New and old board members should respect voters' desire for change in city schools

To the extent that they could, voters in the Youngstown City School District cleaned house Tuesday, electing four new members of the board. The two incumbents in the 13-candidate race were soundly rejected.
The four individuals who were elected have different backgrounds and have expressed different philosophies during the campaign, so it is not as if the voters spoke with one voice, except to say that they are looking for change. All the candidates, even the incumbents, campaigned on a need for improvement.
Yet, even before the election, some members of the board were pushing to hire a new superintendent of schools on the theory that four rookies would not be up to the job. Just days before the election, the board met behind closed doors with the only viable candidate for the job who is on staff now, and at least three of the seven board members seem intent on hiring a new superintendent quickly, without pursuing a national search. Two of those board members, Tracey Winbush and Clarence Boles, are leaving the board of education, having chosen to seek city council seats rather than re-election.
Beyond the status quo
It would not only be a mistake for this lame duck board of education to hire a new superintendent, it would be a slap in the face of the voters, who, by their votes for four new board members, have demonstrated no confidence in the status quo.
It is quite possible that Wendy Webb, the assistant superintendent who is being considered as a replacement for retiring Superintendent Benjamin L. McGee, is the best candidate for the job. But whether she is will never be known if the board does not pursue a full and thorough search.
Perhaps the weakest reason presented by one of the outgoing board members, Boles, for hiring Webb now is that it would save money on the search. Hazard Young & amp; Associates is being paid $19,000, plus expenses, to conduct the search. Given that a new superintendent will be paid about a half million dollars over a four-year period, it is almost silly to talk about cutting short the search to save a few thousand.
As we said, the four new in-coming board members expressed varying views before the election on a number of topics. In interviews with Vindicator editors, Kathryn Hawks Haney and Michael Write showed support for hiring Webb. Shelley Murray and Jamael Tito Brown said the decision should be made by the new board, with Brown acknowledging that Webb is a strong candidate.
Those who support Webb generally argue that the Youngstown city schools are making progress and that she can maintain the district's momentum. But progress in the city school district has been made in small steps, not giant leaps, and there is good reason to question whether improvement could be achieved more quickly.
Money problems coming
Also, the new board and the new superintendent are going to have to grapple with looming financial shortcomings that are the making of the present board.
The board is tied to a three-year contract that provided teaching and other employees with raises exceeding 12 percent over the life of the contract and with guarantees of no co-pays or reduction in health insurance costs.
When these contracts were approved, we suggested they were unwise, given the city's stagnant tax base and the possibility of cuts in state and federal funding. The board took the position that the money was there, so why not spend it.
The most recent five-year forecast answered that question. It shows that the district will run in the black for the next four years, using up larger pieces of its reserves each year, until it arrives at a deficit of more than $3.5 million in the fifth year.
That means that over the next four years -- the term of office of the new board members -- they, their incumbent colleagues and any new board members who might be elected two years from now, are going to have to work with the new superintendent to make cuts and balance the budget.
Not to do so would mean going back into fiscal emergency or asking the voters to increase taxes.
These long range problems, coupled with the challenge of overseeing the district's ambitious building program and the obvious need to increase test scores, graduation rates and to better prepare Youngstown students for college or trade schools, must be addressed by the new board of education.
Members who chose not to seek re-election or those voted out Tuesday, should not tie the hands of the new board. The future of the district is now the responsibility of the four new members and the three incumbents.