Cleveland.com - District 91��Ƭistration

Cleveland Schools announces massive consolidation plan to close 23 buildings

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:44:34 +0000

Cleveland Schools expects to close 23 buildings and operate 29 fewer schools under a sweeping restructuring plan that would amount to the district’s largest overhaul in decades.

Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Warren Morgan said the changes are necessary to confront steep drops in enrollment, rising operating costs and a looming $150 million deficit. Changes would take effect before the 2026-2027 school year.

The plan, introduced to the school board Wednesday night, would save CMSD at least $30 million annually if approved. Those savings would mostly come from the district cutting administrative staff, including principals and assistant principals, on account of reducing the number of schools.

A quarter of Ohio students are chronically absent? Unpacking the state’s education crisis

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 14:11:19 +0000

The shocking revelation that one-quarter of Ohio’s students are chronically absent from school goes beyond typical truancy concerns, revealing a post-pandemic crisis that threatens an entire generation’s educational outcomes.

The Today in Ohio podcast crew wondered Monday whether old-fashioned truancy enforcement might help reverse the trend.

“I had no idea a quarter of Ohio kids are chronically absent,” Laura Johnston. “That means they miss at least 10% of class time a year, at least two days a month. That’s excused and unexcused absences as well as suspensions, they all count to that total.”

Should schools let students leave for religious classes? Ohio lawmakers consider mandate

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 13:43:17 +0000

Decisions about whether students should be allowed to leave school to attend off-campus religious instruction should be left to each of Ohio’s 600 local school districts, opponents of an Ohio House bill that would mandate it argued Tuesday.

The Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee on Tuesday took opponent testimony for House Bill 445, which would require every school district to adopt policies authorizing kids to leave school for religious studies. Released time religious instruction has occurred across the U.S. for decades but has become more popular – and derided – in Ohio as LifeWise Academy, headquartered in the Columbus suburb of Hilliard, has increasingly opened programs across the state.

LifeWise Academy students, mostly in elementary school, leave school once a week for around 55 minutes in the middle of the day to study the Bible and gain lessons the organization says are meant to grow their character. The program is free to students and their families.