MAHONING COUNTY Education service center's future depends on state

The current superintendent, William Hyde, retires in March.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
BOARDMAN -- As Richard Denamen looks three months ahead toward the date when he takes over the reins as superintendent of the Mahoning County Education Service Center, he sees a future that is somewhat unclear.
That future is based on the outcome of a state-mandated realignment of the Ohio Regional Education Delivery System, or OREDS. The system includes educational resource centers that offer curriculum and other support to local school districts; regional service centers that support districts with low performance scores; data acquisition sites that offer computerized fiscal and data management services; and special-education resource centers that offer support for mentally and developmentally handicapped programs.
The outcome of the legislation, Denamen said, "is going to go a long way in determining what the major focus of this office is going to be."
One goal
A goal is to reorganize the system to eliminate duplicated services. Denamen said there are 148 agencies in the system across the state; legislators have said they want no more than 19. The Ohio Department of Education is working on a report of recommendations, due March 31, that state lawmakers will review.
But Denamen said he has little concern that the consolidation will mean that the MCESC will close its doors.
"We feel pretty good right now in that we think we've done a good job," said Denamen, who currently is the MCESC's assistant superintendent. "Our leadership, service, accountability ranks up there pretty high.
"In our Valley, in our region, there's a lot of collaboration," he continued. "This hasn't taken place in all areas."
Further, Denamen does not foresee many lost jobs; rather, he expects possible changes in roles.
Among other challenges ahead, Denamen sees financial uncertainty. Over the next five years, he said, the state requires county commissioners to provide less and less support to centers across the state.
While Mahoning County once was required to provide a facility for MCESC, its responsibility will be reduced by 20 percent per year, until MCESC must fend for itself. Denamen said the OREDS realignment may assist by answering where such funds will come from.
When he takes over
Denamen takes the helm at the MCESC on March 22, just three days after the resignation date of Superintendent William Hyde.
Hyde, 58, is retiring after a 37-year educational career.
Denamen had served as director of the Unlimited Classroom online community/charter school for MCESC until being named assistant superintendent last month. Before that, he spent 11 years as superintendent of Austintown schools.
The Unlimited Classroom operates out of Lincoln Place, a center for youth ages 8 to 17 who are placed there by courts across the state because they have been neglected or committed crimes. Denamen said MCESC seeks to sponsor the school, which now has support from Lucas County.
While local superintendents argue that state-supported charter schools steal students -- and the per-pupil state funds that accompany those students -- from other public schools, Denamen said it is wise to join in.
"When you become involved in that entity, you have the opportunity to control the options offered," he explained.
Further, he said, a school like the Unlimited Classroom does not drain local districts because it serves at-risk students who are not in school otherwise. In the future, Denamen hopes the Unlimited Classroom will expand to assist local home-schooled students and those who have slipped behind and need to earn credits for a high-school diploma.
"There are a number of online schools right now. To be quite honest, that's only going to grow," Denamen said. "Our intent is to control our own programming so our superintendents know this is what we're doing and why we're doing it."