CLEVELAND — Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Dr. Warren G. Morgan gave the annual State of the Schools address Tuesday afternoon in an event hosted by The City Club of Cleveland at the Huntington Convention Center where he discussed “his priorities and progress after his first year leading the schools.”
Below are some highlights on various topics he discussed throughout the address...
STATE STANDARDS: ACADEMIC PROGRESS
“We must celebrate again CMSD’s academic progress on the state report card showing that for the first time in history CMSD achieved three stars and is meeting state standards," he said. "I’m proud to report that CMSD received the highest rating of all urban districts in the state of Ohio, and we are the only urban district in our state meeting state standards. We achieved significant gains in English / language arts and math proficiency last year. Our gap closing in progress efforts have been remarkable with eight out of nine subgroups exceeding growth expectations in math and seven out of nine exceeding them in English / language arts.”
COMING OUT OF FISCAL WATCH
“Last year we also encountered challenges that tested us. Perhaps the most daunting challenge was our district being under fiscal watch with the state," he said. "Our budget forecast showed negative reserves of nearly $200 million, and if we did not act we faced the possibility of state takeover. Much of our budget deficit was due to the expiration of federal COVID-relief dollars that supported learning recovery following the global pandemic. This forced us to make difficult, but necessary, choices, that included reducing positions at central office and making deep budget cuts across the district. These decisions were not made lightly. Yet, through collective will, disciplined choices and unwavering focus on our scholars and the instructional core, we weathered this storm and got our district out of fiscal watch with the state. Not only did we improve our financial outlook, we maintained school-based budget funds. We negotiated new labor agreements, giving teachers, custodians, bus drivers and other staff members a much-needed and one of the highest cost-of-living raises they have seen. We froze executive-level salaries and put spending controls on administrative expenses. In fact, I cut my CEO budget by 30 percent this year, and my budget last year was 39 percent less than the CEO budget prior to me starting.”
You can watch the entire State of the Schools address in the video below:
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
“To ensure financial sustainability, we must look at our district’s buildings, our programs and our models so that we are investing in and maintaining progress in the system," he said. "We have already started to do this work with our board, and also some of our long-time CMSD partners. And in 2025, we’ll be going to the broader CMSD community to ask for input on CMSD’s future.”
STUDENT EXPERIENCE
After noting the limited number of schools in the district that offer certain subjects, Dr. Morgan offered this statement on the student experience:
“If we are not offering the basics: Algebra 1, foreign language, the ability to learn an instrument or play a core sport, we are robbing our children of the student experience they deserve. So let me be clear. Our work is clear. We must enhance the CMSD student experience while ensuring that our district has a path to financial sustainability.”
CELL PHONE POLICY & SCHOOL SAFETY
Dr. Morgan noted “remarkable improvements” in reducing behavior issues tied to phone distractions.
“By eliminating this barrier to focus and discipline, we are fostering classrooms where students are more engaged and learning outcomes can soar," he said. "Our safety and security team have also partnered with the city of Cleveland to provide safe routes to school. We are also in the process of implementing a new badging system that will start in 2025 for all of our high schools so that we can better keep track of those who are entering in our buildings.”
NUTRITIOUS FOOD IN SCHOOLS
“This school year, the number of CMSD schools having a fresh fruit and vegetable bar increased from eight schools to 21 schools," he said. "This is also the first year that we have partnered with people of color on farms -- like Village Family Farms -- that are producing locally sourced produce directly to our students. This partnership is currently in seven of our schools and we are expanding to more.”
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Morgan became CEO of CMSD in July of 2023.
CMSD is also on the ballot in the upcoming Nov. 5 election with Issue 49.
"We're on the ballot this fall for a levy, which will help us to continue to improve our academic excellence and then also to help improve our facilities," Morgan told 3News' Danita Harris in a recent conversation.
"Issue 49 combines two asks," according to VoteForClevelandSchools.com. "An 8.6 mill, 10-year, operating levy increase, and a 2.65 mill, 35-year bond extension authorization that will not increase taxes. The levy is based on old home values, not the reappraisal. The cost is $3.73 per week for a middle-value home. Over half of the tax is paid by businesses."