Brandon Craig
Cincinnati Board of Education At-large
Tenure
Term ends
Years in position
Elections and appointments
Personal
Contact
Brandon Craig is an at-large member of the Cincinnati Board of Education in Ohio. He assumed office on January 1, 2022.
Craig ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Cincinnati Board of Education in Ohio. He won in the general election on November 4, 2025.
Biography
Brandon Craig was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati in 2006 and a J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2009. Craig's career experience includes working as an assistant director of equal opportunity and access.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Cincinnati Public Schools, Ohio, elections (2025)
General election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Endorsements
Craig received the following endorsements.
2021
See also: Cincinnati Public Schools, Ohio, elections (2021)
General election
Endorsements
To view Craig's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brandon Craig did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Brandon Craig completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Craig's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Born to young local attorney named Constance Hill, I am a proud product of Cincinnati Public Schools and graduate of UC, with both a Bachelors Degree and a Law Degree. I learn numerous lessons growing up from my family, but the greatest lesson I learned came from my Grandpa. He taught me that you do what is right because it is the right thing to do. I have taken that lesson with me throughout my career.
Presently, I am an Assistant Director in the Office of Equal Opportunity & Access at the University of Cincinnati, where I investigate complainants of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in violation of University policies. Prior to joining the Office of Equal Opportunity & Access, I served as the Compliance Manager for Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Greater Cincinnati, where I investigated complaints of housing discrimination and provided education to landlords, realtors, social workers, and other community members. I have advocated before committees in both the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate, argued before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and served on numerous civil rights committees.
All of my experiences have taught me to value people and their individual experiences. You can't do what is right if you don't start by valuing the life and needs of others. - I am passionate about providing each student with a 21st century education so that we can remove some of the disparities in educational resources.
- I believe every student should be prepared to be the best version of themselves no matter what path the seek after high school. So we must invest in programs that will expand opportunities in vocational education, service, and higher education.
- We can not educate our students if they don't feel valued. Their curriculum must include their history. Their experiences must be equitable and inclusive. If we can do that we can expand so many opportunities for our students.
Civil Rights, vocational education, college preparation, music/art/theater, life skills
My mom has always been someone I looked up to and worked hard to make proud. My great grandma was my first best friend and the person who I was closest to in my family. But my hero will always be my Grandpa. Robert Hill, my grandpa, was not a loud spoken man but always made impact on me with his words. He lived his life the way I hope I am close to living mine. Although he is no longer with me, he continues to shape who I am. He also taught me one of the most valuable lessons I carry with me still; "You do what is right because it is the right thing to do."
I believe the most important characteristics are integrity, willingness to compromise, and passion.
Elected officials must uphold their duties to the public and their responsibility to be good stewards of the public trust.
The first historical event that I remember was Rodney King beating, the subsequent trial, and the LA Riots. I was about 8 or 9 years old when the video footage was first released. The video would set off a firestorm of events that would ultimately lead to the LA Riots. The frustration with the verdicts in the first trial was so evident in communities across the country. It also shaped a lot of my opinions about accountability.
My first job was as a caddy at a country club. I worked their for a summer. It was a challenging job but because I was so passionate about doing a good job, they hired me back the next summer to work in the pro shop and trusted me to help open and close the course. The next summer I took a position with the Cincinnati Museum Center in the Museum of Natural History and Science
A school board members is primarily tasked with setting the agenda for the district and providing supervision over the Superintendent and the Treasurer. By setting the agenda, the board determines what policies should be implemented or modified. The most important role for a board member is the supervision of the superintendent and treasurer. We must hold accountable for implementing the directives of the board and addressing the needs of the students, teachers, and staff.
My constituents are the students who attend CPS or other schools within the city, parents of students, and the teachers & staff who work within a CPS school. Additionally, local businesses and non-profits are potential constituents in that we should have relationships between our schools and the business community.
