9/17/2011 12:00:00 PMNew holes in what once looked like a solid Cleveland schools budget require hard choices, concessions from teachers

September 17, 2011, 12:11 PM 
   
By The Plain Dealer Editorial Board

When interim Cleveland schools CEO Peter Raskind stepped down last June, he left a significant gift: a school budget balanced for the next two years. Union concessions and teacher layoffs gave the district breathing space to focus on school reform.

Now that bequest has unraveled because of state budget cuts and recent state policy changes, according to new CEO Eric Gordon.

Class sizes could explode and academic progress will stagnate unless the Cleveland Teachers Union -- currently in negotiations with the district -- agrees to reinstate wage concessions that expired at the end of June.

Gordon said he knew $13 million in federal stimulus money was disappearing but wasn't ready for the other punch in the gut. Gone, for instance, is a 2-year-old state policy allowing schools to use the previous year's student enrollment to collect this year's money, he said.

In Cleveland, that could mean the loss of $14.5 million if the district's projected enrollment drop of 3,000 students is confirmed.

Patrick Gallaway, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education, said districts were warned in reports from the state that this could happen'. Perhaps those cautions should have been highlighted.

Gordon says his priority is to keep 300 newly rehired teachers working.

But to find the $11 million in additional cuts to do that means tearing into important programs, such as preschool. Time is short: The school board must approve his plan by Oct. 3, the deadline for teacher layoffs.

More threats loom: The state is drafting potentially far-reaching changes in how it funds schools. Many superintendents fear the state will reduce their money dramatically by awarding property taxes to charter and private schools -- a move that could decimate the resources of urban school districts.

However, Barbara Mattei-Smith, the state's point person on school funding, said the Kasich administration is not considering such a change.

Gordon thinks the district should ask voters for a new operating levy next year. He argues the Cleveland schools haven't had any new money since 1996.

But the best way to sell any levy is to showcase an academically stronger district. And for all of Gordon's hard work, he doesn't have that yet.

So, in the short term, Cleveland teachers must agree to take a temporary hit to hold the budget scythe at bay and save their jobs.

Such an agreement could also be a form of long-term job security: Keeping youngsters in manageable class sizes and preschoolers at school are important interim goals if the district hopes to realize the kind of turnaround that can restore voters' faith.