About the Cleveland Metropolitan School District

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is Ohio's third-largest public school system, serving more than 35,000 students.

CMSD strives to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education, regardless of the provider. To that end, CMSD lets families choose which District schools their children attend, with options that include STEM, the arts, single-gender education, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and early college.

Our schools have autonomy over human and financial resources in exchange for accountability for performance. The principal has primary responsibility and accountability for establishing their school as a high-quality, high-expectation academic center focusing on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results.

CMSD ensures that students have access to technology and training to prepare them for the future. The District provides a free laptop or tablet for every student and connects every family that needs internet access. Graduating seniors leave commencement with not only a diploma but also a laptop.

In our pursuit of a more fair, just, and good system of education, we strive to ensure that all of  our learners, both scholars and educators, to be challenged with academically and intellectually complex tasks that are worthy of their efforts and provide them opportunities to demonstrate their best work.
 

BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES

The Cleveland Board of Education adopted the Building Brighter Futures (BBF) initiative on December 9, 2025. Building Brighter Futures is a strategic and data-driven plan shaped by more than a year of community engagement, information analysis, and thoughtful deliberation. The goal of this plan is to strengthen enrollment and ensure scholars attend a newer school building that offers more educational opportunities, including algebra in the eighth grade, more sports and extracurricular activities, and college credits and college and career pathways in high school. BBF is ensuring academic excellence so every CMSD scholar can thrive.

About the Opportunity

CMSD's nine-member Board of Education sets the direction for one of Ohio's largest school systems. Board members serve as volunteers and govern through a Student Outcomes-Focused Governance approach: setting clear goals for student outcomes, monitoring progress against them, and holding the District accountable for results. The Board is now creating a new role to support the full Board and strengthen how it governs.

Reporting directly to the Board Chair, this person will serve as a strategic partner to Board members and as the Board's primary liaison with District leadership, City of Cleveland partners, and community stakeholders. They will engage regularly with the District's leadership team, help shape how the Board communicates with the public and the media, and work alongside City partners on issues that matter to Cleveland families, from school facilities and community development to the implementation of Building Brighter Futures.

This is a builder role. The Board Office is a small, focused team, and the Board is investing in the systems, routines, and documentation that will make its work more efficient and sustainable across future boards and administrations. The person in this role will help design that infrastructure, from how Board questions are tracked and answered to how new members are onboarded, and will own the follow-through that turns Board priorities into action.

This is an opportunity for a proactive, solutions-oriented leader who thrives on building new systems and infrastructure and working at the intersection of governance, policy, and public leadership. The right person will gain a rare, close-up view of how a large urban district is governed, and the chance to make a lasting mark on how Cleveland's Board of Education serves its students and families.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Partnership and Board Support

• Serve as a strategic partner and trusted resource to the full Board, helping members stay informed, aligned, and focused on Board-adopted goals.
• Report directly to the Board Chair and serve as the Chair's right hand, meeting weekly to set priorities and then carrying plans forward independently.
• Attend senior leadership team meetings and other District leadership meetings on the Board's behalf, ensuring Board priorities are understood and acted on.
• Represent the Board's goals and interests within the District and with external stakeholders and, over time, speak on behalf of the Board within parameters set by the Board Chair.
• Take a solutions-oriented approach: anticipate needs, identify issues early, and recommend a path forward.

Board Governance Support

• Serve as liaison between Board Members, the Board Chair, the Board Attorney, and District leadership on governance matters, focused on maximizing the Board's effectiveness at Student Outcomes-Focused Governance.
• Assist the Board in monitoring progress on Board-adopted goals, coordinating with District staff on production of briefing materials for public monitoring sessions and related activities.
• Serve as liaison to District staff on Board questions about agenda topics, reports, and data; track requests that come out of Board meetings, set timelines for responses, and ensure answers and reports reach the Board on time.
• Coordinate data and updates from District monitoring processes to support effective Board oversight.
• Collaborate with the Board Chair and Board Attorney on agenda development, briefing materials, and policy and compliance documentation.
• Design and lead Board member orientation, onboarding, and development, anchored in Student Outcomes-Focused Governance best practices and coordinated with the Board Attorney on legal requirements.

