Cleveland Metropolitian School District staff were told late Thursday that the district plans to issue layoff notices in the coming days. The news came in a joint letter from CEO Warren Morgan and outgoing Cleveland Teachers Union President Shari Obrenski.
Morgan indicated during a school board meeting earlier in the week that the cuts were looming, and said that even after closing 29 schools and trimming other costs, the district would still face a nearly $50 million deficit by 2029.
The district did not say how many teaching and building staff positions it plans to cut. It will also make “significant administrative reductions,” which will include employees in the district’s central office, according to the letter. After the notices are doled out, the district will start assigning teachers and staff to buildings for next year.
“We understand that this news will cause anxiety for staff members, their families and our broader school community,” the letter states.
In a separate note to union staff, Obrenski said the union feels the cuts the district is planning are “completely unnecessary and ill advised.” The district, she said, has provided multiple sets of conflicting budget numbers. The union, she said, has tried to persuade the district to retain as much teaching staff as possible as all of the transitions under the Building Brighter Futures plan roll out next school year. Obrenski said she expects the layoffs to be announced prior to the next school board meeting on April 14. The union’s new president, Errol Savage, is set to be sworn in on April 9.
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At the most recent school board meeting, Savage gave a public comment urging the board not to balance the district budget on the backs of teachers’ aides who fill a variety of roles in school buildings and who are “often the lowest paid in the district, but the ones who have the closest connection to children.” He also said those employees are the most likely to live in Cleveland’s communities and support school levies.
The district has committed to providing laid off staff with resources, according to the letter.
