Cleveland Metropolitan School District is considering cutting back on extended-year calendars for 21 schools, instead placing the entire district all on one calendar, as a way to save money as a deficit looms.
The school district, in presentations to the board of education Tuesday night, said it could save about $9.3 million per year by moving all schools to a single calendar, amid projections that it will be out of money by the end of the 2026-2027 school year. The schools with the extended-year calendar include some of the highest-performing buildings in the district, like the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine but also a handful of low-performing schools and a building that serves students in the juvenile justice system.
The district commissioned a research study which suggested that for most of the extended-year models, there is little academic benefit and increased costs of operations, with many of the extra days being used for professional development for teachers as well as time for field trips for students toward the end of the year.
Nicholas D’Amico, executive director of school performance, said only one of the four extended-day models the district has, involving a 205-day school year, showed any positive results for better academic outcomes, with increased math scores. For the rest, there was no benefit observed.
"I think there's a very clear result that additional school days does not add any additional outcomes for students, does not improve student outcomes," he said.
The move to cut extra school days, which will be presented to the board in March, will likely prove controversial with parents and educators; surveys conducted as part of the research study suggest a majority of both groups approve of the current extended-year school arrangements. Stacey Steggert, a parent of two fifth-graders at Campus International School, an extended-year school, has advocated for the district not to cut the extended days.
"They chose to present an interpretation that minimizes the differences in student outcomes to justify a decision they've already made," Steggert said. "Those differences do matter. The outcomes we see are the difference between graduating or not finishing high school; between being able to read or a lifetime struggle with illiteracy; between having choices and autonomy in choosing a career or being trapped in the grind of multiple minimum wage jobs. Our kids deserve better."
She pointed to several studies which suggested extended hours of school do result in benefits for students, especially those who are economically disadvantaged.
Kevin Stockdale, CMSD's chief financial officer, said the district will need to develop a plan to cut at least $96 million over the next year to prevent the state from placing it in a state of "fiscal caution." The move to cut extra days from schools would save about $28 million over that time.
"We need to get to the point where we have more of a sustainable financial picture, where these annual deficits are much, much smaller," Stockdale said.
The school district’s current financial forecast shows it running out of cash entirely by the end of the 2026-2027 school year. Stockdale said the district should potentially cut more than $96 million - up to $150 million - to put itself on more stable financial ground.
