Key events in Cleveland city school's history from the 1960s to the present
Created by jkroll on Jun 9, 2011
Last updated: 07/12/11 at 02:11 PM
Half a century in the Cleveland schools has no followers yet. Be the first one to follow.
Plain Dealer: The Cleveland School District has picked its own chief academic officer, Eric Gordon, to be the new head of the district. The board selected Gordon as chief executive officer Tuesday morning over three out-of-town finalists whom an earlier search committee had recommended over Gordon. Mayor Frank Jackson confirmed the choice. Gordon, 40, has never before served as a superintendent but is held in high esteem by many district workers. He was the main author of the district's academic “transformation plan,” a building-by-building blueprint for reform that is rounding out its first year. Following that plan and improving the academic performance of the district's 44,000 students will be Gordon's main goal, Jackson said. He and the school board expect to see results soon: Gordon and the board will negotiate a one-year contract with extensions dependent on students' academic gains. “I plan to pursue this year aggressively and earn my right to continue.” Eric Gordon In a news conference announcing his selection, Gordon outlined several areas he wanted to improve — increasing the graduation rate, boosting test scores, improving some schools while closing failing ones and making sure more schools have favorable rankings by the state. “I plan to pursue this year aggressively and earn my right to continue,” Gordon said. He will replace interim CEO Peter Raskind, who stepped in this spring when Eugene Sanders abruptly retired. The selection caught some district insiders by surprise. Cleveland Teachers Union head David Quolke said his first reaction was, “Wow. Really?” But Quolke, who served on the search committee that narrowed the field, said Gordon was one of seven semifinalists the committee had picked out of 126 applicants, before eliminating Gordon and picking three finalists. Quolke said Gordon has many of the qualities the committee sought, particularly a commitment to improving student performance. Gordon lets the district continue the momentum it has on several changes already under way, he said. “While it may have caught me a little off guard, I can say we’re looking forward to working with Eric Gordon,” he said. The board went back to considering Gordon after interviewing the finalists — Lorain Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson, Grand Rapids, Mich., Superintendent Bernard Taylor and Lowell, Mass., Superintendent Chris Scott — last week, Jackson and Board President Denise Link said.
Plain Dealer: The Cleveland School District, scratching for every penny, could use the nearly $5 million paid to employees who have retired since last summer. Records show that 269 employees cashed in that amount of accumulated vacation and sick leave since the fiscal year started July 1. Topping the list are two administrators who each collected about $83,000, one after working in the system for four years. Nearly 70 percent of the employees picked up at least $10,000 in what the district calls severance; more than 40 percent received $20,000 or more. All redeemed the time based on their final pay rates, no matter when during their careers the leave was accumulated. At least 24 employees who retired were rehired, a practice popularly known as “double dipping.” The severance equals more than 10 percent of the deficit that the district faced before making cuts for the 2011-12 school year. A majority of the payments — nearly $3.7 million — went to union employees who by contract received 30 percent of their sick time, up to $30,000. Forty-seven teachers, represented by the district’s largest union, got the maximum. But nonunion administrators received the biggest individual amounts, per terms of their personal agreements. The district paid them 100 percent of vacation not used in their last three years and, in most cases, 30 percent of accrued sick leave, subject to the same $30,000 limit as the unions. Three aides to former Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders got 50 percent of their sick time.
The Cleveland Municipal School District, scratching for every penny, could use the nearly $5 million paid to employees who have retired since last summer.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/05/retiring_cleveland_schools_wor.html
Plain Dealer: Former Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Roderick Chu, ex-chancellor of Ohio’s higher-education system, are among 126 applicants seeking to be the Cleveland schools’ next chief executive. Also on the list is LaVonne Sheffield, a top aide to Michael R. White when he was Cleveland’s mayor. Sheffield is resigning as superintendent of the Rockford, Ill., schools amid criticism over layoffs and school closings. The Cleveland schools this week released the names and other information on would-be successors for Eugene Sanders, who retired Feb. 1. Consultants and a screening committee will quickly winnow the list so the school board and Mayor Frank Jackson can install a new CEO by June. Candidates in the initial field are largely male and from the Midwest or East Coast; 46 percent are white, 38 percent are black and 6 percent are Hispanic. Some do not currently work in education, but almost all have elementary, secondary or college education experience. “I think there’s a great number of fantastic candidates,” said Gary Solomon of Proact Search, a Chicago-area firm overseeing the process. “I’m happy with the response that we got.” The Cleveland job did not attract marquee personalities like former Washington, D.C., schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. A sample shows names such as Buffalo Deputy Superintendent Folasade Oladele; Detroit Assistant Superintendent Wilma Taylor-Costen; Kansas City, Mo., schools Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Lee-Gwin; and Chief Academic Officer Michael Munoz of Des Moines, Iowa. Munoz was a finalist for superintendent in Eugene, Ore., and Ann Arbor, Mich., but came up short when those decisions were made in March. He is intent on heading an urban district and was impressed by Cleveland’s new academic “transformation plan.” “It seems like the district is headed in the right direction,” said Munoz, who is undeterred by the schools’ severe financial problems. “To be part of that would be exciting.” Lee-Gwin said she was superintendent of two small Alabama systems before going to Kansas City. She said she believes in promoting efficiency, so operations don’t drain money from instruction. Internal applicants include district Chief of Staff Christine Fowler-Mack and Chief Academic Officer Eric Gordon.
Plain Dealer: The Cleveland School District finished slashing its work force Tuesday by cutting 119 nonteaching jobs. The school board voted to lay off 88 secretaries, security officers and other nonteaching employees, nearly all of them union positions. Meanwhile, interim Chief Executive Officer Peter Raskind gave notice to 17 non-union staff and said he will not fill 14 vacant positions. Employees in sensitive positions — for example, personnel or accounts payable — will depart immediately but receive 30 days’ severance. Others will finish out the school year. No principals will lose their jobs. Though the district will close seven schools in June, retirements will create room for principals who are displaced. Raskind, former head of National City Bank, took over Feb. 1 after schools chief Eugene Sanders retired.
