Cleveland’s school board is set to vote Tuesday on a plan that would massively reshape the district, merging up to 39 schools and shuttering school buildings across the city.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Warren Morgan presented the plan, which would impact nearly 16,000 students to the board just over a month ago.
Since then, he and Mayor Justin Bibb, have made the case that the proposal would address the district’s financial challenges and declining enrollment by consolidating half-empty school buildings to allow for more efficient operations – and that it would improve academic offerings for all students.
The plan would reduce the number of high schools from 27 to 14 and the number of K-8 schools from 61 to 45. The district’s goal is to offer college classes at every high school and enrichment classes like foreign language or Algebra 1 at every elementary school, next year.
Since Morgan’s announcement, concerns and questions from parents, teachers and students have emerged including around special education, safety and transportation. The school board has offered more opportunities for public comment at recent board meetings. CMSD has also held meetings at every school that is set to move, close or receive students.
“As the person, sitting and listening through this feedback, and providing the recommendation on behalf of the district to our board, I hear that throughline of ‘we know change needs to happen just not my school,’” Morgan said at a recent board meeting. “And if we honor that for every single school no change would happen.”
Since the announcement, families and teachers have also fiercely fought to keep their schools open. They’ve given public comment against the plan, organized petitions and written emails to school board members.
How will the school board vote work?
The school board plans to vote on the entire plan as a whole rather than voting school by school, according to Board Chair Sara Elaqad.
Elaqad expects that there will be some changes to the plan that will be incorporated into the proposal and presented at the meeting before the board takes its vote. The board also has the ability to amend a resolution during the meeting before voting on it.
For its regular business, the school board currently uses a “consent agenda” format where it does not discuss or vote on resolutions individually but will not vote on the merger plan in this format. Board members will have a chance to discuss and ask questions about the proposal before voting on it separately from other agenda items at the meeting.
A simple majority is required for the plan to pass; the school board has nine members and five would need to vote in favor of it. Ahead of the vote, the board will hear a final round of public comment on the plan which is limited to 20 speakers who have to sign-up ahead of time online.
Why is the district proposing this plan?
Over the last 20 years, CMSD has lost around half of its students due to falling birth rates and an increase in parents enrolling their children in private or charter school options. In 2005, the district had nearly 70,000 students enrolled, today it has only around 34,000.
The district is also facing financial trouble and needs to save $150 million in the next few years in order to avoid a budget deficit which could make it vulnerable to state control. Morgan has said the mergers would save an estimated $30 million annually over the next three years.
CMSD developed the plan over the course of the year where it held community outreach meetings and looked at data for each school including: the number of students enrolled, the size and condition of each building as well as geography and special programs. District leaders set an enrollment target for high schools of 500 students each and for K-8 schools of 450 each—though the projected enrollment at a number of schools next year would exceed these goals.
If the board approves the plan what happens next?
The district has said the proposal will go into effect for next school year. That means after the board’s vote Tuesday, preparations for any changes will start right away. For the newly merged school, principals will be chosen in December and assistant principals will be named by January.
CMSD also plans to launch a school finder tool in December to help families make choices for next year. It will also hold school fairs for families to learn about their options starting in January.
The school enrollment online portal will open on Jan. 5 and close on Feb. 27. Once enrollment for next year is finalized then the district will be able to start making teacher staffing decisions at merged schools.
Students whose schools are closing will have a guaranteed spot at their welcoming school and priority in the school choice process if they choose to go to another school in the district. To receive their guaranteed spot or priority they must make their choices by the Feb. 27 deadline. Students will receive their school placements in the week of March 30 and have until mid-April to accept the offers.
Families of special education students can expect to receive individualized outreach from the district about their school options in December.
