CMSD launches "Building Brighter Futures" community process as district faces enrollment and budget gap

Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Warren Morgan told the board that the district’s Building Brighter Futures planning process will use community feedback and data to propose systemwide changes, including program replication, expanded college credit access and, if necessary, school closures, relocations or consolidations.

The plan, Morgan said during the board business meeting, is meant to ensure “education for all the Cleveland scholars” while placing the district on “a pathway to financial sustainability.” He told the board that over the past 20 years district enrollment has fallen by more than 50% while the number of buildings has remained roughly the same, and that CMSD currently operates facilities sized for about 50,000 students while serving about 34,000.

Morgan described a multi-step community engagement process that has included in-person and virtual meetings across the city and nearly 500 participants and 66 submitted surveys in the first round. He said the district will continue outreach through the summer and fall and that no recommendations will be implemented before fiscal year 2026–27: “Building Brighter Futures will not be implemented until 2627,” Morgan said, meaning the district will use the coming year to gather rigorous feedback and analyze data.

Why it matters: The district is seeking ways to close an estimated $150 million shortfall over the next three years. Morgan said the plan’s options — consolidating buildings, replicating successful programs across schools and ensuring college-credit pathways in all high schools — are intended to reduce long-term costs while preserving or expanding educational opportunities.

Details and context

- Central office reductions: Morgan said spring 2024 central-office budget reductions totaled about 12.6% and central-office staffing declined about 9.5% from Jan. 1, 2024, to Jan. 1, 2025. He emphasized that those reductions included filled and vacant positions and that the cuts were not performance-based but administrative decisions tied to the district’s deficit reduction plan.

- Lease and facilities: Morgan addressed repeated questions about CMSD’s downtown administrative lease at 1111 Superior, saying the lease was renewed before his start and runs through July 2028; he said breaking the lease in 2024 would have cost the district “over $10,000,000.” He said the district is exploring options where feasible, including subletting, but that immediate termination would be cost-prohibitive.

- Special education (IDEA) funds: Morgan explained that IDEA funds are federal reimbursements and that the district spends both federal IDEA and unrestricted general special-education funds on special education. He said reimbursements are coded as IDEA when received but that the expenditures were for special education and that the district and the state have verified the approach.

- Savings estimates tied to Building Brighter Futures: Morgan said the unified-calendar recommendation (discussed separately at the meeting) would save about $9 million a year and that districtwide facility and program changes the Building Brighter Futures process could produce additional, multi-year savings; he framed the initiatives collectively as necessary to reach the $150 million target.

Community reaction and next steps

Morgan said the first round of community meetings were “packed” and that the district heard “pieces of feedback on all sides of the city.” He committed to posting meeting recaps and answers to common questions on the district website and to returning to the board with formal recommendations after further community engagement and additional data review.

Ending

Morgan framed Building Brighter Futures as “the beginning of a conversation, not the conversation,” and urged the community to continue engagement during the coming months so the board can vote on a recommended path next year after additional analysis.

Speakers

["Warren Morgan","Chief Executive Officer","government","Cleveland Metropolitan School District",{"timecode":"s:667.53","transcript_line_range":[1,75]} ,{"name":"Chair Ellicott","role_title":"Board Chair","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Cleveland Metropolitan School District","first_reference":{"timecode":"s:711.815","transcript_line_range":[1,1]}}],

Authorities: []