CLEVELAND — Passion and pushback could be felt in the Collinwood High School auditorium Tuesday night as Mayor Justin Bibb hosted the first community town hall on the Cleveland Metropolitan School District's next phase of its Building Brighter Futures plan — a proposed consolidation that would cut 29 schools from the district .

The meeting gave residents their first chance to speak directly to city and school leaders about the plan, which aims to shrink CMSD's footprint amid declining enrollment and rising costs. Through a series of mergers and closures, CMSD would drop from 61 PreK-8 schools to 45, and from 27 high schools to 14.

Community voices

"What are your active plans for these children from ninth grade to 12th grade when you're saying, 'OK, your home is closed. You're going

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