Cleveland schools spent nearly $1M on travel before tax hike: I-Team

Yahoo

06-02-2025

CLEVELAND (WJW) – A FOX 8 I-Team investigation uncovered Cleveland Metropolitan School District spent nearly a million dollars in a year traveling, sending teachers, administrators and secretaries around the country on your dime.
The spending was made just months before district taxpayers were asked to approve a levy that resulted in higher taxes.
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We found last year the district sent well over a hundred people to one conference in Florida.
The school CEO, Dr. Warren G. Morgan II, has gone on trip after trip and we asked to talk to him to find out what he gained at those conferences that helped school students. Morgan, however, declined to meet with us. We even went to a school board meeting hoping to talk to him but were told he was going to be late and would not be available.
Records the I-Team obtained after filing a public records request show the district even sent secretaries around the country.
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Cleveland taxpayer Patricia Crutchfield is frustrated by the amount school district officials paid on travel. She explains that she is swamped with bills, on a fixed income, and now must pay more for school taxes.
'That's unacceptable,' Crutchfield said. 'Travel should be the first thing cut when you're looking at cutting your budget.'
We asked district officials about the spending.
'The district just said to taxpayers, 'We have no money,' why is the district spending so much money to send people around the country,' asked I-Team Reporter Ed Gallek.
We specifically asked about sending 118 people to Florida for the Model Schools Conference.
'So, I think of that 118, about 16 were principals and assistant principals,' said Lisa Farmer-Cole, Chief External Affairs Officer. 'And about 100 teachers went. So that is a conference that is chock full of best practices. School districts from all over the country go to the Model Schools Conference because this is about model schools.'
'That is a conference that is chock full of best practices.'
Lisa Farmer-Cole, CMSD Chief External Affairs Officer
The I-Team reviewed records from out-of-state trips for the school system for a one-year period. We added up expenses, such as airfare and hotels. A total cost of more than $855,000.
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A lot of travel appeared to be for conferences. Kevin Stockdale, the district's chief financial officer, suggested grant money can help pay but he could not tell us how much. When we pressed him, he said he couldn't tell us, 'sitting here talking to you right now.'
The district set up the interview a week in advance and Stockdale and Farmer-Cole knew we would be asking about the travel expenses.
One person who traveled was a substitute secretary.
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'In Cleveland for a while now, we've said that all staff are educators,' said Stockdale. 'Anyone that is working in the school or central office plays a vital role in making sure students get the most that they can.'
Our findings even alarmed the head of the teacher's union. School officials told us many Cleveland teachers have traveled, but the union president argues most have not. She added that many schools do not have supplies or sports uniforms.
Farmer-Cole stressed that 'our families and kids' are our primary focus. She said the district has put new spending controls in place . She also added that there were controls in place last year as well.
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