Jackson’s transformation for Cleveland schools needs additional input

It’s no secret that the Cleveland Municipal School District has seen better days.

The district’s drop out rate among Black males is atrocious and some of the schools are acting as warehouses and baby sitting services rather than providing an education to a largely urban, poor population.

That’s why we are intrigued by Mayor Frank Jackson’s plan to transform the school district that he controls.

Jackson wants to triple the number of Cleveland students attending good schools, strengthen partnerships with high-performing charter schools, crack down on low-performing charter schools and give more flexibility to successful district schools.

It also includes asking voters for a tax increase in November and eliminating teacher seniority as the deciding factor in employment and assignments.

The mayor wants the Ohio General Assembly to give only Cleveland the power to force these major changes.

Unfortunately, while putting his bold plan together, Jackson left the Cleveland Teacher’s Union out of the process. This autocratic move is bound to cause friction with the individuals who educate the district’s 42,000 students.

As the mayor moves forward with his transformation of the schools, we would hope that during this evolving process that he would engage teachers.

After all, they are the troops on the front line.