Plain Dealer: The Cleveland school board took the stage at its downtown auditorium on Tuesday and played what’s become a recurring role. It laid off 643 teachers, some for the third time in the last seven years. Among those on the layoff list is Sherida Freeman, the teacher featured with her students in the well-received short film “Girlfriends Club,” shown during the Cleveland International Film Festival, which ended Sunday. The board also closed seven of its 94 schools, including Giddings Elementary, where Freeman teaches. In all, the cuts aimed at stabilizing the district financially, along with slight revenue increases, total nearly $73 million. More than 200 people, many of them teachers, cheered criticism of the moves. Teachers stood and led chants of “Shame on you.” Freeman, who founded the Girlfriends Club about 10 years ago, meets with the fifth-graders weekly to help them work through problems and stay out of trouble. She rewards the girls with a trip to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for high tea at the end of the school year, paying part of the cost herself. After the festival screenings, audience members who were moved by the film approached Freeman and offered to help pay for this year’s tea. The film was made by Burning River Films, which includes four Plain Dealer staff members. The Cleveland layoffs are based on seniority and certification. Under Ohio's recently signed collective-bargaining law, formerly known as Senate Bill 5, performance – not seniority – would be the primary factor in determining teacher layoffs. However, the new law does not apply to these layoffs because they are being carried out under an existing contract. The cuts are equal to about 10 percent of the current operating budget. Interim Chief Executive Officer Peter Raskind said his goal was to wipe out a $47.5 million deficit forecast for next school year, as required by state law, and get the district through 2012-13 without further upheaval. Cleveland Teachers Union President David Quolke has criticized the board for not finding solutions last year, after it read daunting poll numbers and decided not to seek the district's first operating levy since 1996. Quolke released a statement saying the district “has chosen to balance its budget on the backs of those who are in the classroom every day.” “This is a sad day for the students of Cleveland and their educators,” he said. The board also laid off other employees, such as social workers, who are represented by the teachers union, bringing the total to 702. Layoffs are expected to approach 900 – 14 percent of the full-time staff – when the board votes later this month to cut the nonteaching employees represented by other unions. The number grew from previous reports with the addition of 54 union employees in the central office.
Former National City Bank Chief Executive Peter Raskind will guide the Cleveland school district while it searches for a new leader.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/01/peter_raskind_appointed_as_int.html
Cleveland schools Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders plans to step down, a stunning decision coming just as his much-heralded academic “transformation plan” is getting off the ground.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/12/cleveland_schools_ceo_eugene_s_6.html
Plain Dealer: Government and education leaders across Ohio were beaming after Tuesday’s announcement that the state won $400 million in the federal government’s Race to the Top competition. But no one was more relieved than Cleveland schools CEO Eugene Sanders, who was banking on the money to help pay for a new academic “transformation plan.” At least half of the state’s pot will go to more than 500 districts and charter schools that agreed to be part of the state’s reform effort, with amounts determined by the number of students in low-income families. Cleveland will get the most — $29.5 million, to be distributed over four years. “It’s a really good day for us,” Sanders said. “We’re excited that it came down the way that it did.” The Race to the Top money will be used to train teachers in instructional strategies that vary by building, Sanders said. With other grants already in hand, the district has more than $62 million of the $72 million it estimates is needed for the transformation’s plan’s start-up costs.
The new Campus International School at Cleveland State University was officially launched Thursday with ambitions as long as the school’s name.
http://blog-stage.cleveland.com/metro/2010/05/cleveland_state_university_fin.html
The Cleveland school board went budget cutting on a grand scale Tuesday, approving layoffs for about 10 percent of its 8,000 employees.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/04/hundreds_of_cleveland_teachers.html
Plain Dealer: After months of meetings, a lot of behind-the-scenes cobbling, bursts of community anguish and a couple of major revisions, the Cleveland school board has approved a district transformation plan. Now can district leaders tie up scores of loose ends in time to smoothly launch a multitude of changes this fall? Administrators insist they can, but teachers aren't so sure. The school board voted 8-1 on Tuesday to approve Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders' blueprint for raising low test scores and a 54 percent graduation rate. Rashida Abdulhaqq voted no, saying she thought many of the details remained sketchy. Sanders' document lays out building-by-building strategies, including closing or moving 16 schools. The district will shutter 14 elementary schools and two high schools – more than 10 percent of its facilities – after classes end in June. The auditorium at school board headquarters was packed as supporters and opponents made final pushes for and against the plan. Cleveland Teachers Union President David Quolke said he supports reform but called for further discussion so teachers, parents and the community could have more of a say. As teachers stood in support, he questioned whether the district could pull off directives slammed through in a “top-down” manner. The weeks and months ahead will be busy as the district revamps instruction and trains teachers in how to deliver it. But that's just for starters. Officials have to identify new schools for more than 5,000 children and determine whether they qualify for bus service. The district also has to arrange transfers for 400 to 500 teachers from closed schools. “We have a lot of work to do, but we're sure we can get it done,” spokesman John Hairston said. He noted that the district will set up an office specifically to manage the transformation. The personnel moves could multiply if Sanders follows through on a promise to make more than 400 administrators reapply for revised jobs. He also has threatened to replace the principals and teachers at many schools or to turn over the buildings to charter-school operators. The school shakeups are a point of contention. Teachers say their union contract requires a longer process and their input. “Unless they talk to the union and work something out with us, this could quite likely end up in court,” Quolke said in an interview. All of this comes as the district tries to raise $72 million to finance the initiatives, cuts $53 million in spending and studies the possibility of layoffs. School officials and teachers also are negotiating a contract to replace an agreement expiring June 30. If negotiations break down, and teachers opt to strike, it could come just as the transformation plan is getting off the ground. Sanders, in a bid to win federal education-reform money, may ask the teachers to tie their job assignments, evaluations and retention to student achievement. A message on the union's Web site, urging teachers to attend Tuesday's meeting, indicates that gaining agreement on those points and the conversion of some buildings to charter schools may not be easy.
