Instead of cutting costs in other ways, the Cleveland School District lays off at least 410 educators

Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s CEO confirmed on Monday that at least 410 full-time staff, the majority of whom will be members of teachers’ unions, will be laid off.

The news came after the district announced it would close 29 schools next fall to cut costs and adjust its overall footprint following years of enrollment decline. According to K-12 Dive, student enrollment in the city has dropped by about 50% over the past two decades, from 70,000 in 2004 to 34,000 in 2025.

CMSD CEO Warren Morgan told Ideastream Public Media on Monday that he does not want to lay off staff.

“I don’t know if people think I wake up being the CEO that wants to make tough decisions, that people yell at, that people sometimes are very angry about. That’s not personally how I like to live. That is not personally what gives me joy,” Morgan said. “That is very hard. It is a very difficult decision.”

Morgan also said that the decision to consolidate schools and lay off workers will benefit children in the future by providing more arts and music electives, advanced placement courses, college credit classes, and career pathways at the schools that remain.

“That’s a brighter future for our scholars because it’s expanded opportunities for our kids, they need and deserve these opportunities, and I want to underscore ‘deserve,’ our scholars deserve it,” he said.

Of the 410 planned layoffs, 86 administrators and 146 teachers will be laid off. Additionally, 120 non-certified staff, such as paraprofessionals and nurses, who are members of the Cleveland Teachers Union, will also be affected. The jobs of the remaining 58 employees were not disclosed.

The Cleveland Teachers Union’s new president, Errol Savage, told Ideastream earlier that the layoffs were unnecessary at this time because the district’s finances would be good for the next several years.

“I just think there’s going to be an adverse effect on our students, when students lose the teacher that’s working with them right in front of them — student achievements, it’s going to go down,” he said.

The district officials previously said it needs to cut staff as it consolidates schools, adding that they hope to save $30 million annually from the district’s budget.

However, the district was allegedly recently criticized for spending on administrators and on contracts, including $270,000 for a human resources consulting firm, CoLeague, which was hired by the CMSD to work with the district as it finalizes layoffs. Ideastream reported that CoLeague is led by former CMSD Chief Talent Officer Lora Cover.

Even though the district was criticized for not cutting costs by eliminating these services, Jon Benedict, the district’s spokesperson, told the news source in an April 10 email statement that it was necessary to engage CoLeague following the departure of the district’s chief talent officer in late 2025.

“It was critical to have experienced leadership in place immediately rather than attempt to onboard a new permanent hire during this period,” he wrote, adding that CoLeague did not determine staffing levels and that they were set internally by CMSD leadership.

Savage told the news source that half the teaching staff at Hannah Gibbons School in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood has received layoff notices, adding that the educators could be “called back” to jobs if the district realizes they fired too many people.

“I suspect many of them will (be called back) because I think the district made a mistake in laying them off in the first place,” he said.