Cleveland Officials Announce School Overhaul

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland officials are unveiling a plan to transform the city’s school system.

The goal is to deliver immediate action for Cleveland’s school children and to serve as a model of innovation for the state of Ohio.

Mayor Frank Jackson says unacceptable academic performance, declining enrollment and a broken financial situation are all threatening the very existence of public education in Cleveland.

But Jackson believes he has the solution to fix the problems.

It is a comprehensive plan which includes transitioning from a traditional, single-source school district to a new system of districts and charter schools.

He also plans to grow the number of high-performing districts and charter schools and phase out the city’s failing schools.

The mayor said at the time of this report, 55-percent of Cleveland’s schools were failing to meet even minimum standards every year.

During an interview at City Hall Tuesday afternoon, Jackson said those facilities must be shut down.

He went on to say, “We’re not talking about closing schools, getting rid of the buildings, that would abandon that neighborhood.  What we’re talking about is closing the programs of the school and emptying the school and replacing that school with new staff, new principal, new programming.”

The Cleveland school district is projecting a $64.9 million budget gap this year and an additional $40 million next year.

Mayor Jackson said this is a bipartisan effort, adding assistance from the Governor and general assembly will be key in carrying out this plan.

He said hopefully, parents and students can start to see some changes by the fall of this year.