Feb. 13: Board of Education Work Session, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Covered by Documenters Barbara Phipps (notes) and Chardon Black (notes)

Deficits ahead

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is preparing for budget cuts as COVID-19 relief funding runs out. CMSD received about $465 million in funding, which was time limited and had to be spent quickly, according to CFO Kevin Stockdale. Based on current numbers, on-going deficits can be expected for the next four fiscal years, he said.

CEO Warren Morgan presented a draft of the deficit reduction plan. One suggestion included cuts to CMSD’s central office administrative staff to help address the $168 million budget hole expected by the end of 2026. 

Out-of-school cuts

CMSD also plans to make cuts to its Summer Learning Experience by reducing its capacity for students. The program is expected to serve about 3,500 students daily, down from a daily average of 4,225 students in 2023. CMSD also plans to double the instruction time to three hours a day. To help parents affected by these cuts, Morgan said they are working with Cleveland Public Library to identify other summer programs for students.

Out-of-school programs that rely on CMSD for funding will also be affected, according to Morgan. These changes would affect only outside partners, and there are no planned cuts to athletics or other school-led programs, he said.

Gifts and grants

The Board of Education also teed up a resolution allowing CMSD to receive money from several organizations and businesses, including $200,000 from Cleveland Guardians Charities and $23,000 from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. Meijer and Mac Installations & Consulting LLC also each donated $5,000.

The board is set to consider it at its Feb. 27 meeting.

Open board seats

Both CMSD’s Board of Education and the Cleveland Public Library’s Board of Trustees are accepting applications for new members. People can submit applications for the CMSD Board on the City of Cleveland’s website and for the library board on the CMSD website.

Read the notes from Documenter Barbara Phipps:

Cleveland-Metropolitan-School-District-Board-of-Education-Work-Session-02_13_2024Download

Read the notes from Documenter Chardon Black:

_Civics 2.0 Cleveland Municipal School District – Work Session 2_13_2024Download
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Service Journalism Reporter (she/her)
I am dedicated to untangling bureaucracy so Clevelanders can have the information (and the power) they want. I spent 10 years on the frontlines of direct service working with youth and system-impacted communities before receiving my degree in media advocacy at Northeastern University.

Cleveland Documenters pays and trains people to cover public meetings where government officials discuss important issues and decide how to spend taxpayer money.