CLEVELAND — Wednesday night, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Board of Education has a work session taking place at the Arnold Pinkney East Professional Center, starting at 6:30 p.m.
At that meeting, we could learn which schools are recommended for closure and consolidation under their Building Brighter Futures initiative.
At the State of the Schools Address held last month, CEO Dr. Warren Morgan said the recommendations would be presented sometime in November.
The Building Brighter Futures initiative is part of the long-term facilities planning and relates to the district’s plan to cut costs to avoid running out of money by 2028 while also boosting academics.
The district is looking to save about $150 million over the next three years. It said downsizing could save about $30 million a year.
The president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, Shari Obrenski, told me she expects the recommendations to be presented as early as Wednesday’s meeting.
When I spoke to Morgan after the State of the Schools Address, he told me the plan going forward is about making hard decisions and making the district stronger for families in every corner of the city.
"It’s an opportunity to provide more access to all of our kids, so I’m really excited about it,” Morgan said. “Anxious because there's so much work ahead. And, in anticipation of how we support the community and families through this change.”
Next week, Mayor Justin Bibb is having two town halls to discuss a variety of topics. The first is Nov. 11 at Collinwood High School. The second is Nov. 13 at Tremont Montessori School. Both begin at 6 p.m.
I reached out to the mayor’s office to ask if the city schools will be discussed.
A spokesperson acknowledged that Building Brighter Futures will be a huge topic of interest for the community and that the district’s CEO will be in attendance with other local leaders from the mayor’s cabinet.
