CLEVELAND — In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and Cleveland Teachers Union (CTU) have announced a tentative agreement on a new contract.
According to the statement, the tentative agreement will be shared with the CMSD Board of Education and members of the CTU by the end of the week. The Board of Education and CTU members will then vote to approve or reject the new contract during the week of May 13.
"We are delighted to have reached a tentative agreement that reflects our mutual dedication to the future of education in our community," said CMSD CEO Dr. Warren Morgan in the statement. "This agreement not only represents a harmonious collaboration but also underscores our commitment to retaining and supporting our valued educators who are fundamental to achieving our mission. When we ensure stability and foster a supportive environment for members of our teacher’s union, paraprofessionals, and nurses, we enhance our ability to provide quality education to the children of Cleveland. We look forward to ratifying this agreement and continuing our work together, united by our shared goal of excellence in education for every scholar.”
The current contract between the CMSD and CTU will expire on June 30, 2024.
“I am pleased that we were able to come to a tentative agreement with the district prior to the end of the school year," added CTU President Shari Obrenski. "This contract seeks to show members the respect they deserve, while helping us to retain current educators and recruit the best and brightest to educate Cleveland’s children.”
The news of the tentative agreement comes as CMSD is projecting a $143 million deficit by the end of the 2024-25 school year. The CMSD Board of Education approved a budget deficit reduction plan in February.
In an exclusive interview with 3News' Danielle Wiggins in February, Morgan tried to explain the difficulty the district was going through navigating teacher contract negotiations and a budget deficit at the same time.
"I hope people understand this is not easy," Morgan told Wiggins. "Ideally this is not something when you take over a district you say 'oh, and you want to come and say hey, we have all these programs we have to do, we have these deficits, in a year where we have to think about how do we pay our staff fairly,' which they deserve. These are all really tough things and I hope people know these are not things that I take lightly. It's not easy at all."
