CLEVELAND — Cleveland Metropolitan School District students are returning to school on Monday, but the classroom they're going back to will look and feel different compared to four months ago.
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Back in December, the CMSD Board of Education voted and unanimously approved the large-scale plan that would restructure the school system for the 2026-2027 school year. The plan is called "Building Brighter Futures."
It included closing 18 buildings and five leased spaces. That took the total number of schools from 88 to 59 by way of merging 13 high schools and 16 elementary schools into different school buildings.
The district is facing a $150 million deficit and potential state oversight if it is not corrected.
Consolidating is expected to save $30 million a year through operating and personnel savings, in addition to other significant savings the district has already achieved.
Following the decision to consolidate, the district announced well over 200 layoffs within the teacher and paraprofessional ranks.
"The kids are stressed out. We have several teachers that come to us. The teachers are stressed out, but I mean it is what it is. The city and the administration made the decision. Some agree with it, some don't, but the decision has been made," Waverly Willis, a CMSD grandparent, told us.
Willis is also the owner of Urban Kutz Barbershop, and on Sunday, he helped facilitate an event for CMSD students.
"We just wanna be part of the fabric of the community. The community has supported us for 18 years now, so we always wanna show some appreciation any way we can," Willis said.
Free food, toys and haircuts were provided to those students who attended.
"We're just doing our part to let the people know we're here. If you wanna come in and praise the administration or if you wanna come in here and vent, you know, we've been here, and we're gonna be here. We just let them know that we're proud of them. We wanna love on them and just give them words of encouragement," Willis said.
Jonathan McGory is one of the many CMSD parents who showed up to the Sunday event.
"It's been a great summer, but I think the kids, and especially my wife and I, are ready for school to get started again," McGory said.
As his family prepares for another school year, though, he can't help but wonder what the future of his child's school will look like.
"We're really curious to see how it's gonna affect Campus International. They're gonna [get] some additional students this year, so we're curious to see like, [are] there gonna be extra kids on the bus and they have a longer time getting to and from school? The class is going to get a little bit more crowded, but Campus has been such a great school. I have really no concerns that they're going to be able to do alright."
For Cleveland Teachers Union president Errol Savage, the worries have lessened over time.
"The district has assured me they're ready, and from what I've been able to see, because I have been going out to buildings, it looks like most of our buildings are mostly ready and the district tells me they're all gonna be ready by tomorrow morning. I know there are crews working right now on Sunday evening at specific building sites to make sure that they're open, ready and operational for students when they walk in tomorrow morning," Savage said.
He told me he's been pleasantly surprised with the level of activity and engagement he has seen from the school district.
Savage knows there is a concern from parents regarding class sizes, but he hopes the larger they are, the more of an opportunity there is for the district to see more teachers are needed for a viable education.
"My hope is that class sizes are large tomorrow and then the district can recall the rest of our laid-off teachers and we'll lower those class sizes back down. I'm excited that our enrollment trends look to be where we need them to be to keep recalling more of our laid off teachers," Savage said.
Thirty-one laid-off educators have already been called back to CMSD classrooms as of July.
RELATED: Cleveland Metropolitan School District agrees to bring back 31 laid off teachers
I asked Savage if there were any further talks of recalling more teachers in the near future.
"The good thing is with the district partnering with us, the Cleveland Teachers Union, we have enhanced building subs at most of our sites who are certified teachers on the recall list and if class sizes are high, those teachers will be immediately able to recall and fill permanent positions in the district. So, this will be the smoothest transition that I've seen in decades really when we've had enrollment changes," Savage said.
While Savage's overall outlook on the school year is positive, he said a couple of concerns remain top of mind as CMSD heads into its first school day of this academic year.
The two main concerns are teaching materials and textbooks being readily available on Monday. Both have been issues in the past, Savage said.
"The district has assured me that tomorrow morning these things are going to be actively addressed," he told me. "Last year, there was a problem with textbooks being delivered and put in front of students and in the hands of teachers so that they could teach with them. That has been, I believe, adequately addressed this year, and the district is making sure that textbooks are ready on day one, which they always should be and should have been, but this year it appears that's going to happen."
Savage wants to reassure CMSD families not to fret, to eat a good breakfast Monday morning, get the kids to school on time and "the teachers are gonna do the rest."
