Cleveland mayor argues for the school mergers plan

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb recently argued for the school mergers plan in a newly released TV ad from a nonprofit, suggesting that the Cleveland Metropolitan School District should consolidate 39 schools.

The commercial began airing right before the CMSD board’s Dec. 9 vote on the plan, according to Signal Cleveland.

In the ad, Bibb argued for the mergers and building closures because the city needs to save $150 million in the coming years and face the fact that the student population has been falling.

“That means too many of our schools are half empty,” the mayor said, adding that “too many of our kids miss out on the basics, like algebra, computer tech, band, sports and college and career prep.”

Ohio.News previously reported that, to cut costs, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District also announced it would shut down 18 of its buildings and drop a handful of leases.

The city’s developers and nonprofits have already turned former schools into apartments, but many district-owned properties remain vacant.
On Nov. 6, Bibb said that the consolidation presents “a unique opportunity” to reimagine surplus real estate.

“Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll see a plan be announced from my administration, in partnership with CMSD, outlining our vision for those old school sites to make sure they’re integrated into a broader community development strategy,” he said.

Four schools in Columbus were also put on a chopping block, with the Columbus City Schools Board of Education voting on Tuesday to cut more than $50.4 million from the district’s budget.

Board members approved cuts totaling more than $15 million in administrator and non-personnel positions. They also voted to reduce spending by more than $8.7 million by eliminating transportation for students in grades K-8 who attend schools other than their neighborhood schools or 100% lottery schools.

The board also cut $25.9 million by firing the school staff.

“We know that we are talking about jobs, we are talking about the livelihood of our employees, we are talking about reducing supports to our schools at a time when we know our students need more,” Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman said. “Post-pandemic, our students are coming to us with more needs, more mental health needs, and so we take these decisions very heavily, and they weigh on us.”

Ohio.News also reported on recent data from the Institute for Education Policy at Johns Hopkins’ School of Education showing that Ohio was rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing homeschooling states.

“During the pandemic, homeschooling experienced dramatic growth followed by a slight decline immediately after traditional schools reopened,” the institute said. “However, in the 2023-2024 school year, homeschooling participation rebounded. These new data for 2024-2025 indicate that this upward trend has continued in the most recent round of reporting.”