STRUTHERS Officials refuse school proposal

The Mahoning County Educational Service Center will not lease the vacant Manor Avenue School.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- There'll be no alternative school in Struthers.
The board of education will not support a proposal to lease the vacant Manor Avenue School to the Mahoning County Educational Service Center. Superintendent Sandi DiBacco said she won't recommend it or put it on an agenda -- not after hearing the concerns of about 90 residents who turned out for an informational meeting Thursday.
So many residents turned out at the administrative offices that the meeting was moved to the field house. Many of those voicing pinions were concerned that pupils attending the school would wreck havoc in neighborhoods surrounding the school, put a strain on the city's police force should a problem occur or become ill from mold in the building.
Had the proposal been approved by both the Struthers Board of Education and the board of the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, the Struthers district would have experienced a savings of about $57,000 a year.
Annual costs to maintain the building, including utilities, are about $31,000, according to the school board.
The county educational service center would assume those costs plus pay $15,000 in rent if the proposal was approved.
The school district would also realize a savings of almost $6,000 because it would not have to transport 17 Struthers pupils to Adams Elementary in Youngstown, where the alternative school is currently. It would also save $5,000 in equipment expenditures.
Special needs
Because of the positive financial impact leasing the building would have, board members told the crowd that it was their responsibility to consider the proposal.
Member JoAnn Rish said that she thought leasing the vacant school for use as an alternative school would have been "a wonderful thing" that Struthers could have done for the 110 to 145 pupils who would attend the school.
"These young people are not criminals, they are young people with problems," she said.
Rish said she will support city residents' wishes.
Many of the pupils who attend the alternative school are there because they have learning or cognitive disabilities and need special education, explained Cindy Detwiler, director of pupil personnel services. Of the 146 pupils who attended last school year, 77 required special education and had emotional problems, 24 had learning or cognitive disabilities, and 24 were there strictly for alternative education.
Eighteen pupils were arrested in the school throughout the school year, she said, responding to a question from the audience. Detwiler explained school officials notify police for infractions, such as having tobacco products, that traditional schools handle through reprimands and suspensions.
Pupils attending the alternative school come from districts throughout Mahoning County, but not Youngstown, which runs its own alternative program.
Although Dewiler admitted being disappointed that the school board will not consider the proposal, she said the Mahoning County Educational Service Center was not actively seeking a new location. When the Manor Avenue School became available, she said, it was worth considering.
kubik@vindy.com