Signal Crossroads projects––like our series on casino revenue tax funds––combine the curiosity and community expertise of our Cleveland Documenters with the deep accountability work of our Signal reporters for a unique collaboration. Together, they dive into topics that demand deeper coverage to create a path for wider understanding and accountability. This unique approach to reporting yields a larger variety of voices on complicated topics than one reporter could ever hope to find.
Featured Report
Most CMSD students attend school outside of the ZIP code where they live (Map)
About two-thirds of CMSD students attended a school in a different ZIP code from where they lived, according to district data that reflected enrollment for a single day in November of 2022.
Recent Crossroad Features
Cleveland parents embrace school choice but transportation remains a barrier (Podcast)
Most Cleveland Metropolitan School District students attend a school outside of their neighborhood. About two-thirds of CMSD students attended a school in a different ZIP code from where they lived, according to district data that reflected enrollment for a single day in November of 2022.
Cleveland school choice through the decades (Timeline)
In the past, Cleveland students were automatically enrolled in their neighborhood school. During the era of desegregation busing, many white families left the public school district for private schools or fled the city for the suburbs.
Choosing a Cleveland school (Explainer)
For a decade, Cleveland has been an open enrollment school district. Parents, caregivers and students can choose which school they want to attend within the district. CMSD uses an online portal where families select their top choices for elementary or high schools.
How Cleveland City Council directs millions in casino money
City Council has used nearly $4 million in casino revenue money in recent years to fund its own system of direct neighborhood services.
Clevelanders sound off about City Council’s casino revenue funds (Podcast)
Gambling was legalized in Ohio in 2009, and the first casino in Cleveland opened in 2012. Since then, the city of Cleveland has received around $10 million every year from the money Cleveland casinos make on gambling losses.