Blue Ash, Montgomery, and Sycamore Community Schools receive collaboration grant | News

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) - The cities of Blue Ash and Montgomery have many things in common including a shared school district, Sycamore Community Schools.  Recognizing shared borders, constituents and a similar array of services, the three entities often collaborate on matters such as planning, economic development and mutual aid, to name a few.  Past successes and a desire to enhance current efforts led the three organizations to apply for a new state grant program, the Local Government Innovation Fund.

As of 2012, the Local Government Innovation Fund has been competitively offered to assist local governments with collaboration and service sharing. Grants are awarded for feasibility studies.

Sycamore Community Schools, Blue Ash and Montgomery jointly applied for a $60,225 grant in September 2012 to identify programs and services offered by each entity in which collaboration between the three entities could prove beneficial.

The three jurisdictions learned this week that the application was successful and will move forward with the feasibility study.

“Our goal is to identify services for sharing that will increase efficiency and effectiveness while reducing operating costs,” said Beth Weber, Sycamore treasurer.  “Once we identify viable options, we’ll work toward implementation.”