SCHOOLS Discussion session is engaging

Board members said they were unaware the superintendent was under investigation.
STRUTHERS -- Two weeks after a proposed 8-mill levy went down to defeat, the Struthers Board of Education met to pay the bills and talk about the district's future.
The board moved through regular business quickly, with the 60 or so members of the public who gathered in the high school band room quiet until the final agenda item -- an open discussion session. It was a board member who opened that session, with comments on rumors that have spread through the community.
"Over the last several months some people have engaged in investigative journalism," said board member Joseph Edwards. "People are hearing these partial truths and reading about them and talking about them, and that has started to damage the community and damage the reputation of the school district."
Board member Kandace Becker-Hagendorn agreed.
"This has been a lynch mob," Becker-Hagendorn said. " I've lost my respect for the community."
Several residents who attended the meeting questioned the board's support for Superintendent Dr. Sandra DiBacco, who was reprimanded last week by the state board of education. DiBacco was accused of providing false information to the state board about a teacher's credentials; after an investigation, that board allowed DiBacco to keep her educational certificates.
Residents' questions
DiBacco's contract was renewed earlier this year, and several residents asked why the board had extended the employment of the superintendent who was under state investigation.
Board president Matt Rhoads answered that the board was unaware of the investigation until last week.
"How could you not know?" asked one woman.
Rhoads explained that not renewing DiBacco's contract -- 18 months before it expired -- would send the superintendent a "nonverbal" message that she should seek other employment.
"Eighteen months out is when you want to retain them," Rhoads said.
Even if the board had been aware of the investigation, it wouldn't have been fair to DiBacco not to begin the renewal process, Becker-Hagendorn said.
"You would want the hearings to play out," added board member Sheri Noble. "I can honestly say we did not have any indication."
DiBacco was rumored to have been a finalist for a job in another district, and one resident who attended the meeting asked her if she had applied for the job.
"My personal life is truly personal," said DiBacco, who had applied this year to be Salem schools superintendent, a job she did not get.
Anne Wilson, a district teacher and parent, urged the board to bring the community together for the good of the schools.
"The schools are divided, the kids are divided, the teachers are divided," Wilson said. "This administration and this board have lost the respect of the community."
Fiscal emergency
Next week, a five-person panel will be appointed to begin reviewing the district's $1.9 million budget shortfall. The panel will consist of three community members and a representative from the state Department of Education and the Department of Management and Budget.
"We have to move forward," Rhoads said. "The financial situation is what it is."