Board and Committee Administration

• Plan, schedule, and support Board meetings, work sessions, and retreats, including logistics, agendas, packets, minutes, and public posting, so they are productive and tied to Board priorities.
• Coordinate meetings among Board members and with the Board Chair, including scheduling, agendas, notes, and follow-up actions.
• Support ad hoc Board committees and attend meetings of the Audit Committee as needed.
• Build systems for the Board Office, including meeting workflows, request tracking, governance calendars, and records management, and document processes so the Board's work is sustained through future transitions.
• Support the Board Office budget, including tracking expenditures, in coordination with the Board Attorney.
• Maintain governance records and Board planning calendars, including term schedules, conflict disclosures, and policy reviews.
• Manage Board conference attendance, travel, recognitions, and other Board-related events and official functions.

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement

• Coordinate communication, information flow, and protocols between the Board, District leadership, and stakeholders, including regular informational updates to Board members.
• Serve as a go-between for the Board, District leadership, and City of Cleveland staff, connecting the right people quickly so requests are handled efficiently.
• Work directly with City staff on matters that involve the Board, ensuring the Board's legal and governance considerations are reflected in joint plans and public communications.
• Draft and edit statements, media responses, and communications on the Board's behalf in collaboration with the District's Division of External Affairs.
• Act as a point of contact and spokesperson for Board-related inquiries from constituents, community partners, and stakeholders, and manage emails and constituent requests.
• Identify external and stakeholder meetings where Board representation is needed, and coordinate external engagement on the Board's behalf.

Governance Process and Compliance

• Support adherence to Open Meetings laws, records retention, public records requests, conflict-of-interest procedures, and other governance requirements.
• Act as an internal expert on Board policies, bylaws, meeting protocols, and oversight processes.
• Coordinate with the Board Attorney on legal reviews and ensure governance compliance in both closed and open meeting contexts.

Authority and Boundaries

• Represents the Board's priorities with district leadership and external partners within parameters set by the Board Chair.
• No authority to direct or supervise district staff, performance-manage employees, or oversee district operational initiatives.
• Does not supervise or direct district operational staff outside of the Board Office.
• Does not make policy decisions or act independently on behalf of the Board without authorization.

What Success Looks Like in the First Year

• Board members are well informed and well prepared, and requests between the Board, District leadership, and the City move faster with fewer handoffs.
• Questions raised at Board meetings are tracked and answered on clear timelines.
• Core Board Office processes and institutional knowledge are documented and easy to hand off.
• A Board onboarding program is in place and used with incoming members.
• Board retreats and work sessions are well planned and produce clear next steps.
• Senior district leaders and City partners see this person as a credible, trusted representative of the Board.

Candidate Profile

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; master's degree or JD in public administration, public policy, education, law, business, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in public sector administration, governance, public policy, education, or a related field.
• Track record of building systems and processes from scratch in a complex organization.
• Experience working with boards, elected or appointed officials, or public sector governance; K-12 public education experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of public sector governance, Open Meetings laws, and policy development, or the ability to learn them quickly.
• Exceptional writing skills, including drafting communications and statements for senior leaders.
• Experience managing budgets.

Core Competencies

• Relentlessly effective. Exceptional organization and project management; follows through, closes loops, and gets things done without being chased.
• Problem solver. Figures things out, comes with a proposed solution, and is energized by building new systems and ways of working.
• Discreet. Demonstrated professionalism and sound judgment in handling sensitive and confidential information, during and after service with the Board.
• Credible with senior leaders. Has the presence and judgment to engage the CEO's cabinet and senior City staff as a peer, and to deliver a hard message on the Board's behalf.
• Politically astute. Reads the interests of the Board, the district, and the City, and anticipates legal, political, and communications risk.
• Coachable. Seeks feedback and adapts quickly to the Board's priorities and voice.
• Consummate professional. Builds trust with a broad spectrum of elected officials, attorneys, staff, and community stakeholders.

Compensation and Location

• Location: Administration or As Assigned. Based at CMSD's central office in Cleveland. The role is primarily in person, with limited telework available consistent with district policy.
• Reports to: Chair of the Cleveland Board of Education
• FLSA Status: Exempt
• Salary Band: 8
• Compensation: $77,158 - $104,164. CMSD offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Working Conditions

• Ability to attend evening Board meetings and events as required. The Board meets twice a month.
• Occasional travel for Board conferences, training, and external engagements.

Equal Opportunity

We believe that equity and inclusion at CMSD is an essential call to action, a catalyst to ensure value and appreciation among all our employees, so we may be fair and welcoming now and in the future. CMSD provides equal opportunities for employment, retention and advancement of all personnel by administering all terms and conditions of employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, sex, disability or genetic information, age, citizenship status, military status, sexual orientation or expression, socio-economic status, title, other dimensions of identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.