CLEVELAND — Nearly 300 teachers and staff members for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District received layoff notices on Friday. News 5's Sara Buduson reported that 150 teachers and approximately 120 paraprofessionals have been notified.
"Eight of us got layoff notices, and that’s half of our teaching staff at Hannah Gibbons, “ said CMSD teacher Laura Stewart.
RELATED: Hundreds of Cleveland Metropolitan School District educators getting layoff notices
CMSD teacher Kadira Sahic said it felt like she walked into a funeral when she returned to her classroom after being notified.
"I spent the last part of my day yesterday holding and comforting 20 students who sobbed in my arms,” said Sahic.
The layoffs are part of the district's consolidation plan, known as Building Brighter Futures. The district is closing 18 buildings to help save $30 million a year.
A few CMSD teachers went to Saturday’s special school board meeting, hoping to get questions answered regarding the layoffs.
"We wanted to know why the people who are tasked with providing direct instruction and education to our children are the ones who are being most affected in this Building Brighter Futures. It seems like it's in the opposite direction of what's best for our children and for my kids at home,” said CMSD teacher Liz Pan-Grace.
The special board meeting focused on next steps for the 18 buildings set to close, based on community discussions and online surveys with Cleveland residents.
RELATED: What's next for CMSD's buildings as restructuring plan progresses?
"There is a lot of concern from the community about what will happen with these buildings, but we've been very intentional this time around because we want to make sure we have a plan. We have been working hard through this entire process,” said CMSD CEO Dr. Warren Morgan.
Through online surveys, residents emphasized that they did not want the buildings to sit empty and proposed converting the schools into housing developments, community facilities, specialized educational programming and neighborhood amenities such as grocery stores.
Sahic says she was shocked that the layoffs weren’t mentioned.
"It was a very sterile conversation that just circulated around buildings, as opposed to the experiences that we have every day in the classroom with students who have an abundance of emotions and love. Having to tell those students yesterday that we were having to say goodbye at the end of the year, and having to feel all of their emotions one by one, was a very challenging experience that I hope gets talked about,” said Sahic.
Morgan says the district recognizes the personal and professional impact these decisions may have, and he has been working with the union leadership since January to figure out ways to get the layoff numbers as low as possible.
"This is a difficult situation, seeing the personal impact of this. I know how challenging that is, but we're also really committed to working with our partners to ensure that there are resources,” said Morgan.
News 5 received a copy of the letter sent to teachers. It said the district is "deeply committed to supporting scholars and employees," but had to make "very difficult financial decisions." It goes on to say that the school district recognizes "the personal and professional impact these decisions may have" and "we are approaching the process with great care and respect for our employees."
"I would encourage any students who feel impacted and wish to speak their mind, along with their parents, to speak up and make some noise at the board meetings. I’m going to keep fighting,” said Sahic.
The letter says the layoffs will be voted on by the board of education on Tuesday. Teachers are expected to work through the end of the school year.
