Longtime Cleveland Metropolitan School District board member Robert Heard Sr. stepped down earlier this month, marking the third resignation from the nine-member board in about a month. 

Heard served on the board for 20 years. In June, the board’s vice chair Leah Hudnall and 17-year board member Denise Link both resigned. Those resignations leave board chair Sara Elaqad, appointed in 2019, as the longest-serving member. Elaqad is one of six remaining members on the board. 

With three empty seats, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who appoints school board members, is seeking applications. Those interested can send applications in the mail, drop them off at City Hall or submit them online. The mayor’s office has not yet set deadlines for submitting applications. 

Mayor controls the Cleveland school board

Cleveland’s school board is the only one in Ohio with appointed rather than elected members. This structure dates back to 1997, when the Ohio legislature voted to give control of Cleveland’s school board to the mayor. That decision followed decades of political dysfunction and economic struggles in the district. 

School board members, who are not paid, are responsible for making policy decisions, promoting parent involvement, approving the district’s budget and, along with the mayor, hiring the district’s CEO. 

Board members serve four-year terms, but there’s no limit on how many terms they can serve. Whoever takes over Heard’s term will be up for reappointment in 2025, while Hudnall and Link’s replacements will be up for reappointment in 2027. 

How does the appointment process work?

Applying for a school board seat is a bit like applying for a job. Seats are open to residents of CMSD, but elected officials and district employees are not allowed to serve on the board. The board must have at least four members with expertise in education, finance or business management. Board members are not required to have children enrolled in CMSD.

Once applications come in, a panel of 11 volunteers reviews them. That panel nominates candidates and sends its selections to the mayor, who then makes official appointments. State law doesn’t dictate a timeline for this process. 

The nominating panel is created according to the following guidelines:

• 3 members must be parents or guardians of children attending a CMSD school. They must be appointed by the District Parent Advisory Council, which is a group of representatives from each school’s Parent Advisory Council. Parent Advisory Councils are groups of parents that advise school administrators and teachers.

• 3 members are appointed by the mayor.

• 1 member is appointed by the president of Cleveland City Council.

• 1 teacher is appointed by the collective bargaining representative of the Cleveland Teachers Union.

• 1 principal is appointed through a vote of CMSD’s principals.

• 1 representative of the business community is appointed by an organized collective business entity selected by the mayor. Currently this is the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

• 1 president of a public or private institution of higher education located within CMSD is appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.