The Cleveland school district told about 650 nonunion employees on Friday that their pay will be cut by a little more than 4.6 percent beginning next month.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/03/cleveland_school_district_will_1.html
Cleveland schools Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders says he wants to stay in the job until at least 2016, but for the second time he has passed on a contract extension that could move him closer to that goal.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/cleveland_schools_ceo_eugene_s_2.html
Plain Dealer: Cleveland school officials say they will have to cut $18 million from the budget in the next year and may have to slash up to 4 1/2 times that much if the slumping state reduces aid. Even if state funding is untouched, rising expenses, loss of students and falling tax collections will force the district to consider closing schools and eliminating programs, Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders said Tuesday. Layoffs also are likely, though the number will depend on the size of the deficit and how many employees retire. “If 85 percent of your budget is people, I think that speaks for itself,” Sanders said in an interview. “The issue is the scope of the plan.” Sanders said the district will eventually have to ask voters to approve a property tax for operating expenses. The increase would be the first for operations in more than a decade. The school board Tuesday heard a five-year budget forecast that finance chief James Fortlage said is fraught with uncertainty. For example, if utility bills dip or far fewer children defect to charter schools, the picture could brighten. The biggest variable is a freeze on state aid, which protects schools against enrollment declines. The freeze has spared the schools from losing $65 million a year, a big chunk of the district’s $711 million operating budget. The amount includes money that is passed on to the publicly funded, privately run charter schools. Fortlage does not expect the so-called guarantee to evaporate altogether when the state legislature approves a new budget next year, but he is braced for the worst. Gov. Ted Strickland will address school funding in an education-reform plan that he will present to voters in 2009. Spokesman Keith Dailey refused to speculate on how the plan or the next two-year budget will affect the guarantee. The last time the district laid off large numbers of employees or closed schools was in 2004, when former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and the school board slashed spending by $100 million. Teachers union President David Quolke questioned the accuracy of projections that show enrollment sinking to almost 46,000 this year, down from more than 50,000 last year. Still, he said some of the union’s 5,200 members are certain to lose their jobs if the slide continues.
Families continue to abandon the Cleveland public schools, dropping the number of students to a level not seen since the late 19th century.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/09/cleveland_public_school_enroll.html
Plain Dealer: In the wake of the shooting rampage at SuccessTech Academy, Cleveland schools Chief Executive Eugene Sanders unveiled measures Friday to deal with increasing violence in public schools. His proposal includes putting metal detectors in all 111 Cleveland schools and airport-style X-ray machines in high schools and beefing up the number of security guards. At an afternoon news conference at City Hall, Sanders pledged to deploy additional psychologists, social workers and school counselors in SuccessTech and other schools where they are needed. It was unclear if the district will hire more counselors and mental-health professionals or reassign existing personnel. Sanders did not offer many specifics on the costs and timetables for adding personnel and security equipment. And he did not respond to a phone call later for additional comments. When reporters pressed Sanders on when the metal detectors would be operational, he said the purchase would have to be made by means of the district's cumbersome bidding process, which could delay the equipment's installation for months. That comment got a rise out of Mayor Frank Jackson, who said: “I'm going to ask that question specifically, because I'd like to know, too.” Administration officials said this week that most high schools have metal detectors. But there were no screening devices at SuccessTech and two other schools where students smuggled in guns in recent days – Max Hayes Vocational School and East Tech High School. Sanders said SuccessTech would remain closed Monday to allow teachers more time to prepare for the return of students on Tuesday. There will be an open house Monday night for parents and guardians to air concerns about security and other issues. Sanders at times appeared rattled and emotional. He was grilled by reporters on whether he thought he had made mistakes on events leading up to Wednesday's shooting spree in which two teachers and three students were injured before the gunman, 14-year-old Asa Coon, took his own life. “If you're asking me if I'm disappointed, if I'm hurt, if I've not slept for the last several nights, the answer is yes,” he said. “I'm disappointed. I'm hurt that we lost a student.”
SuccessTech Academy, one of Cleveland's best public high schools with a 94 percent graduation rate, seemed a highly unlikely place for a Columbine-type outburst of gun violence.
But, suddenly, that all changed Wednesday when a student with black-painted fingernails and wearing a Marilyn Manson T-shirt opened fire in the downtown high school, injuring two teachers and three students. Police said he appeared to be targeting both teachers.
Asa Coon, 14, who had been suspended from school for a fight on Monday, then turned the gun on himself, unloading a fatal shot.
Students Michael Peek, 15, and Darnell Rodgers, 18, and teachers David Kachadourian, 57, and Michael Grassie, 42, were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds.
Trinnetta McGrady, 14, injured her knee and back falling down a staircase and was trampled by other students fleeing the gunfire.
She was hospitalized, but was expected to be released late Wednesday.
Rodgers, who was hit in an elbow, was treated and released.
The other three victims were listed as stable late Wednesday. Grassie underwent surgery for a chest wound. Peek was shot in his abdomen. Kachadourian was hit in the back and the bullet came out of his chest.
The violence prompted administrators to close all city schools today, giving 50,000 students a day off. The shooting promises to raise a debate about how to keep students safe using metal detectors and security guards.
Some city schools have metal detectors, but SuccessTech does not. It has only one guard.
http://blog.cleveland.com/plaindealer/2007/10/successtech_82_seconds_of_pani.html
Plain Dealer: The Cleveland public schools took a crucial step up the state’s achievement ladder this year, advancing one rung from “academic watch” to “continuous improvement.” “This is not the panacea, but it is the building block for moving ahead,” schools CEO Eugene Sanders said Thursday. “Certainly the goal this year was to establish a floor and foundation of academic credibility.” The progress was good news in the much-maligned district, which was mired last year in academic watch and met none of the state’s academic benchmarks. This year, the district met four of 30 benchmarks. Those were in 10th- and 11th-grade reading and writing. It missed making a fifth benchmark, attendance, by less than 1 percentage point. The graduation rate moved up more than three percentage points to 55 percent. The district last met four benchmarks in the 2003-04 school year. “Dr. Sanders set continuous improvement as his goal and he has accomplished it — I am very pleased,” said Mayor Frank Jackson. More important than the designation, the district posted record-high passage rates in 21 out of 23 testing areas that can be compared with other years. Only third-grade reading and sixth-grade math had lower passage rates than the previous year. Sophomores and juniors also posted the highest scores in the district’s history on each of five parts of the Ohio Graduation Test — the test students must pass by the end of their senior year to graduate. That’s a much-needed boost for a district that finished the past school year with about 1,300 seniors still needing to pass one or more parts of the exam to get a diploma. In fact, last year’s sophomores scored as high as last year’s seniors on the test, which assesses reading, writing, math, science and social studies. “If that holds, we should have significant gains in the graduation rate when these sophomores are seniors,” said Craig Cotner, the district’s chief academic officer. The data is based on tests given to the district’s students during the 2006-07 school year. The Ohio Department of Education will release official results for all districts Aug. 14.
