State oversight commissions deserve to be taken seriously

Campbell Mayor George Krinos and Youngstown City Schools Superintendent Wendy Webb lack the sense of urgency needed to address the fiscal and academic crises plaguing the city and the school district. That is the conclusion to be drawn from two stories in Tuesday’s Vindicator detailing what is taking place in Campbell, which is under state mandated fiscal emergency, and Youngstown, which has the distinction of being the worst academic performing system in the state of Ohio.

On Monday, the chairman of the state Financial Planning and Supervision Commission, empaneled six years ago after Campbell imploded financially, asked Mayor Krinos about the status of a fiscal recovery plan that was to have been submitted at the meeting — and was not. The mayor’s response: He didn’t get around to doing it.

Also on Monday, the state Academic Distress Commission, which was appointed last year after the Youngstown district failed to make the grade in the state proficiency tests, asked Superintendent Webb to submit by Wednesday the five-year academic strategic plan developed by her and the school board. However, Dr. Webb told the commission that the board wanted to do a final review and it could be submitted in time for the state panel’s meeting next Monday.

That prompted a commission member to offer a motion mandating that the school board produce the recovery plan no later than Wednesday. The motion passed unanimously.

What part of “state mandated” do Krinos and Webb not understand? The two commissions are not window dressing, nor are they meant to provide legitimacy to the financially failed city of Campbell and the academically challenged Youngstown district. The panels are creatures of state laws that spell out clearly their authority and responsibilities. They are not simply advisory. They have the power to force the city and the school system to adopt strategies the commissioners believe will stop the budgetary bleeding and the academic decline.

But, the financial oversight commission under Paul Marshall, and the academic distress commission, chaired by Debra Mettee, have chosen cooperation and conciliation rather than confrontation.

That strategy may be flawed.

Warning

On Monday, it was clear that Marshall and his colleagues on the commission have run out of patience. He warned that if spending on salaries and benefits in the fire department, mayor’s office, council and administrator’s office is not curtailed, the city will run out of money in October and would have to shut down in November.

Mayor Krinos and city council should end their bickering and remember that they work for the people of Campbell.

Likewise, Superintendent Webb and the school board should recognize that being the worst in the state means that you have failed and, therefore, you have no credibility when it comes to charting a new course for the district.

There is a price to be paid for failure — the loss of independence.

On Tuesday, Webb announced that the academic strategic plan would be submitted to the commission Wednesday. This, after board President Anthony Catale said that he was under the impression the plan had been submitted some time ago.

Catale suggested there was some “miscommunication.” That’s unacceptable.

The state academic distress commission is facing a June 29 deadline for submitting a recovery plan to the state superintendent of public instruction.

The city of Campbell and the Youngstown City School District had better get with the program.