CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO is answering questions about the decision to halt a grant funding program benefitting CMSD students and educators, as the district deals with a multimillion-dollar deficit.
Dr. Warren Morgan attended a Cleveland City Council Caucus meeting Monday afternoon, just days after 12 council members sent a letter addressed to Morgan and Mayor Justin Bibb asking for millions of dollars to be returned to the “CMSD Get More Opportunities Fund.”
Cleveland City Council does not have authority over CMSD or the school board, but at the meeting, Morgan immediately addressed council’s concerns about the program.
“When we made the decision about the pausing of the Get More Opportunities program, it was not saying that the program was going away,” Morgan said. “I think it's a fantastic opportunity for our students to have the right to actually help make some decisions on how we give out awards.”
The grant funding program was created under former CMSD CEO Eric Gordon after philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave the district a $20 million gift in 2022. There were no restrictions on how the money could be spent.
The district allocated $4 million per year to be given out over five years, with students involved in deciding what gets funded.
According to a district spokesperson, $2.7 million of the $20 million gift has been spent so far on funding grant requests. The district's website says designated investments were for three categories outlined as:
- Scholar Opportunities, including student travel for college visits and learning;
- Educator Opportunities such as tuition and training;
- One-time Improvements – for example, athletic equipment, musical instruments and science labs.
However, the district is facing a budget deficit that will grow to $168 million by the end of the 2025-26 school year.
At Monday’s meeting, Morgan said that when the district went to the school board in November, the wording of a resolution was changed to say that the MacKenzie Scott gift could be used to supplement their budget concerns.
Ward 5 Council Member Richard Starr, who wore a shirt to the meeting with the phrase “who’s getting fired” on it was the first signature on the letter to Morgan and Mayor Bibb.
“I just can't believe that we're here with our kids and our kids are being penalized by taking the money that they had,” Starr said to Morgan.
Starr questioned the management of the district’s $1.8 billion budget.
“It doesn't make sense for us to have this much money and we're broke,” Starr said of the district’s budget and forecast deficit.
Morgan says the MacKenzie Scott funds were deposited in the district’s general fund, increasing the cash balance, and reducing the deficit by $20 million.
According to the district’s deficit reduction plan, any further spending against the gift outside of the regular budget process would increase the forecast deficit.
The CMSD Board of Education will vote on the district’s Deficit Reduction Plan Tuesday, February 27 and the plan will be sent to the state by February 29.