Plain Dealer: Cleveland schools CEO Eugene Sanders’ mission on Thursday was to recruit “an army of believers” to support his vision to transform the district. The crowd of about 400, most of them invited guests, responded with knowing nods and standing ovations. Sanders’ message in his first State of the Schools address was: Cleveland can either stay on the same dismal course or “roll out bold, new ideas and initiatives.” The event included inspirational speeches and vocal performances by students. Board members marched down the aisles to enthusiastic applause as they were introduced. Then, in a rousing speech, Sanders outlined his proposals to create a series of academies to boost student achievement and compete with charter schools. Four single-gender elementary academies will open in August in addition to a boarding school for troubled boys — the Ginn Academy, led by Glenville football coach Ted Ginn Sr. Plans call for more of the specialized academies in coming years, focusing on preschool children, summer school, honors students, science and technology, and online learning. Sanders also proposed an academy that would partner with a local university and another to help parents better cope with their children’s problems. Uniforms for elementary schools and a strict dress code for high schools will be in place this fall. “Students no longer will come to school looking like they’re ready for a rap video,” Sanders said. There appeared to be no skeptics in the audience. The large contingent of community spiritual leaders was especially supportive. The Rev. E. Theophilus Caviness, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Cleveland, called Sanders’ plan excellent. “It’s going to bode well with students. It’s innovative and visionary and will move the district and save our children.” Chan’lle Johnson, 18, a Collinwood High School senior, said the dress code would “help get everyone focused on learning. It’s something we really need.” Politicians lined up in support as well. Mayor Frank Jackson, who spoke before Sanders, said the city’s plan for creating neighborhoods of choice hinges on the schools. “None of that means anything without a good public education.” George Forbes, local NAACP president, called Sanders’ plan exciting and imaginative. “I would have never imagined having a high school on a university campus,” he said. Uniforms, he added, give children “a sense of dignity.”
Plain Dealer: Cleveland schools Chief Executive Eugene Sanders says he's on a mission to make the district leaner and more efficient. The 15 Cleveland school administrators who lost their jobs Monday are part of that plan. Now on the job for 100 days, Sanders on Tuesday announced $5.7 million in savings for the cash-strapped district. About $3.7 million of that comes from eliminating about 20 vacant positions, 40 food-service jobs and the 15 central-office employees. Sanders also cut ties with Heery International, the local consulting firm that the district had been paying at least $2 million a year for help with its $1 billion construction program. Sanders said district employees could perform the work Heery did. When he came here from the Toledo district, he brought along two men who were key figures in the school rebuilding project there. Heery had been paid with proceeds from a $380 million bond issue that voters approved in 2001. The money now can be used for construction but not to pay operating costs like teacher salaries. Sanders stressed the cuts will not hurt students. “In the buildings, we won't see any disruption in the daily process,” he said. “There will be more streamlining, more direction, more focus and more efficiency.” The people who lost their jobs Monday join six other top administrators whom Sanders let go in August. Their salary and benefits packages ranged from $78,246 to $130,193.
Plain Dealer: Six top level Cleveland school officials left their jobs on Friday — and not all by choice — in a major administrative shakeup by Chief Executive Eugene Sanders. Paul Flesher, who led the district’s $1 billion construction program, and Supervising Superintendent Richard Larabee, a longtime district employee, were both told Friday that it would be their last day on the job. Both had already resigned, but hadn’t planned to leave for several weeks. Teresa Yeldell, another top-level administrator, also resigned and was told to leave immediately. Leaura Materassi, who held several top-level jobs and followed former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett from the New York City schools, also was given an abrupt departure date, as was Deborah Ward, one of Byrd-Bennett’s most trusted deputies. Also leaving Friday, but at her own request, was Lisa Ruda, the interim CEO and former chief of staff. Others told they no longer would work for Cleveland schools after Sept. 1 were Rebecca Lowry, chief academic officer until the current CAO Craig Cotner arrived from Toledo; and Sherry Ulery, who is in charge of professional development for the district. Word has it that all of the administrators were warned weeks ago that they wouldn’t be part of the Sanders administration. And the Toledo Blade reported last week that Toledo’s interim superintendent, John Foley, got unsolicited applications from Lowry and Ulery for top-level jobs there. Openings for academic officers had already been filled, Foley told the Blade.
Plain Dealer: Eugene Sanders will take charge of the Cleveland school district July 1 at an annual salary of $260,000 with no bonuses. The school board approved the four-year contract for Cleveland's next chief executive officer during a special meeting Tuesday night, nearly eight weeks after the former Toledo superintendent was offered the job here. Board President Larry Davis said there will be no bonuses. “Public employees are paid for doing a job,” Davis said. “It's a fair market contract in a very competitive market for CEOs,” he said when asked if the salary might spark criticism from the public. Davis said there were no immediate plans to ask voters to approve a levy. Sanders' salary is less than that of former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, whose base pay was $278,100 when she left office earlier this year. Her total compensation, with benefits, was worth about $374,000, compared to Sanders' $360,000, with benefits. A spokeswoman for Mayor Frank Jackson said that he was adamant about having no bonuses in this contract. The issue caused much controversy when Byrd-Bennett was CEO. She received three bonuses in excess of $50,000 during her seven years as CEO. One apparent sticking point during contract negotiations involved Sanders’ position on the board of directors at Fifth Third Bank, Northwestern Ohio, where he reportedly was paid $25,000 a year. Davis said legal counsel advised the board that this would be a conflict of interest since Fifth Third Bank is the district’s adviser in issuing notes and bonds for the ongoing school construction project, and Cleveland has money on deposit there. Davis said that Sanders agreed to resign from the bank board. Other terms of his contract include: Sanders is expected to move to Cleveland within six months.
