CLEVELAND — In early December, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Board of Education plans to vote on the recommendation laid out by CEO Dr. Warren Morgan under the Building Brighter Futures initiative, which calls for closing 18 school buildings the district owns, plus five leased spaces, and operating 29 fewer schools.
Thousands of high school and elementary students will end up merging into new buildings, or, as the district calls them, “welcoming” schools.
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Morgan said downsizing the district is part of an effort to save money and provide all students with a higher-quality education in a better-conditioned building.
The district is facing the possibility of running out of cash by 2028 and needs to save $150 million. Morgan said the Building Brighter Futures initiative would save $30 million a year.
During last month’s State of the Schools address, Morgan said operating fewer buildings would save money, but the majority of savings would come from a “staffing approach,” another way of saying cuts.
I reached out to the district today for clarification. A spokesperson said the recommendation would require fewer principals and other building-level administrative positions, but couldn’t provide an estimate.
Last week, Shari Obrenski, the president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, said she’s hopeful most classroom positions will be preserved.
"The conversations that I have had with district leadership so far have been that we should see minimal loss of jobs in part because of the robust plan that you're seeing in terms of offering students more opportunities,” Obrenski said. “We also currently have about 150 open positions throughout the district, and we have a number of teachers that resign or retire at the end of each school year. And so, I believe that through attrition and through the closing of open positions, we should be pretty close to what we need in terms of staffing."
Upcoming meetings and town halls
The chair of the Board of Education said there will be additional opportunities for public comment, with 20 speaker slots available at each of its next three meetings:
- Nov. 19 at Max S. Hayes High School at 6:30 p.m.
- Dec. 2 at the Arnold Pinkney East Professional Center at 6:30 p.m.
- Dec. 9 at Max S. Hayes High School at 6:30 p.m.
This week, Bibb is holding two town halls to discuss a variety of topics, including CMSD’s closure and merger plan. Morgan plans to attend, along with other members of the mayor’s cabinet.
- Nov. 11 at Collinwood High School at 6 p.m.
- Nov. 13 at Tremont Montessori School at 6 p.m.
