The new head of Lorain schools says he’ll restructure the high school experience in his district and offer universal pre-K by next school year. StateImpact Ohio’s Ashton Marra reports the district claims it can recover without increasing spending.
Thursday night, Lorain City Schools CEO David Hardy detailed the changes that are part of his five initiatives to turn around the struggling school district.
They start at Lorain High School where, in the fall, students will begin transitioning into five academies contained largely within the one building. Academy options will include early college, AP/Honors, and the arts. And Hardy says all of the changes will be paid for from cost savings.
“The investment that we’ll put into this academy model will be a slight uptick in our spending," Hardy said. "But we also know that we’re creating savings that will funnel towards what we believe will be the best things for our kids.”
Hardy also proposed a plan to give a preschool seat to every Lorain child who wants one.
Those savings are the result of an audit conducted in the fall, which found more than a million dollars in potential programming cuts and efficiencies. Hardy also has plans for a personnel audit which could result in additional reductions or restructuring.
