The CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District outlined sweeping changes that could drastically restructure the school system if approved by the Board of Education.
Dr. Warren Morgan laid out his recommendations Wednesday night during a board work session at the Arnold Pinkney East Professional Center.
Morgan told the audience that doing nothing won’t fix serious budget challenges or ensure all students have equal access to academics, sports, extra-curricular activities, and support services.
The district faces a budget deficit by 2028 if no changes are made. It needs to save $150 million over the next several years.
Its Building Brighter Futures initiative is projected to save about $30 million a year through downsizing.
The district said it has lost 50% of its student population over the last 20 years.
He proposed that 29 fewer schools operate during the 2026-2027 school year, resulting in 39 total mergers and moves. He also said that 18 CMSD-owned buildings and five leased spaces will not operate as schools next academic year.
Morgan said he is looking at operating 59 schools for the 2026-2027 school year, meaning there will be 45 Pre-K-8 schools rather than the current 61, and the number of high schools will drop from 27 to 14.
The high schools are currently on co-located campuses and will merge into the following six respective campuses:
John Hay Campus to John Hay High School
- Cleveland School of Science and Medicine
- Cleveland School of Architecture and Design
- Cleveland Early College High School
Lakeside Campus to Benjamin O. Davis High School
- Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School
- Cleveland High School for Digital Arts
John Marshall Campus to John Marshall High School
- John Marshall School of Civic and Business Leadership
- John Marshall School of Engineering
- John Marshall School of Information Technology
Lincoln-West Campus to Lincoln-West High School
- Lincoln-West School of Global Studies
- Lincoln-West School of Science and Health
James Ford Rhodes Campus to James Ford Rhodes High School
- James Ford Rhodes College and Career Academy
- James Ford Rhodes School of Environmental Studies
Garrett Morgan Campus to Garrett Morgan High School
- Garrett Morgan School of Engineering & Innovation
- Garrett Morgan School of Leadership & Innovation
Additionally, the following high schools will merge:
- Collinwood High School will move to Glenville High School
- Campus International High School will move to John Hay High School
- MC2STEM High School will move to East Technical High School
- New Tech West High School and Facing History New Tech West High School will move to James Ford Rhodes High School
A new high school is also in design and is scheduled to open in 2031 for students in both Glenville and Collinwood.
For K-8 schools, Morgan proposed the following mergers:
- Hannah Gibbons will move to Memorial
- Euclid Park will move to East Clark
- Stephanie Tubbs Jones will move to Franklin D. Roosevelt and will be renamed back to Stephanie Tubbs Jones
- Mary M. Bethune will move to Daniel E. Morgan
- Mary B. Martin will move to Wade Park
- Alfred A. Benesch will move to George Washington Carver
- Bolton will move to Harvey Rice
- Charles Dickens will move to Andrew J. Rickoff
- Adlai E. Stevenson will move to Whitney M. Young Leadership
- Miles will move to Robert H. Jamison
- Mound will move to Albert Bushnell Hart
- Mary Church Terrell will move to Wilbur Wright and will be renamed Wilbur Wright School of the Arts
- Waverly and Louisa May Alcott will move to Joseph M. Gallagher
- Charles A. Mooney will move to Denison
- Valley View Boys' Leadership Academy will move to Kenneth Clement Boys' Leadership Academy
The following specialty schools will move to these buildings:
- Kenneth Clement Boys' Leadership Academy (merged with Valley View) will move to the Mary M. Bethune building and be named the Kenneth W. Clement Boys' Leadership Academy
- Stonebrook-White Montessori will move to the Stephanie Tubbs Jones building and be named Michael R. White Montessori
- Dike School of the Arts will move to the Mound building and be named Dike School of the Arts
- Tremont Montessori will move to the Waverly building and be named Waverly Montessori
These mergers are a result of the board's Building Brighter Futures initiative, which relates to the district’s plan to cut costs to avoid running out of money by 2028.
The district is looking to save $150 million over the next three years, and said downsizing could save about $30 million a year.
RELATED: Cleveland school closure, consolidation recommendations expected to be presented Wednesday night
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District's student population has dropped by half over the past 20 years, and the district said it has too many buildings for its current enrollment.
Morgan said that under the recommendations, 100% of students will have equal or expanded academic and extracurricular opportunities and student supports.
He said 96% of students will attend a welcoming school with an equal or higher star rating.
And 95% of students will attend a welcoming school with equal or better building conditions.
Morgan said the work begins soon to talk with students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders about the proposed changes.
“This is a brighter future that we can provide for our scholars,” Morgan said.
The Board of Education said it will continue gathering feedback from families and will open additional public comment slots at upcoming meetings on Nov. 19, Dec. 2, and Dec. 9.
The board chair said she hopes to vote on the recommendations at the Dec. 2 meeting.
Community Reaction
Wednesday's meeting was packed with CMSD teachers and stakeholders, including Cleveland's Ward 8 Councilman Mike Polensek.
"This is outrageous what they're doing here to the east side of the city," he told News 5's Kaylee Olivas following the meeting.
CMSD Superintendent Dr. Warren Morgan II said the reason for this proposal is to provide students with more opportunities through sports and extracurricular activities.
"How many times have I heard that bull crap? How many times have I heard [that]? I'm the senior member of city council. I've heard all their crap. And what do we get? We get programs being taken out. We get schools closed on the east side," Polensek said.
One of the schools that would be merged is Collinwood High School.
The proposal would have Collinwood become one with Glenville High School.
News 5 spoke with Shamekia Miller prior to the vote.
Her daughter attends Collinwood High School.
"That plan would be drama. It would be hard on the teachers, the parents and the students," she said. "That's a disadvantage to the community and a lot of parents are going through a lot with children in schools but what can you do?"
Charlissa Hamilton is a mom of three who each attend Glenville High School.
She, too, thinks a merger would be a mistake.
"It'd be a mess," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said Glenville High School means a lot to her as she once attended it, "but if they gotta do what they gotta do, they gotta do it."
Polensek told me he plans to speak with Mayor Justin Bibb soon to see if there are other options to consider.
"I'm hoping the NAACP, I'm hoping other groups take notice and get involved in this process. This is absolute discrimination what they're doing to the east side of the city. I'm not gonna sit still for it. I'm done with these people. I'm done with them. They continue to disrespect our kids," Polensek said.
Shari Obrenski, president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, said she’s still processing the proposal.
“I don’t know yet,” Obrenski said. “I think that we’ve been given a lot to digest today. I do think the goals of Building Brighter Futures are certainly ones that we should aspire to. It’s just going to take us a little time to figure out if what’s been presented today will actually get us toward those goals.”
