CMSD CEO details 'Building Brighter Futures' plan; parents, students and teachers press for guarantees on special education and IB continuity

CLEVELAND — Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Dr. Morgan presented the district’s Building Brighter Futures recommendation and answered sustained questions from board members, teachers, parents and students about how mergers and program consolidations would be implemented.

Dr. Morgan said the plan remains a single recommendation that can be adjusted during implementation and emphasized timelines if the board votes to approve the recommendation at its Dec. 9 meeting: the school choice application window would open Jan. 5 and close Feb. 27, families would learn placement results the week of March 30 and the deadline to accept offers would be in mid‑April. "All students that are part of a school that is ending instruction at the end of this year and need to go to a welcoming school will have a reserved seat at their welcoming school," Dr. Morgan said, adding the district projects the plan will save "upward of $90,000,000" over a multi‑year period.

The presentation included commitments about special education, multilingual supports and pre‑K. Dr. Morgan said placement decisions for students with Individualized Education Programs will be made student‑by‑student and that the district will map each student to appropriate classrooms and staffing: "It is based on the student, it is based on their IEP," he said. He also said single‑classroom special‑education settings would continue to be offered "in multiple locations across all regions," and described transition teams, school‑level choice navigators, and additional family communications the district plans to deploy.

Still, speakers during public comment and union leadership pressed for clearer, individualized answers. "Hundreds of families were told that there is no room at the end for their children? This is abhorrent," said Sherry Obrinsky, identified in the meeting as president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, describing a district form letter she said raised special‑education placement concerns. Obrinsky urged district leadership and the board to provide concrete plans to families before the vote.

Students and teachers who work with the International Baccalaureate (IB) program told the board that staff continuity is essential to preserve diploma‑year coursework. "IB is more than just a curriculum," said Nada El Fadil, a junior at Campus International High School. Patrick Mormon, an IB teacher at Campus International, told the board that losing trained IB teachers in a merger could imperil students’ ability to complete DP assessments and could impose tens of thousands of dollars in evaluation and training costs.

Other commenters urged preservation of small‑school models and campus‑level offerings. Becca Laharde, who teaches multilingual students at John Marshall’s campus, said the three small‑school model there already provides AP courses, electives and languages she said Building Brighter Futures aims to expand, and urged the board not to consolidate John Marshall’s small schools into one campus. Several parents and staff associated with Louisa May Alcott asked the board to delay or reconsider merger decisions that would move elementary students to much larger K‑8 buildings, citing concerns about sensory needs and developmental appropriateness for young learners.

Board members asked for follow‑up details on several fronts — class‑rank recognition for rising seniors, professional development timelines for new pathway courses, and further evidence about the viability of specific career‑technical programs. In response to questions about the Glenville High School criminal justice pathway, Dr. Morgan said seven juniors and seniors currently are enrolled in that offering and said academic staff would provide more details.

Dr. Morgan framed the proposal as a long‑term equity and quality initiative, noting current college and career readiness rates the district aims to raise. He said district data show only a small share of students meet both math and reading thresholds that predict success in entry‑level college courses, and the plan is intended to expand AP, dual‑enrollment, IB and state‑recognized CTE pathways across high schools.

What’s next: the board will consider the Building Brighter Futures recommendation at its Dec. 9 business meeting. If the board approves the recommendation, district staff said they will begin individualized family outreach, update the school finder and choice tools on the district website, deploy transition teams and hold pathway fairs and choice navigation events in January and February.