YOUNGSTOWN Schools chief will undergo evaluation

Dr. Wendy Webb said she is eager for formal board feedback.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown Board of Education appears to be ready for its first evaluation of the district's superintendent.
Dr. Wendy Webb took over the duties of superintendent in August 2004. The board gave her a three-year contract with a starting salary of $102,000.
One of the terms of her contract requires an annual evaluation of her performance, but she hasn't had one done yet.
"I'm anxious for feedback," said Webb, who has implemented major changes in the district's academic structure this school year.
Jacqueline Taylor, board president, said the board has settled on the specific method it will use for the evaluation, and a resolution on the issue will be on the board meeting agenda Tuesday.
The board normally does its evaluation in October, and one wasn't done for Webb last October because she was new to the job, Taylor said.
What's covered
The evaluation will assess where the district is academically and where it needs to go, and mark the superintendent's progress toward those goals, she said.
Individual board members will get a detailed questionnaire to be filled out on their own, and the board will then meet as a unit to review and consolidate those findings.
Finally, the board will meet with the superintendent, Taylor said.
"Dr. Webb has made progress in the curriculum audit [completed last school year]," Taylor said, adding that the superintendent also has devised a new organizational chart as well as updated and revised various school district policies.