Plain Dealer: Cleveland schools CEO Eugene Sanders’ mission on Thursday was to recruit “an army of believers” to support his vision to transform the district. The crowd of about 400, most of them invited guests, responded with knowing nods and standing ovations. Sanders’ message in his first State of the Schools address was: Cleveland can either stay on the same dismal course or “roll out bold, new ideas and initiatives.” The event included inspirational speeches and vocal performances by students. Board members marched down the aisles to enthusiastic applause as they were introduced. Then, in a rousing speech, Sanders outlined his proposals to create a series of academies to boost student achievement and compete with charter schools. Four single-gender elementary academies will open in August in addition to a boarding school for troubled boys — the Ginn Academy, led by Glenville football coach Ted Ginn Sr. Plans call for more of the specialized academies in coming years, focusing on preschool children, summer school, honors students, science and technology, and online learning. Sanders also proposed an academy that would partner with a local university and another to help parents better cope with their children’s problems. Uniforms for elementary schools and a strict dress code for high schools will be in place this fall. “Students no longer will come to school looking like they’re ready for a rap video,” Sanders said. There appeared to be no skeptics in the audience. The large contingent of community spiritual leaders was especially supportive. The Rev. E. Theophilus Caviness, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Cleveland, called Sanders’ plan excellent. “It’s going to bode well with students. It’s innovative and visionary and will move the district and save our children.” Chan’lle Johnson, 18, a Collinwood High School senior, said the dress code would “help get everyone focused on learning. It’s something we really need.” Politicians lined up in support as well. Mayor Frank Jackson, who spoke before Sanders, said the city’s plan for creating neighborhoods of choice hinges on the schools. “None of that means anything without a good public education.” George Forbes, local NAACP president, called Sanders’ plan exciting and imaginative. “I would have never imagined having a high school on a university campus,” he said. Uniforms, he added, give children “a sense of dignity.”
Plain Dealer: Toledo Superintendent Eugene Sanders needs only Mayor Frank Jackson's blessing and good contract talks to become the next leader of the Cleveland schools. After weeks of interviews with finalists for the chief executive position, the Cleveland school board voted unanimously on Thursday to hire Sanders, who board Chairman Larry Davis said “seems to be the right fit right now.” State law regarding Cleveland's mayor-appointed school board states that a CEO can't be hired without the mayor's concurrence, and Jackson hasn't given that yet. Sanders' hire is also contingent on contract negotiations, which will begin if Jackson concurs. Sanders, 49, has led the Toledo schools for six years and brought that district's test scores up enough to put the district in the state's category of “continuous improvement,” an enviable rating compared to Cleveland's current “academic emergency” status. Board members say Sanders’ Ohio roots and the fact that he is already a superintendent gave him the advantage over Nancy McGinley, chief academic officer of Charleston, S.C., schools and the other finalist for the job. His knowledge of Ohio’s school financing system also was a plus for board members. “He’s had a wonderful track record in Toledo,” said board member Louise Dempsey. “That’s an advantage.” Jackson did not attend Thursday’s meeting, but was reached by phone as soon as the board made its decision. Davis wouldn’t say if the mayor agrees with the board’s pick, only saying that Jackson was happy a choice had been made. Jackson is expected to comment on the issue today, said Mary Anne Sharkey, a consultant for the school board. Sanders couldn’t be reached for comment after the meeting, which he did not attend. Davis said he reached him by phone and Sanders was pleased with the news. Davis also didn’t have details on when contract negotiations will start or how long they will take. The board will be represented by the Cleveland firm of Hahn Loeser & Parks, the same attorneys who negotiated contracts with former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. Even before applying for the Cleveland job, Sanders resigned his position in Toledo, effective Aug. 31. He was quoted in the Toledo Blade in December as saying he felt he should leave because two new school board members wanted him to go. A group of city leaders made a push this month to get him to stay, but Darlene Fisher, the board’s president, said earlier this month that Sanders should go because he has already resigned. Cleveland school leaders are eager to get Sanders on the job before Aug. 31, and Davis said they’re hoping the Toledo board may release him. “If there’s a way to get him here sooner, obviously, we’d like to get him here sooner than later,” Davis said.
Plain Dealer: Barbara Byrd-Bennett's goodbye as Cleveland schools chief executive won't be quiet or cheap. Tonight she'll be lavished with gifts from the school board and saluted by luminaries. Mayor Frank Jackson, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Cleveland Foundation President and CEO Ronn Richard are among the invited guests. The gifts she'll receive from the board include a glass plaque that praises her “outstanding service and tireless devotion” and an honorary diploma from SuccessTech High School. The biggest item, by far, that Byrd-Bennett will collect as she leaves Cleveland schools is the payout for her unpaid sick and vacation time. The exact amount has not yet been calculated, according to Lisa Ruda, who becomes interim CEO on Saturday. But even without specifics, the package will easily top $100,000. Byrd-Bennett earned 20 sick days a year for each of her seven years on the job. She will be paid 75 percent of her daily rate for each unused day. District officials calculated her potential payout in January 2005, and estimated then that it could top $90,000. She also earned six weeks of vacation each year and was able to bank unused days for a payout at full pay. When she reaches retirement age, Byrd-Bennett, 55, will collect about $74,000 in tax-deferred annuities the district has been paying into since 2002. The feting continues Friday. School employees will get to bid farewell at an open house Friday afternoon. There will be an invitation-only reception in her honor Friday evening at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Byrd-Bennett's next stop will have a more leisurely pace, but she'll also take a pay cut. She earned $278,000 annually leading the city's schools. Later this month she'll become an executive-in-residence for Cleveland State University, paid by the hour and earning up to $88,000 a year.
Lisa Ruda, who is to become interim chief executive officer of the Cleveland schools next month, was a young associate at the law firm of Kelley, McCann & Livingstone in the spring of 1998 when then-Mayor Michael R. White summoned her for a drive in his city-owned Crown Victoria.
