CPS board member Melanie Bates announces 'retirement from public service,' won't run for reelection

Cincinnati Public Schools board member Melanie Bates will not run for another term, she wrote in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon.

Bates wrote she is retiring from public service at the end of her current term, in December 2021.

Bates has served on the CPS board for five terms or nearly 20 years, since 2002. Before her current stint on the CPS board, she served on the Ohio State Board of Education from 1995 to 2001. 

"My journey with CPS began when my children started preschool and I became an active parent volunteer," Bates wrote. "I have seen our district evolve with unprecedented academic improvement, enrollment gains, and the construction of districtwide state-of-the-art facilities.

"While my formal role with the district will be coming to a close, I plan to stay involved as an active CPS volunteer and grandparent."

More: 'Oh no, I'm not resigning.' Melanie Bates responds to community concerns over 'secret recording'

Bates is the second CPS board member to announce they are not running for another term. Board member Ryan Messer sent out an email to his supporters in late May saying he would not seek reelection.

Messer said he was ending his time as a board of education member because of additional roles and responsibilities with his employer, Johnson & Johnson, and to spend more time with his family.

"From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all of your support you have given me that enabled me to serve," Messer wrote. "In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe this is the end of the road for me in public service."

Current board members Pam Bowers and Mike Moroski are on the November ballot, according to the Hamilton County Board of Elections, along with newcomers Brandon Craig, Gary Favors, Kareem Moffett and Mary Wineberg. There are four seats up for election.

"It has been an honor to serve the Cincinnati Public School students, families, staff, and community," Bates wrote on Facebook.