District-sponsored charter school to allow extracurricular activities

The school has 27 students enrolled and expects to reach 50 to 75 by fall.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- City school students opting to attend the new Mahoning Valley Opportunity Center charter school next fall will be able to participate in city school extracurricular activities.
The school district is sponsoring the charter school, which is slated to open in September in Mill Creek Community Center on Glenwood Avenue. The school will be open to any Mahoning County student in grades nine through 12, and it targets students who have been unable to perform academically in a traditional school setting.
The board of education offered an incentive to those Youngstown students who are interested in attending the charter school.
It passed a resolution Tuesday allowing them to participate in all extracurricular activities in their home schools, including sports.
They will have to meet the same academic and other eligibility requirements as all other students.
Ron Schulay, the district's on-site supervisor for the charter school project, said the school is looking for $50,000 in state funds and between $300,000 and $450,000 in federal start-up funds.
The school was to open this year, but the state suggested it delay until September rather than open at midyear.
Enrollment
Schulay said the school has 27 students enrolled so far, some of whom haven't been in school for some time. He expects to open with 50 to 75 and grow to 125 to 150 by January.
No employees have been hired although the school has submitted a five-year financial plan to the state that shows a first-year break-even budget of $330,000 expanding to a fifth-year budget of $1,370,000 with an anticipated 250 students.
The school should show a $770,000 surplus at the end of the fifth year, according to the plan.
Youngstown will get a 3 percent administrative fee as the school's sponsor but that amount could be larger if the district is asked to provide things such as psychological and other services.
Schulay said the board will review the charter school operation annually to determine if it should continue.
Union grievance
The Youngstown Education Association has filed a grievance against the board over sponsorship of the school. The union says the board can't enter into an agreement with a private concern or another governmental unit to provide services that are being provided by, or may be provided by, current employees.
The jobs at the school should be posted within the YEA bargaining unit, and terms of employment, including salaries, should be in accord with the current YEA contract, the union said.
Schulay said the jobs were offered to the YEA as union jobs but the union turned down the proposal.
There were a number of issues the union found unacceptable, he said, including the school's governing board wanting to be able to pick the teachers it wants without regard to seniority rights.
Will Bagnola, YEA president, said the union didn't turn down anything, but it offered to talk with the governing board about teachers for the school.
The YEA told the governing board in December that it needed Youngstown teachers who know the students and can help make the program work, Bagnola said, adding that the union didn't hear from the board again.
gwin@vindy.com