The CEO for the Cleveland School District has proposed a downsizing plan that would shutter the once-strong Collinwood High School and 10 other schools.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that under the plan proposed by schools CEO Eric Gordon, Collinwood High would be closed, and students merged into Glenville High School.
The plan also calls for closing another 10 elementary and high schools in the city, mostly on the East Side where neighborhoods have seen major population declines.
The changes would eliminate about 7,000 unused classroom seats by the 2022-23 school year, according to district estimates.
The reductions would enable the district to avoid the costs of renovating, repairing or replacing some aging buildings.
Gordon says closing underused or small, standalone schools could save the district $15 million a year. Having schools with more students would help ensure that enrollment was large enough to support more elective classes, activities and other programs.
“People recognize the downside of super small schools and want more viable ones with more quality,” Gordon says.
Collinwood would be the only major neighborhood high school closed under Gordon’s plan. But five other smaller high school buildings with a specialized focus also would close.
Five elementary schools would close. The school board reached consensus on closing those schools earlier this year but has not yet officially voted.
Lincoln-West High School would be rebuilt, as the district promised in its campaign for a $200 million school construction program in 2014. The new school would be half the size of the existing campus and would not have a pool, track and auditorium, as the school has now.
The school board will discuss the proposal at a Nov. 1 retreat and may vote on it at its Nov. 19 meeting.
