and fight all the time.”
I think people who say things like that should look a little harder. Did you ever go there? Did you ever find out what the school was like?
We had a great drama program. We did amazing productions. We did a production of a show where all of the male members were black but they were playing KKK members. You really had to stretch the bounds of imagination to get into the characters. A black man was playing my husband who bombed a church and killed black children. If you don’t know and if you don’t go there to find out, don’t run your mouth.
I enjoy raising awareness of what these schools really are instead of how they’re perceived.
On the campaign trail, I’ve met kids from all different schools around the district. I’ve met kids from different marching bands that I didn’t even know existed, kids who are in great programs who struggle to get uniforms and to find funding to travel to away games.
If you don’t dig, all you might hear is, “Oh that’s a bad school. They have bad kids.”
2. This is your first time running for an elected office. Why are you running?
The short answer is that I feel I can make a difference.
Up until the 2016 election, I voted and participated and even canvassed sometimes for a cause or a candidate that I liked. In 2016, though, what happened was something that nobody thought could happen. A person who mocks folks with disabilities, brags about using women as objects: How could a person this horrible get elected to the highest office in this country? None of this was okay.
But then I thought, if that person can be president, I can run for office. Not only that, but I can run for office and win.
So when I first decided to run it was a reaction—a reaction to things that were going on.
But then as I looked into it and talked about it more with people, it became more realistic.
3. Why run for school board?
I live in the Cincinnati school district. I have one child who is in the district. She’s been in CPS since kindergarten and she’s now a junior in high school. That gives me an incentive to run and to work hard. My flesh and blood is impacted by decisions made on the board.
But, it’s not just her. I see what other kids are going through: what’s working for them, what’s not.
And when I hear things about our kids like, “They’re just bad kids,” and they’re being written off and no one’s trying to get to know them or understand their struggles. It drove me to want to run.
It’s giving back. I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t of gone to Westwood and West High. These are experiences that shaped who I am and if I can help make positive changes for 36,000 kids in the long run, that’s a big positive difference for this whole region.
I want to have a better future so the best way I can think to do that is to invest in the kids who are going to be that future.
4. What’s your biggest issue when it comes to the Cincinnati Public Schools?
There’s two really big issues and they go hand in hand. The first one is funding. That’s not just a CPS issue: Public districts all over the country are feeling the effects of loss of funding from a federal level. We’ve got things like IDEA and Title I that have never been fully funded. They’re mandates without funding.
In the CPS district, over the past 10 years we’ve been underfunded on these things to the tune of about $1 billion.
We have to fight for the funding that public districts are due from state and federal budgets. In Ohio, most of school funding comes from property taxes and that has been ruled unconstitutional by our state supreme court, but it’s still how we’re funding schools.
Locally, we’re seeing property tax abatements eat into school funding. I believe it’s about time for our schools to claw back some of this money. You can’t talk about how our schools are “failing” when the state is asking them to do more and more with less. Don’t talk about how a school like Taylor Academy doesn’t have a soccer team while a school like Fairview does without looking at the funding for these schools.
5. And the second issue?
The second is Board Policy 2255. This is the policy that spells out equity and excellence in public education. This is the policy that spells out how if we want all of our kids to reach their potential, we need to distribute resources equitably.
If we’re going to talk about our equity policy, we’ve got a large school district that’s very diverse with students who have many different types of needs. We have some schools that have more resources for things like after-school activities or marching bands, and some schools that really struggle with it.
We can’t talk about how we’re going to rectify the equity situation if we don’t have the money.
What it often comes down to is that the parents of some kids have more money than others.
In terms of our equity policy, some schools don’t need as much, and some schools need a lot. We need to do more for these schools.
6. What’s been the best part so far of running?
I think I’d have to say it’s meeting new people and the conversations, especially with people who have the same frustrations. They want to talk to me and they want to share.
They say, “This has been my experience or this has been my kid’s experience.” What I say to them is, “You’re preaching to the choir, I hear you, it’s why I’m running.”
And I’m hearing this so many times from so many people all across this district that it makes me feel I’m in exactly the right place.
7. What advice would you give to other people who are running?
First, I’d bring up that these races are extremely important and we often don’t hear much about them. Often they’re very winnable races if you have or can build some name recognition in your community.
If I had to start all over from the beginning, I would do more in-house organization first. For me, I didn’t know that there was this whole process you’re supposed to go through to run for office.
I did all the things that Board of Elections said I was supposed to do, but I’ve never done anything like this before. So I didn’t necessarily see or understand all of the various different inner-workings.
Running this year gave me a much better understanding.
Marlena Brookfield is a full-time volunteer and public education activist running for the Cincinnati Public Schools' Board of Education. She is committed to improving the educational outcomes for all students in the district.