Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Schools announces massive consolidation plan to close 23 buildings

Published

7 months ago

November 6, 2025

Cleveland Schools announces massive consolidation plan to close 23 buildings

CLEVELAND, Ohio — 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.

Morgan told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that the number of teachers should stay roughly the same as CMSD’s footprint shrinks, but some layoffs and new hires may occur, as the schools need different personnel.

Consolidation won’t just save money, Morgan said, but will also allow CMSD to offer a better education to more students.

He said during Wednesday’s board meeting that Cleveland’s schools have “pockets of excellence.” Some schools have great academics and others have great sports programs. But to offer all students an excellent education and extracurriculars, action is needed.

The plan significantly shrinks CMSD’s physical footprint. The district will go from 61 PreK–8 schools to 45, and from 27 high schools to 14. Amid the consolidation, 18 CMSD-owned buildings will be closed, and five leased spaces currently used as schools will also be phased out.

In some cases, students won’t change school buildings at all. Several Cleveland high schools like John Hay and John Marshall contain three different “schools” on one campus, each with its own administration.

In those cases, the campus will become one high school. Morgan said specialized programs currently offered at the schools will continue even after the mergers.

Some schools will not merge but will move to a better-maintained building that has capacity.

Morgan emphasized that nearly all of the changes are mergers, not straight closures. This means students won’t be dispersed, and their entire school community can move together into a new building. Cleveland schools also allow school choice, which gives students an opportunity to move freely if parents desire.

District officials say 95% of affected students will move into schools in stronger building conditions, and all students will gain expanded academic and extracurricular opportunities.

Morgan acknowledged the deep disruption that school closings will cause, but he said the district cannot maintain a system built for twice as many students as it now serves.

Since 2000, CMSD’s enrollment has dropped by more than 50%, from 70,000 students in 2000 to 34,000 today. Morgan attributed that downward trend to the drop in the region’s birthrate, not losing students to charters or private schools.

But CMSD largely uses the same footprint as it did 25 years ago.

Because of low enrollment, there are fewer than 5,000 students currently enrolled in schools that will either be merged or moved amid the consolidation plan.

Morgan said additional central-office and administrative cuts will still be needed to stabilize CMSD’s long-term finances.

The board is expected to vote on CMSD’s consolidation plan Dec. 9. Morgan said he does not expect any changes to the plan between now and December, saying district officials have done public engagement for over a year.

Many students and parents want the decision made soon, Morgan said, so they can start preparing.

Here are CMSD’s recommended school mergers and closures.

K-8 schools merging

Students from the “transitioning school” will move into the building of the “welcoming school.”

• Hannah Gibbons will merge into Memorial (students move to the Memorial building)

• Euclid Park will merge into East Clark (East Clark building)

• Stephanie Tubbs Jones will merge with Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR building, renamed Stephanie Tubbs Jones)

• Mary M. Bethune will merge into Daniel E. Morgan (Daniel E. Morgan building)

• Mary B. Martin will merge into Wade Park (Wade Park building)

• Alfred A. Benesch will merge into George Washington Carver (Carver building)

• Bolton will merge into Harvey Rice (Harvey Rice building)

• Charles Dickens will merge into Andrew J. Rickoff (Rickoff building)

• Adlai Stevenson will merge into Whitney M. Young Leadership (Whitney Young building)

• Miles will merge into Robert H. Jamison (Jamison building)

• Mound will merge into Albert Bushnell Hart (Hart building)

• Mary Church Terrell will merge into Wilbur Wright (Wilbur Wright building, renamed Wilbur Wright School of the Arts)

• Waverly and Louisa May Alcott will merge into Joseph M. Gallagher (Gallagher building)

• Charles A. Mooney will merge into Denison (Denison building)

• Valley View Boys’ Leadership Academy will merge with Kenneth Clement Boys’ Leadership Academy ** (Mary M. Bethune building)

K–8 specialty schools moving to improved buildings

These schools keep their programs but move into buildings that are in better condition.

• Stonebrook–White Montessori will move into the Stephanie Tubbs Jones building (renamed Michael R. White Montessori)

• Kenneth Clement Boys’ Leadership, merged with Valley View, will move into the Mary M. Bethune building (renamed Kenneth W. Clement Boys’ Leadership Academy)

• Dike School of the Arts will move into the Mound building (renamed Dike School of the Arts)

• Tremont Montessori will move into the Waverly building (renamed Waverly Montessori)

High schools merging

Students from the “transitioning school” move into a “welcoming school” building.

• Collinwood High School will merge with Glenville High School (Glenville building)

• Campus International High School will merge with John Hay High School (John Hay building)

• MC2STEM High School will merge with East Tech High School (East Tech building)

• New Tech West and Facing History New Tech High School will merge with James Ford Rhodes High School (Rhodes building)

High schools merging within their existing campuses

Merged into a single high school at the campus’s main building.

