CMSD Board of Education Appointment Information

The Board of Education serves as the governing body of the Cleveland Municipal School District. The Board, with the concurrence of the Mayor, appoints the Chief Executive Officer of the School District. Other Board responsibilities include:

• setting School District policy,
• approving the School District budget,
• establishing School District goals and accountability standards, and
• promoting parent, family and community involvement in the schools.

This is a unique governance structure, as all other school districts in Ohio elect members to their boards of education.

The Cleveland Municipal School District Nominating Panel was created as a part of Ohio House Bill 269, which established the Mayor-Appointed Board governance structure in 1998. The Nominating Panel is charged with nominating a slate of persons for each Board of Education vacancy. The Mayor may only select from persons nominated by the Nominating Panel in making his appointments to the Board of Education.

The Nominating Panel is made up of eleven volunteer members selected as follows:

• Three members are parents or guardians of children attending the Cleveland Metropolitan Schools, who are appointed by the School District’s Parent Teacher Association, or a similar organization.
• Three members are appointed by the Mayor.
• One person is appointed by the President of Cleveland City Council.
• One teacher is appointed by the collective bargaining representative of the Cleveland Teachers Union.
• One principal is appointed through a vote of CMSD’s Principals.
• One representative of the business community is appointed by an organized collective business entity selected by the Mayor, currently the Greater Cleveland Partnership.
• One president of a public or private institution of higher education located within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Under Ohio law, nine members of the Board of Education of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District are appointed by the Mayor of the City of Cleveland. There will be appointments made for five seats in June 2023.

All Board vacancy applications are submitted to the Mayor’s Chief of Education and can be found on the City’s website. The Chief of Education then forwards all applications to the community-based Nominating Panel members.  Thereafter, the Mayor can appoint persons from a slate of nominees recommended to him by the Nominating Panel.

Board of Education members serve four-year terms.

CMSD’s Chief Executive Officer runs the School District, and the Mayor of the City of Cleveland serves as the appointing authority of the Board of Education