CLEVELAND — The emotional toll of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District's transition to a smaller footprint impacts families, teachers, residents and even those without children in the district.
It's something I learned during a visit to the West Side neighborhood, where Louisa May Alcott, a K-5 school, is set to close.
Sadig Dawlebait's daughter is a kindergartner at the school. It's a two-minute walk from their home.
"And teachers are great. The stuff is all good, and the environment is good too," Dawlebait said. "My daughter loves it, and she was so mad that they're going to transfer her school to somewhere else."
That somewhere else is Joseph M. Gallagher School, which is about three miles away.
Dawlebait questions if the new school will foster the same environment his daughter thrived in. He said he's also doing his best to help her navigate her feelings about everything that's unfolding.
"She was mad. And she's like, 'Oh, I'm gonna miss my school,'" Dawlebait said.
Bob Bergoch has lived around the corner from Louisa May Alcott for decades. He doesn't have any kids, but pays taxes and has an opinion about the school consolidation plan. He said his neighborhood is seeing young families move in and stay.
"They're sticking around with one or two children. And I think the home prices are reasonable, and I think it's going to be kind of a loss to the neighborhood to have an elementary school consolidated and leave the area," Bergoch said.
But, as the school district fights eroding revenue and enrollment that's dropped 50% over the last 20 years, I asked him if he sees the argument about needing to rein in costs by operating fewer schools.
"They can't afford to have we'll say, underutilized space... school space— so that part of it that's a good argument," Bergoch said. "I don't think anybody wants to waste money, especially when it has to do with their property taxes, because we're all a little tight right now. Even I'm retired, but I'm watching my money the same as a young couple would."
He said that as changes come to fruition, the focus needs to remain on the kids and their classroom experience.
"Quality of education should be paramount," Bergoch said. "So you have to keep the quality in there. Otherwise, Cleveland loses some of its edge."
Dawlebait is worried about the quality of education as 146 teachers recently received layoff notices, part of the 410 full-time district employees to be laid off.
"I mean, that's really embarrassing," Dawlebait said. "Teachers are all around the world—they treat them like kings and like queens, you know? I'm not in agreement with that."
I asked Cleveland City Councilman Richard A. Starr, who chairs the Workforce, Education, Training and Youth Development Committee, about the layoffs. He said the number is shocking to him.
"If we're going to make these cuts at this scale, the public deserves full transparency on how we got here and what was the first cuts before you got down to the teachers. Can't cut the teachers but also keep all them admin."
The district said out of the 410 who received layoff notices, 86 are administrators.
Starr said his committee recently held a nearly three-hour meeting with CMSD and Dr. Warren Morgan, and he plans to call them back to get more questions answered about its consolidation plan.
He argues the public meetings the district held across the city weren't enough for parents, students, and others to fully weigh in on the recommendation to consolidate.
"You are not solving the problem. You can't just utilize this problem and say, 'hey, the best decision is to cut people that is close to the students,'" Starr said.
In previous interviews and during the State of the Schools address in October of 2025, before the board of education approved the consolidation plan, Dr. Morgan said it would result in layoffs.
RELATED: School Board to vote on CMSD building closures and consolidation plan Tuesday night
"We've been transparent that we must make this necessary decision to consolidate/close programs," Morgan said during his address. "There are some operating savings... taking some buildings offline, but that's actually minimal. The majority of savings do come from a staffing approach."
The district said it will be working with those impacted by layoffs, helping with a transition, whether it involves remaining with CMSD in some fashion or going elsewhere outside the district.
Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.
