Heights InterFaith Council Urges CH-UH Board to Find Solution For Millikin: Letter to the Editor

Dear Members of the CH-UH Board,

As go the school district and each of the various smaller educational communities, so go all of our communities. We, the undersigned of religious communities in the Heights and members of the Heights InterFaith Council, believe that the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District in its abandonment of a community asset in the Severance Millikin School is doing a disservice to the greater Heights Community.

While we understand that the school administration and board have been working for a number of years to resolve what to do with this property, allowing the building and grounds to become a nuisance and degrade the value of the immediate community is unacceptable in our view. Absent quick action we encourage the City of Cleveland Heights to move firmly to abate this nuisance.

We are aware of the bid on the property from the Orthodox Jewish community to purchase the building for its Mosdos Ohr Hatorah education for boys, K-8. We want to lift this up as a potential win/win action for both our school system and the community it serves.

We encourage the school administration and board to move forward in a prompt, open, and transparent manner to provide a solution that will maintain this community asset. We thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration.

Sincerely Yours,

Heights InterFaith Council

Rev. Karen Burtner Graham, pastor,

Dennis Coughlin, member,

Rev. Eric Dillenbeck, associate pastor and acting head of staff, Presbyterian Church

Rabbi Akiva Feinstein, Chaplain

Cynthia Johnston, member,

Bob Jeffreys, member,

Rev. Don King, pastor,

Rev. Erik Marshall, associate pastor,

Rev. John P. McNulty, pastor,

Rev. Francis Miller, pastor, Noble Road Presbyterian Church

Rev. Jessica Shields, pastor,

Christine Stouffer, member, Communion of Saints Roman Catholic Parish