Plain Dealer: Despite a low-key campaign intended to bring out only supporters, the Cleveland schools tax was crushed in Tuesday’s election by angry West Side opponents. Thirty percent of all votes cast on the issue came from Old Brooklyn and the city’s far West Side, neighborhoods known for their aversion to school tax increases. Only about 43,000 voters turned out at the polls, or about 13 percent of those eligible, which shows that a core group on one side of town sealed the fate of the issue. Unofficial results showed 65 percent of voters against the tax and 35 percent in favor, an even bigger margin than the failed school tax issue in November. School leaders, who have laid off about 1,400 employees in the last two years and permanently closed 11 schools when classes ended in June, have no choice but to cut some more. The tax would have raised an additional $46 million annually, and $30 million of it would have offset a projected deficit for next year. The rest of the money would have brought back some laid-off teachers and restored other cuts.
Plain Dealer: A secretary at Daniel E. Morgan Elementary School was treated at the Cleveland Clinic and released after someone shot through a window at the school Friday morning. Lt. Thomas Stacho, spokesman for Cleveland police, said the secretary was taken to the hospital as a precaution because the bullet skidded through her hair as it flew through the school’s office. Although the bullet did not directly hit Patricia Smith, some debris from a window shade struck her, Stacho said. Students were not inside Daniel E. Morgan because classes were canceled districtwide Friday for parent conferences. Becky Hague, a district spokeswoman, said Daniel E. Morgan has 24 staff members, including 20 teachers, but she did not know how many were in the building at the time of the shooting. Witnesses said three people were standing in the field in front of the school and fired a gun, Stacho said. Officers have not made an arrest, but they are looking for three men as “persons of interest.” Police would not release the names of the three, who are 18, 19 and 20, Stacho said. District CEO Barbara Byrd- Bennett visited the school after the shooting. Standing outside in misty rain, third-grader Haylee Clemons ran over and hugged Byrd- Bennett. Brandon Gregg, a recent Cleveland schools graduate, walked by and offered to volunteer in the district. Byrd- Bennett had beaten other district administrators to the school after she heard about the 10:30 a.m. incident. She found some teachers had returned to their classrooms to work after the shooting. “I told them to evacuate,” she said. From across the street, James Clemons, Haylee’s grandfather, watched as police surrounded the school. He hadn’t heard anything unusual and had been planning to meet with Haylee’s teacher. “I am worried,” Clemons said, pausing to nervously watch police and Haylee. “For the kids’ safety.”
Plain Dealer: Cleveland school officials Tuesday came up with $30 million in cuts to stave off a projected $25 million deficit for the upcoming school year. Board members agreed to a plan Tuesday night that includes school closings, layoffs, elimination of extracurricular programs including sports and even a plan to go to a four-day school week. The true budget cutting won’t come until June, but now board members can say exactly which programs and jobs are threatened for the next school year. “Our children are being hurt by this,” schools CEO Barbara Byrd- Bennett said. “The progress we made in the last four years has come to a halt.” The budget talks are a precursor for an expected tax increase request on the May ballot. Board members decided to trim at least $30 million from next school year’s budget because the projected $25 million deficit could grow, especially if the state cuts money it gives to public schools before June, said board member Louise Dempsey. November’s failed tax-increase request forced officials to look for cuts. Tuesday’s meeting was the first time they talked in detail about the gravity of the situation for 2005-06. Margaret Hopkins, board chairwoman, said she’s not willing to wait until the fall to make reductions and instructed Byrd- Bennett to return in February with a list of cuts for this school year. Fourteen schools are scheduled to close in the next 10 years as part of the ongoing construction program. Closing those schools now would save nearly $10 million. Going to a four-day school week would also save about $10 million on top of the $30 million being considered. The district has eliminated more than 1,400 jobs in the past two years. The new cuts would take away $7.7 million worth of jobs. Gerald Pace, the district’s chief financial officer, estimated that 156 jobs averaging about $50,000 per year with benefits would go at that price.
Plain Dealer: At least 50 substitute bus drivers will lose their jobs and more could follow next year, as Cleveland Schools CEO Barbara Byrd- Bennett revamps the district’s transportation department. The drivers will lose their jobs because the district no longer needs them, Byrd- Bennett said. “We have an entirely new transportation system in place,” she said. “We had no idea where the snags would be.” In the spring, the district laid off 125 drivers as part of budget reductions and condensed fall bus routes. Middle school students rode on public transit, and bus service for elementary students was decreased. The district was left with 236 full-time drivers and 203 substitute drivers. On Oct. 6, Byrd- Bennett ordered staffers to conduct a one-week audit of the transportation department after WJW Channel 8 showed drivers playing pool and other games during the day. Byrd- Bennett also pulled recreational equipment from bus garages after the report aired. As a result of the district’s audit, Byrd- Bennett will eliminate at least the 50 jobs. An expanded audit could lead to the reduction of more drivers after the first of the year, she said.
Plain Dealer: Nearly 40 Cleveland school administrators will lose their jobs, some as soon as Friday, in the latest wave of employee layoffs by the school district. The names of those administrators have not been released. But the Cleveland school board has been discussing administrative layoffs as part of a budget it approved last month that cut about 1,400 positions. Hundreds of teachers, bus drivers and other workers represented by labor unions have already been laid off, and in June, Cleveland schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett promised to cut 73 employees from the central office. Byrd-Bennett kept the list of those who will actually be laid off down to 38 because resignations and retirements left about 30 vacancies on her administrative staffs. Six other employees were terminated for poor performance.
Plain Dealer: A half-century after the U.S. Supreme Court said school segregation was by its nature unequal, two-thirds of Cleveland’s minority students attend virtually all-minority schools. A Plain Dealer analysis also found that Cleveland’s share of minority students attending racially isolated schools saw the largest jump of any big-city district in the nation, going from 7 percent to 66.1 percent in 10 years ending in 2001. While the backslide is distressing, our schools are not what they were in the 1950s, when nearly all youngsters were in one-race schools. “We basically had two school systems, one for black students and one for white students,” recalled lawyer James Hardiman, who in 1973 challenged segregation in Cleveland on behalf of the NAACP. A 27-year desegregation effort has come and gone, but Harvard University researchers still rank Cleveland among the most segregated districts.
