City school president: Report card is unacceptable

YOUNGSTOWN — The president of the Youngstown City School Board said the school district’s academic emergency rating on its annual state local report card is “absolutely unacceptable.”

Anthony Catale said there have been a couple of factors affecting the district’s ability to concentrate on academics — trying to cut spending to recover from fiscal emergency and a school rebuilding program which has been shifting students and teachers around — , but, “There are no excuses.”

Superintendent Wendy Webb said the Ohio Department of Education’s emphasis this year on “value-added” achievement caused Youngstown to slip from academic watch to emergency.

The district hasn’t shown acceptable levels of student progress over the last three years, resulting in its rating being dropped one position, according to the state.

Read more about the issue in Wednesday’s Vindicator or on Vindy.com.