Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Cleveland schools proposed closing of Collinwood High School with students moving to Glenville High School is just one part of a complex consolidation effort proposed by the district. Residents expressed concern about the move during a town hall meeting Tuesday.

Bibb and the faith leaders called on the community to support the plan, which calls for closing almost 30 schools and moving students to newer buildings with more academic offerings.

The district said the plan is needed due to falling enrollment and budget challenges. It will rely on merging schools to buildings with better conditions, more programs.

Anxiety is running high with Cleveland Metropolitan School District expected to announce sometime this month which schools it will close. The schools impacted will depend on a mix of factors like building age, enrollment and programs offered.

Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Warren Morgan said a "significant number" of buildings will need to be closed or combined in a major restructuring of the district, set to be announced sometime next month. Morgan said staff cuts will happen but did not offer specifics.

The legislature cut more than $52 million meant to address funding parity in Ohio's high-poverty urban school districts as part of the state budget that went into effect in July. The cut affects some of Northeast Ohio's biggest school districts including Akron, Canton and Cleveland.

Teacher aides, part of a broader group called paraprofessionals, provide one-on-one care to students and vital classroom support to students, but many must balance working two jobs and say they struggle to make ends meet.

A new component on Ohio's annual report cards now measures how well schools are preparing students for college, the military and the workforce after they graduate, and it's impacted some districts' overall scores.

It's still not clear exactly when the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will make a decision on which schools to close and consolidate, but it might not happen until 2026 or beyond.

The district says a decision on consolidation is coming sometime this school year, with changes to schools coming in the 2026-2027 school year.