CLEVELAND — Cleveland Metropolitan School District is just days from beginning a new school year, and there are already safety concerns at the forefront as a car was stolen and another was vandalized on two separate campuses this week.
Cleveland police confirm both incidents happened on Aug. 18.
A car was stolen from John Marshall High School, and a car was vandalized at Artemus Ward Elementary.
"It appears the two incidents may be related," CPD public information officer Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz told me on Thursday. "The First District is aware of both incidents, are investigating, and providing additional attention to those areas."
CMSD educator of nearly three decades, Michael Parks, initially tipped me off to the car issues, saying he'd seen a colleague post about it on social media.
"Already?" is what crossed Parks' mind when he read the post. "We haven't even started instruction. We went through all of this last year and now, here it is. We start instruction on Monday. We haven't even started school and these things are already occurring, and who really wants to do this for 36 weeks? It's just the fact that it's happening so early and not just once, but twice on the same strip of road. It's scary."
Parks said there have been far too many incidents of staff vehicles being stolen or vandalized in the last year.
"It really just creates a very sense of uneasiness. We're being violated as educators, as people, as teachers," Parks said. "This isn't a teacher issue; it's a staff issue. It's an educator issue because we're all being impacted by this rash of violence on our vehicles in our parking lots. It's not East Side, it's not West Side. It's nondiscriminatory. They're everywhere committing these fraudulent acts."
In December, dozens of cars on different CMSD campuses were vandalized or stolen.
RELATED: More than a dozen CMSD teachers' cars broken into at schools across Cleveland
CMSD staff at the time were calling on the district for stricter safety implementations.
The district sent staff a letter last year regarding preventative measures moving forward.
Dear CMSD Family,
I want to take a moment to acknowledge the deeply troubling incidents of vandalism and theft that have occurred across several of our school campuses and facilities. Like many of you, I am disturbed and frankly angered by these events, and I want to assure you that we are taking them very seriously.
This week, multiple vehicles were broken into at multiple CMSD schools. These acts are not only violations of personal property; they are violations of the sense of safety and trust that every member of our CMSD family deserves.
We are actively working with the Cleveland Division of Police and FLOCK Systems to investigate these incidents and identify those responsible. Chief Dodson has mobilized our internal safety team to respond swiftly and decisively. Effective immediately, all school-based security personnel have been instructed to conduct random parking lot checks at their schools. In addition, our dispatch center has begun random CCTV monitoring across all district buildings to enhance surveillance and deterrence.
More broadly, our leadership team is developing a plan to increase internal staff support for these external safety efforts as well as reviewing potential non-personnel investments to address this problem. We are committed to doing everything in our power to protect our community and restore a sense of security for all.
I want to thank each of you for your continued dedication and resilience. Please know that your safety and well-being remain our top priority. We will keep you informed as we move forward together.
RELATED: CMSD staff call for upgraded security measures after recent rash of car break-ins
I reached out to CMSD again on Thursday to see about safety efforts. No one was available for an interview.
A spokesperson told me via email: "Building security personnel are required to conduct random patrols of the parking lots throughout their workday. We are working together with our law enforcement partners to ensure the overall safety of our school environment."
I also stopped by the Cleveland Teachers Union in downtown for updates on the safety front.
Cleveland Teachers Union president Errol Savage said, "Through the Building Brighter Futures plan, the district has assured me that we're gonna have additional security at buildings, additional roving patrols. I'm waiting to see that happen. While we have 60 active building sites or work sites, our school police officers or security officers can't be everywhere, every time, but I'm hoping that they'll be visible and present in cooperation with the city, that the Cleveland Police Department will be visible and present or other law enforcement agencies in the jurisdiction. Mainly, I'm hoping that our parents are aware of where their children are and what they're doing."
Savage said he and Morgan talk regularly, and if they see the problems are becoming more of a pattern, "I expect he'll increase his allocation of resources to prevent it or do his best to."
Savage said he was disappointed to hear of more campus car problems this week.
"It's upsetting and it's concerning. Our teachers are just coming back to the school year. Our students will be coming back to the buildings next week, and we want them in a safe supportive environment," he said.
He's hoping these two incidents don't hurt morale as educators are preparing for the upcoming school year.
"I'd like our educators to keep doing what they always do in Cleveland, which is focus on our students. Our teachers are tough. Our teachers go through a lot. Our teachers are adaptable. Our teachers are resilient, and our teachers, I think, in spite of the adversity that they face, they're going to do their best jobs that they can in the classrooms," Savage said.
Parks said while the situation puts him on edge, he still plans to show up next week with arms wide open and a big smile to greet his new students. He simply wants the district to be proactive so nothing gets in the way of education.
"I'm concerned about my colleagues. I'm concerned about all of us. I'm concerned about all of our personal belongings. I'm concerned about our safety. You know, who's to say somebody's walking out there and they see this, then what? Right now, I really think that we need to be proactive, not just as educators, but also with our law enforcement department, with our city council person, with our CMSD police. You know, everybody's working collaboratively so we can find solutions," Parks said.
He's optimistic real change will follow, saying he hopes to see CMSD administration move with an open mind.
"I understand that they have cameras out there and those are wonderful, however, cameras capture what's going on, it doesn't really prohibit what it is that's actually happening," Parks said. "Let's have real conversations and real dialogue on practical solutions, things that we can actually do."
