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:
