A photo of the The CMSD Board of Education meeting at Waverly School, 1805 W. 57th St.
The CMSD Board of Education meets at Waverly School, 1805 W. 57th St. Credit: CMSD YouTube

Covered by Documenter Marvetta Rutherford (Tweets)

Transit passes

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District Board of Education approved the purchase of public transit passes for district students. The contract with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is not to exceed $1.27 million. Eric Gordon, in his last board meeting as the district’s CEO, said the passes are only for students in grades 9-12 who live a mile or more from their school. Students in grades 7 and 8 will have yellow school buses to ride.

Safety concerns

Some board members expressed concern about ensuring safe passage for students. Kathleen Valdez, also in her last meeting with the board, said the RTA contract is not sufficient in terms of safety. Valdez cast the lone vote against the contract. Leah Hudnall asked about future meetings with city partners to focus on safety. The district has plans to meet with the city, RTA, and the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Gordon said. Sara Elaqad, who takes over as board chair this month, asked what students can do if they feel unsafe. Cards will be posted inside trains and buses with a phone number to the district’s Safety and Security Department, according to Gordon. 

$14 million for food and supplies 

The board also approved the purchase of food, supplies and services for feeding students in the 2023-2024 school year. The cost is roughly $14 million. 

Read the Twitter coverage of this meeting by Documenter Marvetta Rutherford:

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Doug, a Cleveland Documenter since 2020, has been a copy editor and reporter. His work includes: The Pace of Passage about how quickly Cleveland City Council passes legislation; a look at the challenges of the city’s Exterior Home Paint program; and University Circle Police Department’s complaint-review process. Doug has also written explainers and guides and launched #CLEDocsAnswers, which answers questions Documenters have about local government.