• John Hay Campus: the Cleveland School of Science & Medicine, Cleveland School of Architecture and Design and Cleveland Early College High School will all become John Hay High School

• Benjamin O. Davis High School: the Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School and Cleveland High School for Digital Arts will merge

• John Marshall Campus: the John Marshall School of Civic & Business Leadership, John Marshall School of Engineering and John Marshall School of Information Technology will become John Marshall High School

• Lincoln-West Campus: the Lincoln-West School of Global Studies and Lincoln-West School of Science and Health will become Lincoln-West High School

• James Ford Rhodes Campus: the James Ford Rhodes College and Career Academy and James Ford Rhodes School of Environmental Studies will become James Ford Rhodes High School

• Garrett Morgan Campus: the Garrett Morgan School of Engineering & Innovation and Garrett Morgan School of Leadership & Innovation will become Garrett Morgan High School

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Cleveland, OH

Man shot on Cleveland’s West Side

Published

9 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A man was shot in Cleveland’s Cudell neighborhood Tuesday night.

Cleveland Police 1st District officers responded to the 10100 block of Madison Ave around 9:00 P.M.

A man approximately 45 years of age was found with a gunshot wound.

EMS took the victim to MetroHealth Hospital. This incident remains under investigation.

There is no information on any suspects or arrests.

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Cleveland, OH

Leaders in Washington and Cleveland take aim at affordable housing in Northeast Ohio

Published

19 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Leaders in Washington and Cleveland take aim at affordable housing in Northeast Ohio

CLEVELAND — Ahead of her Third Annual Housing Expo this Saturday at Tri-C Corporate College East, Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) rolled out her Safe and Affordable Housing Agenda on Tuesday. It’s a series of four bills aimed at lowering home costs while strengthening lead paint and pipe abatement.

“We wanted to bring something forward that would improve the living conditions, to make things more affordable and more accessible for not only the constituents of Ohio’s 11th Congressional District but those who are experiencing the same challenge across the country,” Brown told News 5.

The Housing Supply Fund Act is legislation that encourages the building of more affordable housing by filling financing gaps that are holding back construction. The legislation would establish a competitive program within the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to address financing gaps that prevent otherwise viable housing projects from moving forward.

“We want to make sure we do not give up on affordable housing; we want to make sure that it is more accessible,” Brown said.

There is also the Affordable Housing Preservation and Protection Act, which is legislation to maintain and preserve existing HUD-assisted housing. This legislation establishes a new HUD preservation authority to provide targeted financing and intervention tools for distressed HUD-assisted multifamily properties at risk of deterioration, foreclosure, or loss of affordability.

The bill is designed to help preserve affordable housing, facilitate responsible ownership transitions, and protect existing federal housing investments serving seniors, working families, and vulnerable residents.

The other two bills introduced deal with the issue of lead abatement. The GET THE LEAD OUT Act of 2026 would create a new federal grant program to replace lead pipes, fixtures, and taps. The legislation would create a broad federal framework to address lead in drinking water and housing by funding removal of lead-based pipe and tap hazards, establishing training and certification requirements, directing federal standards and state programs, and integrating lead plumbing remediation into major housing programs. Brown’s legislation creates new authorities and financing mechanisms to drive national action on residential lead plumbing hazards.

The Removing Existing Pipes with Lead and Advancing Clean Environments (or REPLACE) Act improves existing lead paint and lead pipe removal programs within the federal government. This legislation would amend existing HUD and Safe Drinking Water Act authorities to strengthen lead-paint hazard remediation in housing, improve local implementation capacity, and better coordinate paint and pipe removal efforts.

“We know that this has been a longstanding issue in the City of Cleveland,” she said. “What we’re doing is trying to supplement and amplify the opportunities to be able to address these issues that have long-standing impacts in our community.”

Brown’s announcement comes on the heels of the Bibb administration’s announcement of the creation of the Housing Innovation District, a 1,500-acre swath of land covering St. Clair, Superior and Hough where efforts will begin this summer to repopulate streets that have lost more than half of their homes in recent decades with new housing starting on East 67th south of St. Clair, where ten homes will go up later this year.

A recent New York Times piece cited that among the barriers to building more housing are restrictive zoning and permitting, something the city addresses in this district.

“One of the big things that we’re doing is eliminating permit fees for single-family home construction, which is again a real sort of barrier to this sort of work,” said Tom McNair, Mayor Justin Bibb’s Chief of Integrated Development.

They also established what they call a “Pattern Book,” where they’ve pre-approved designs for certain types of homes in this district to speed up the process.

“When there’s a vacant lot that the city owns, it will be like this is the home you want, this is the lot you want to build on, here’s your permit,” he said.

Congresswoman Brown sees their efforts helping citizens towards the same goal.

“Our legislation would dovetail perfectly into what the mayor is putting forth as well,” she said. “People are doing all of the right things, they’re working hard, but they’re still having trouble getting ahead, and we want to be able to again address that gap as it relates to the opportunity to build wealth in our community, and this legislation will certainly help put people on a pathway to do that.”

Part of that pathway includes Brown’s Housing Expo for constituents of the 11th Congressional District. “It’s a one-stop shop for everything housing, so whether you are a renter or whether you are a first-time home buyer, whether you are looking to renovate, whether you are a senior that’s aging in place. We wanted to bring every aspect of the housing industry under one umbrella, and so we will do that.”

Constituents can register for the free event here.

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