The budget shortfall facing the Cleveland Metropolitan School District could grow, even as leaders continue to make cuts and consider shuttering schools.
Proposed changes to school funding at the state and federal levels mean CMSD will probably get less money than it previously anticipated over the next few years. To keep the district from running out of money, district leaders will have to find ways to cut roughly $150 million over the next three years, CEO Warren Morgan said during a CMSD Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.
If proposed state and federal funding cuts get approved, that number could balloon to as much as $200 million. The exact amount the district needs to save could continue to change because school funding at the state and federal levels depends on bills that lawmakers haven’t yet approved.
Morgan recommended cutting all the alternative calendars and longer school days in CMSD schools at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, a move that teachers and parents lined up to oppose during a public comment session. Putting all CMSD schools on a “traditional” calendar will save the district about $9.3 million every year if board members approve the change.
The district is also starting its “Building Brighter Futures” initiative, an analysis of the district’s buildings and programs that will lead to closures of some out-of-date school buildings, Morgan said.
“A year from now, our district footprint could look significantly different,” Morgan said during the meeting.
District leaders have previously said that any changes made through the Building Brighter Futures initiative would take effect in the 2026-2027 school year.
Next month, CMSD will hold seven public meetings around the city to talk about potential building closures. At this point, the district has not said how many buildings it expects to close or whether closing those buildings will mean that teachers and staff will be laid off.
Low enrollment at some schools makes it hard to even out school quality across the district, Morgan said. Some schools have more extracurriculars such as sports, art and career exploration activities than other schools do, he said.
“A big part of this element is making sure we have schools that are at-scale, not really small schools where teachers are asked to do multiple things in one day because they’re the only teacher in that grade level,” Morgan said.
How else can CMSD save money?
If CMSD doesn’t reduce spending, it will run out of money completely by 2028, but district leaders want to make cuts sooner than that. Cleveland voters passed a levy in November that will infuse the district about $49 million a year. That money bought the district time but will not prevent deep cuts. If the district doesn’t find a way to save around $96 million before November, the state will put the district in “fiscal precaution” and take more direct oversight of the district’s finances.
In addition to the calendar and building cuts, CMSD is reducing its spending in other ways, Morgan said. The district is $10 million under budget on spending for service contracts this year, the largest budget category outside of employees, he said. CMSD’s department leaders are looking to cut their budgets without laying off any employees. The district is also considering ending some of its property leases, including the lease for its central office.
CMSD has also limited spending on smaller expenses such as travel and food for administration employees. The district set up an email address specifically for public feedback on cutting costs. If you have any ideas, you can send an email to [email protected].
State and federal cuts could reduce budget by millions more
At the state level, Gov. Mike DeWine recently proposed a K-12 schools budget that would leave CMSD with less funding than the district had anticipated. Over the next two years, CMSD would get about $10.7 million less than it projected based on the previous state budget, Morgan said. State lawmakers can still make changes to the new budget before they vote on it.
CMSD is also facing potential funding cuts at the federal level. The district gets about $34.1 million in federal funding to support students from low-income households. In a bill last year, federal lawmakers suggested cutting the pool that money comes from by 25%. The bill would also cut off federal money for students learning to speak English and money to address teacher shortages. That bill has not yet been adopted.
