As Enrollment Drops, Ohio Districts Paring Plans for Construction

Caught in a steep enrollment decline, the Cleveland school district must revise its $1 billion construction program.

This year’s enrollment of 54,000 students reflects a drop of 28 percent since 2001, when voters approved a bond issue that, with state matching funds, allowed the district to undertake a program to replace, repair, or renovate most of its 122 buildings.

But recent state enrollment projections suggest that only 45,300 students will remain on the district’s rolls by 2010, prompting its leaders to start...