Cleveland pastors held a joint press conference with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb Thursday to announce their support for a far-reaching consolidation plan at Cleveland schools.

The plan calls for closing almost 30 schools in a bid to adjust to years of declining enrollment, address a deficit and improve course offerings and programs at buildings that remain. Bibb said efforts to address low enrollment and academically struggling students at the urban district were long overdue.

"I know change is hard, I know it's very hard, but our children are suffering as a result of us not having the political courage to make hard decisions about the future of this district," Bibb said.

The plan, if approved by the CMSD Board of Education, would cut the total number of public schools in Cleveland by

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