Jan. 28: Cleveland Metropolitan School District Board of Education
Covered by Documenter Emma Sedlak (notes)
More students, fewer bus drivers
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is spending an additional $3.6 million to bus students to charter and private schools. Before this school year began, the district set aside $4 million to pay those contractors.
Ohio law says, with some exceptions, public school districts have to transport students who live in the district but attend other schools. Because of a bus driver shortage, CMSD had to hire contractors to fill gaps in its bus routes this year, said district CEO Warren Morgan.
CMSD is providing transportation for about 1,000 more non-public students this school year than it did last year, according to the district’s records. The district currently transports about 4,400 non-district students. Contractors are transporting a larger share of those students this year compared with last year as well.
When will we hear about school calendar changes?
Andrea Dockery-Murray, a teacher at John Adams College & Career Academy, asked CMSD officials to announce potential changes to school calendars as soon as possible.
Her request follows debate last year about the financial costs and academic benefits of the district’s five different calendars. In October, CMSD officials started a study looking into how different calendars impact student performance, school culture and the district’s budget. Researchers should be wrapping up and presenting their findings to the board soon.
John Adams is one of CMSD’s year-round schools, but that could change for the 2025-2026 school year. In the past, the Board of Education has adopted calendars for following school years in April or May. Dockery-Murray said she’d like to know about any changes sooner than that.
“Many of us really want to kind of get our minds together for our short summer or our extended summer,” she said. “We can’t do that if we really don’t know where we’re going to land.”
New social-emotional learning curriculum
CMSD also bought a curriculum called Second Step designed to help students develop social and emotional skills. Licenses and materials for the curriculum cost the district $165,528. District officials are working with the Cleveland Teachers Union to implement the new curriculum for elementary and middle school students, Morgan said.
Morgan said the program guides students through five core skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
Read the notes from Documenter Emma Sedlak:
Watch the full meeting on the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s YouTube.
