Additional Cuts to Staff Coming to Cleveland Heights-University Heights Schools

In addition to eliminating teaching positions, Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District will also be eliminating administration staff positions. Combined, these two reductions will save the school district $3.9 million reports Cleveland.com.

"These cuts have nothing to do with work performance. It is simply about the critical need to bring our expenditures down and more in line with our enrollment and our financial realities," said Superintendent Talisa Dixon.

Schools Treasurer Scott Gainer explained to Cleveland.com that a school operations levy could be on the ballot in the fall, "Once all current reductions have been quantified and included in the updated May (2016) five-year forecast, the amount of a levy will be discussed more extensively by the board."

Cleveland.com reports the following changes:

-- The district's director of business services is retiring, and the positions of operations manager and assistant director of business services will be eliminated. All three roles will be combined into the position of director of business services.

-- The current departments of business services and human resources are being merged into one department of human resources and operations.

-- A coordinator of special education is retiring in the student services department, and will not be replaced. The duties of that position will be performed by the current departmental staff members.

-- In the education services department, two coordinator of educational services positions will be eliminated. The roles and duties will be combined into the new position of director of curriculum.

-- The position of data assessment specialist will now be funded, not by the district, but by the Cuyahoga County Educational Services Center.

-- The communications department is expanding its role to additionally oversee the coordination of business and community partnerships.

-- The federal programs and grants department is expanding its role to include increased program development and management.

These changes will be reviewed at the next Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education meeting on May 3rd.