Plain Dealer: Cleveland schools could have 1,300 fewer employees this fall. Tuesday, district officials proposed that the board lay off 873 employees for the next school year. But the school system does not plan to replace about 500 employees who may retire or resign by July, Cleveland schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said Wednesday. That means the district may have 1,300 fewer employees by the fall. District officials will work with unions today to determine which employees will receive layoff notices, Byrd-Bennett said. The district will mail 873 notices to employees on Friday, said Alan Seifullah, spokesman for the district. Cleveland school officials say the district faces a $100 million deficit next school year because of lower property tax collections, higher health insurance costs and cuts in state aid. The district has 12,000 employees, Seifullah said. District documents show that about 8,500 of them are full time. In an interview Wednesday, Byrd-Bennett said the district needs more money and will seek a tax increase in November. She also said she would take a different job with the district to work on getting the tax increase passed and give back her $278,000 salary if the board or mayor requests it. But Byrd-Bennett said she has no plans to quit. Her contract runs through December.
Plain Dealer: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and KnowledgeWorks Foundation gave $2 million to Cleveland schools yesterday as the first step in turning nine big high schools into many small schools. In about five years, all of Cleveland’s high school students will attend classes in buildings with three or four separate schools, all geared toward a particular age range or academic interest. The switch to smaller high schools, with more personal attention for students, is being tried at select schools around the country, but Cleveland would be the first to make a districtwide transformation. KnowledgeWorks officials made it clear that the nation is watching. “If we don’t do it in Cleveland, I really question if it can be done anywhere,” said Chad Wick, president of the Cincinnati-based group. East Tech, Glenville and James Ford Rhodes high schools will benefit first and most from yesterday’s $2 million check. By next fall, the schools will be broken into 11 small, autonomous high schools.
Plain Dealer: The Cleveland school board approved $75 million in cuts that could come next June, making for an even bleaker financial forecast for the district. The district already made several million dollars in cuts last summer after it faced an $11.4 million deficit this school year. The cuts resulted in the elimination of jobs for teachers, assistant principals and other district employees, which enabled the district to stave off a deficit this year. Still, the 2004-05 school year promises to be tough financially. In approving a five-year financial forecast Tuesday night as required by state law, school officials also outlined plans for a possible tax-increase request of $59.2 to $88.7 million. The tax increase could cost an owner of a $100,000 home $336 to $459 more a year. Mayor Jane Campbell said last week that the issue probably will be put to voters next November.
Plain Dealer: Seven Cleveland schools have been designated " Schools of Promise" by Susan Tave Zelman, the state superintendent of public schools. The Cleveland School of the Arts, Douglas MacArthur Elementary, Gracemount Elementary, Health Careers High, Jane Addams High, Louisa May Alcott Elementary and Whitney Young Middle School made the list. Students at those schools performed well on proficiency tests even though more than half come from low-income families. "These schools provide the hope - and the promise - that despite the economic, racial or ethnic backgrounds of students and the communities where they live, these students can succeed," Zelman said in a statement about the 31 Ohio promise schools. Cleveland schools CEO Barbara Byrd- Bennett said she was "elated" to hear that the schools have been recognized, especially since proficiency test scores are usually used in criticisms of the district. Principals from the promise schools are matched with principals from struggling schools to promote better performance.
Plain Dealer: The most complex analysis of public school districts to date, released yesterday by the state, held good news for Cleveland and Lorain. Both rose out of the state's category of "academic emergency," but Maple Heights and Painesville slid into their spots. "We seized a moment in time," said Cleveland schools CEO Barbara Byrd- Bennett, who yesterday praised school employees for pushing literacy in the lower grades. Cleveland, which was joined by Columbus and Youngstown in moving out of academic emergency, passed six of 22 standards - double last year's number. But students' scores improved enough across the board to give the district the boost it needed.
Plain Dealer: The Rebels will run again. A new high school with a track and field will be built on the site of the former John Adams High in Cleveland's Union-Miles neighborhood, said schools CEO Barbara Byrd- Bennett. Two schools for students in grades kindergarten through 12 had been planned for the site. Neighbors resisted the idea because the plan left out athletic fields. They also worried older students would bully younger ones. Byrd- Bennett surprised neighbors at Tuesday night's school board meeting when she said the new school will be a high school with a track and field. Neighborhood parents had objected to the K-12 proposal because they thought it would have prevented expanded high school sports. The track and field will give a new generation of sports teams - possibly keeping the Rebel name - to a school with a proud athletic past. "This shows my ability to compromise," Byrd- Bennett said yesterday, but she would still like to see a K-12 school in the district. "I'm still hot on the idea," she said. "But it's not what the community wanted." The announcement at the school board meeting also surprised members of her own staff. ThenDesign Architecture has already been hired to design the new building, and school officials had no details yesterday on how the project would change. Byrd- Bennett said her staff will look for other schools to take the K-8 students. While officials get back to planning, neighbors are rejoicing. The old school closed in 1995, and residents like Lillie Bell, who have been hoping to recreate a high school, are now "very pleased."
Plain Dealer: A signal of returning faith in the Cleveland schools came yesterday when voters resoundingly supported keeping the mayor in charge of the city school district. Unofficial results from yesterday's election showed slightly more than 70 percent of voters in favor of Issue 4, which asked if the school system should be run permanently with a mayor-appointed school board. That continues a system that has been in place in Cleveland since 1998. An elected school board would have returned to run the school district if the measure had failed. Mayor Jane Campbell and schools CEO Barbara Byrd- Bennett led the effort to keep mayoral control, and they were the first to herald the results last night. The lopsided victory "sends a very strong message that we're doing the right thing," Byrd- Bennett told a cheering crowd last night at Jane Addams High School on East 30th Street.
Plain Dealer: Cleveland schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett's salary will balloon to $270,000 next year, making her one of the nation's highest-paid school leaders. Byrd-Bennett's current salary is $198,000, and the 36 percent raise approved last night by the Cleveland school board puts her pay above that of superintendents in such cities as Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. The new, two-year contract also comes with performance bonuses of up to 28 percent of her base salary - a $75,600 sweetener that means she could receive $345,600 annually if school board members give her the maximum bonus possible. Mayor Jane Campbell and Board President Hilton Smith said the potential bonuses and raise reflect the additional duties she has taken on since the district started a $1.5 billion school construction program last year. "We have asked a woman who already performs a yeoman's task to take on yet another one and just add to what she was doing, not diminish what she was doing," Campbell said. The package also shows how impressed city and school leaders are with Byrd-Bennett. At a meeting yesterday to officially sign off on the new contract, Campbell praised Byrd-Bennett. Campbell noted that the school chief seems to have taken a liking to Cleveland. "And we have certainly grown an extraordinary amount of affection for you," Campbell said, pointing to Byrd-Bennett. "I look forward to working with you for many years to come." The CEO's salary has grown quite a bit from the $155,000 she made when she came to Cleveland in November 1998 from a top administrative job in the New York Schools.