I believe the district must look at students, faculty, and staff based on the schools they are located and the needs of each that can be addressed by the school board. Trying to apply a one size fits all system can tend to not fulfill the diverse needs of our CPS community. Examining the needs on a more individualized basis can expand the opportunities for students, faculty, and staff.
I believe the conversations with the business community, local organizations, and other stakeholders needs to be something that happens on the regular basis. Specifically, the endorsed slate of City Council and School Board candidates have talked about the more need for regular conversations. We can build bi-monthly meetings to help us address the concerns of our communities. I commit to continuing those conversations after election.
I believe we have to work hard to recruit diverse talent in our faculty, staff, and administrators. But we also have to build an inclusive culture that makes diverse employees feel welcomed and appreciated. The more we build a culture that retains our diverse talent, the easier it is to attract more diverse talent. Additionally, we have to work with our local universities to develop opportunities to introduce graduate students to our CPS classrooms where we can build a pipeline of future educators.
There are many obstacles. Whether it is the economic challenges for our students' families, the disparity of resources allocated to our schools, or lack of inclusion in our students' curriculum and education experiences, many factors go create challenges for delivering a quality education. We can take steps to fix some of those. Expanding resources to narrow the gap in the quality of education at our neighborhood schools would be a big step. Incorporating more inclusive educational curriculum can help embrace the need our students have to be a part of their education.
Teaching starts with passion. You have to have a passion for education and for students to be a good teacher. But to measure success in educating students you have to do an individual assessment that looks at both the growth of the student and the evolution of the teacher. If you look at just how the student has grown to measure success, you are not going to get an accurate picture of what the teacher is doing. We have to look at how the teacher prepares for class, what professional development they are doing, and how continue to look for new ways to educate. I would push for the superintendent to use a more holistic approach to evaluate teachers and hold them accountable.
I believe our curriculum need more vocational and life skill trainings to expand opportunities for our students. Additionally, we need to continue to expand efforts for a more inclusive curriculum. Building an education system that reflects our students and prepares are students for the future should be the goal of the board. Classes that take basic math, science, and language arts and apply them to specific life activities will help our students better understand the connection.
I believe working with the city council will help address some of the concerns that continue to cause problems in school funding. The use of tax abatements continues to deprive our students of resources. Until a more constitutional system is established to fund out schools, we have to work with local leaders to maximize the access to resources and provide a quality education.
The thing that drives me most for our students safety is ensuring that our have a safe experience from the moment they get on the bus to the moment they return home. That means working with our students to ensure they have a space to communicate their concerns with safety. That means addressing bullying and sexual assaults in our schools. And that means addressing mental health concerns that our students are experiences.
Expanding access to counselors and mental health professionals is an absolute necessity in our district. So many of our students are dealing with traumatic life situations without the proper tools to do so. If we begin to provide those resources we can also begin to address the struggles with discipline. The need mental health assistance is not just for our students. Life brings struggles to everyone and having more resources for staff and faculty will help alleviate the feeling of burn out and depression.
Technology can open doors to education for so many students, but it can't do it by itself. Technology must be a part of a comprehensive education plan that provides more accessibility for students and that expands the opportunities for students to learn. I think working with the superintendent to review whether how technological resources are allocated in the district and devise a strategy works to remove the disparities in education our students receive.
Schooling during a pandemic is difficult but the district has started to improve how we address the challenges. The vaccine mandate for employees was made in concert with discussions with the labor unions and district leadership. There is a plan to address staff who does not want to be vaccinated or would not be vaccinated for other reasons. We can do similar things for our students to ensure we create a safe school district. But we do need to look at these steps on a more individual school basis so that we are not making decisions that are not feasible for the particular school.
I believe we must reach out to parents in surveys, providing space at board meetings, and making opportunities to communicate at the local school level more accessible. But we have to do more. I believe having board members come to local community events and holding community forums is an important key to building a more inclusive relationship with the parents of students in the district.
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See also
External links
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 15, 2021
