The Cleveland Metropolitan School District will be moving forward with its plans to build a new school using a portion of Cudell Park.
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A judge lifted a temporary restraining order that prevented construction from beginning.
The new Marion Seltzer School's construction will lead to a number of trees being taken down, and a group called the Friends of Cudell Commons Park has been pushing back on this construction.
Susan Zimmerman with the group said it will continue its fight against the district.
"We're not lying down to g fuet steamrolled over," Zimmerman said. "We continue to hope for a compromise, maybe a smaller school than the latest plan."
Originally, the district planned to begin construction last August with the plans of completing it by August of 2025.
The district released a statement addressing the matter:
We have learned that the temporary restraining order has been lifted, allowing us to proceed with the Marion Seltzer construction project. The District's goal is to provide an optimal 21st-century learning environment for our scholars to ensure an unparalleled learning experience, and we are currently seeking to understand and hear feedback from the Marion Seltzer community as this matter continues forward.
Friends of Cudell Commons Park also released a statement:
We continue to explore options to save our city park -- the only park many kids in our neighborhood can walk to. With Mayor Bibb's focus on the Climate Mayors group, as well as on environmental justice and our vital tree canopy, he has an opportunity to turn his words and mission statement to action. We hope to schedule a community meeting with him. We would also invite the new CMSD CEO to meet with us. We invite both the mayor and the schools CEO to visit Cudell Commons Park and see how vital the basketball courts, playing field and urban green space are to the children, teens, adults and VOTERS of the Cudell neighborhood -- one of Cleveland's most culturally and economically diverse.