Plain Dealer: he latest state audit of the Cleveland municipal school district's finances is remarkable for what it doesn't say. During the last decade, the district's finances were called the worst crisis in education history, and six years ago, a $1.4 billion debt was predicted by 2004. While the district is still paying off debt, "controls are in place," state Auditor Jim Petro said last week. He called the most recent audit "clean as a whistle," saying it was "about as good a school audit as we've seen." The district already is benefiting from its improved financial state. It received the highest possible rating for short-term tax-exempt municipal bonds last year from Moody's Investor Service. That helped save hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest when the first bonds were sold for the district's massive school construction project. The turnaround wasn't magic, and it didn't involve a winning lottery ticket. The district had to make deep budget cuts, reorganize the central-office staff and pass a levy in 1996 to rise from its financial low point. The glowing audit of fiscal year 2001 can be credited to changes in people and computer systems, said Valerie Harry, a deputy state auditor who worked on the current and previous Cleveland school audits. "The main thing was they were able to hire enough people to do a job," she said. Less than a year after arriving in Cleveland in 1998, schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett hired Erbert Johnson, a well-regarded former finance director for the Milwaukee schools. Affectionately called a "cheapskate" by Byrd-Bennett, Johnson beefed up his staff with an auditor from Milwaukee and another finance expert from a bank to handle cash management. That gave the district enough experts to effectively do the job, Harry said. The district also upgraded its computer systems, which allowed quicker production of financial reports, said Kim Norris, spokeswoman for Petro's office.
Plain Dealer: Ninety-two of Cleveland's 120 school buildings are in such bad condition that they meet the state's guidelines to be demolished, according to just-finished inspections. There are no plans to tear down any school yet, but the list provides the first detailed look at how much needs to be spent in each building. The total bill for renovations is estimated at $1.1 billion, and the final amount will be even higher. The district has $800 million, from a bond issue, levy and state matching funds, to spend.
Plain Dealer: The Council of Great City Schools named Byrd- Bennett the best in her field on Thursday night by giving her the Richard R. Green Award at a ceremony in Norfolk, Va. "The criteria are very stiff, and it is universally regarded as the highest honor in urban education," said Michael D. Casserly, executive director of the council. The award comes with a $10,000 scholarship to be given to a high- school student in Cleveland. As a winner, Byrd- Bennett is in good company. U.S. Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige won the award two years ago when he was superintendent in Houston. The award is generally given to a school leader who has made a noticeable improvement in a school district, Casserly said. Byrd- Bennett "has really provided some hope and future for a school district that was deteriorating for years," Casserly said. Byrd- Bennett, who came to Cleveland from New York City in November 1998, said she thought mayoral control of the school system had allowed her to get things done. She is proud of the school construction bond issue and levy that passed in May and the good relationship she has developed with the teachers union, she said. She also appreciates the little things, like kids recognizing her when she goes to the CVS Pharmacy near her house. "Kids know who I am, and I love that because they know who's running the schools," she said.
Plain Dealer: "Yes" votes outnumbered the "no" votes from the moment the counting began, until about 10 p.m., when it became clear that Issue 14 had won by a stunning 3-to-2 ratio. The final tally surprised even the most optimistic of supporters and electrified a crowd at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 33 Hall on Carnegie Ave., where 250 officials, teachers, parents and students gathered last night to celebrate.
Plain Dealer: Bishop Anthony Pilla called on all Clevelanders, Catholic or otherwise, to vote May 8 in favor of the bond issue and levy for Cleveland public schools. Pilla, who attended Parkwood Elementary and Patrick Henry Junior High schools, said yesterday that the entire community suffers because of the poor condition of the schools. Issue 14, as the ballot question is known, includes a $335 million bond issue for school repairs and rebuilding and a $46 million levy for maintenance. If the issue passes, the district will qualify for about $500 million in state matching funds.
Plain Dealer: Key political leaders say they want to support the Cleveland schools' $380 million bond issue but are unable to sell it to their constituents without a detailed spending plan. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Cleveland City Council President Michael Polensek and other council members criticized school district officials last night for failing to identify which schools will benefit from the additional funds. But two top district officials - Lisa Marie Ruda and Michael Eugene - said it would be impossible to spell out before the vote May 8 how the district would spend the bond-issue money and $500 million in matching state funds.
Plain Dealer: The Cleveland Board of Education decided last night on the future of 52 principals whose contracts expire at the end of the school year. State law requires the district to notify principals by March 31 if their contracts are not going to be renewed. Four of the 52 principals will not get new contracts, including Jimmie Smith and Darnell Carpenter of Charles Orr Academy. The school is one of two new middle schools created this year as an alternative for students who are several years older than traditional middle school students yet still need to pass middle school classes.
Plain Dealer: A civic commission will recommend asking Cleveland School District residents in the May 8 election to raise $380 million for a massive school construction plan. "We have seen firsthand the deplorable conditions that characterize the majority of this district's facilities," commission members wrote in a report to be presented tomorrow to the Board of Education. "Examples included freezing cold classrooms and others greatly overheated, leaking ceilings and roofs, windows held together with masking tape, inadequate lighting, disgusting bathroom facilities, uneven flooring, falling plaster, and on and on." The commission, led by businessman Robert Gries, was created last month by Mayor Michael R. White and schools chief Barbara Byrd- Bennett. White, who was given control of the 77,000-student district in 1998 by a state law, calls fixing the school buildings the "No. 1 civic priority."
Plain Dealer: By mid-January, the Cleveland School District's 40,000 middle and high school students will be required to wear their ID cards in school and at certain school-sponsored functions. The card not only will be used as a photo ID, but also will be swiped in the cafeteria line to track food choices.
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