CLEVELAND — Cleveland’s top educator expects layoffs to help dig the district out of a huge budget deficit totaling more than $140 million.
Right now, teachers might be safe and no school closures are in the plan, which is being presented Tuesday night to the board of education during its work session.
Layoffs are slated for people at the district’s Central Office.
CMSD CEO Dr. Warren Morgan spelled out the draft deficit reduction plan as COVID relief money is set to go away at the end of the school year.
A deficit of about $18 million will grow to more than $140 million by the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Morgan said challenges were looming.
"The COVID relief dollars helped us out not only from a pandemic side but it also helped some of these financial challenges the district would have saw a lot sooner if the pandemic dollars didn’t come,” Morgan said.
CMSD got nearly half a billion dollars over three years in COVID relief money to help operate.
Morgan said the federal money allowed them to fill in gaps and maintain funding and programs, "in a way that may have given us a sense of like, we’re OK."
Twenty-five positions at the Central Office are slated for the chopping block. They would be a mixture of layoffs and not hiring vacant positions, saving more than $5 million over two years.
Morgan can’t guarantee no teachers will lose their jobs but thinks the impact will be minimal. Principals make budget decisions based on enrollment at each school.
Right now, the district says there are 175 teacher vacancies.
“There also may be displacements...school leaders make decisions around vacancies and closing [them] — there may be teachers moving from building to building,” Morgan said.
Summer learning cuts are expected to save nearly $32 million. Morgan said they’re working with city agencies to coordinate things for kids to do like at libraries and rec centers.
Extracurricular activities like athletics will stay in place.
But the district will also try to save $34 million by re-visiting after-school programs. Morgan said they’ll meet with providers of those services.
“If we get extra sources or other programs or other funding that comes in, we may be able to continue some of these on — it’s more or less a rallying cry of what we can do,” Morgan said.
The district needs to submit a plan to the state by the end of the month that shows it will be in the black for the next two school years.
Morgan was to meet with union leaders before the board meeting.
The board will vote on Feb. 27 with the approved plan due to the state on Feb. 29.
