Youngstown schools distress commission gets another new leader

By Denise Dick

denise_dick@vindy.com

Youngstown

The commission charged with developing a plan to move the city schools out of academic distress has a new leader for the second time in three months.

Richard Ross, retired superintendent of Reynoldsburg Schools near Columbus, announced his resignation as commission chairman this week. Adrienne O’Neill, a commission member, will take his place.

Stan Heffner, state superintendent of public instruction, had appointed Ross last November to lead the academic distress commission, the only one in the state. It was established in 2010 after the district failed to meet adequate yearly progress for four consecutive school years.

Debra Mettee, superintendent of Springfield Schools, had led the commission since its 2010 establishment but resigned late last year.

Ross couldn’t be reached Tuesday.

“Superintendent Heffner has asked Dr. Adrienne O’Neill to replace Dr. Richard Ross as chair of the Youngstown Academic Distress Commission,” Patrick Gallaway, an Ohio Department of Education spokesman, said in an email. “Supt. Heffner will appoint a new commission member to ensure that he has three representatives on the commission as required by Ohio law.”

At the same time Heffner appointed Ross, he also appointed O’Neill, president of Stark Education Partners, and Michael Garvey of M7 Technologies of Youngstown, to replace original commission members James Hall, retired South Range superintendent, and Sherri Lovelace-Cameron, a Youngstown State University chemistry professor.

The change in leadership comes as the school district is awaiting an updated academic recovery plan. The plan, developed under the former commission, is to be updated annually.

Heffner rejected the updated version from the previous commission, and the newly constituted commission is to develop a new one.

Heffner, at a commission meeting in November, said he approved of the literacy component of the plan, although the new commission hasn’t formally approved that section.

But Gallaway said the district does have an approved academic recovery plan.

“The prior state superintendent approved an academic recovery plan for the district,” he said in the email. “Stan asked for modifications to that plan. Those modifications were rejected. So until the new modifications are accepted, the academic recovery plan originally adopted is still in place.”

Superintendent Connie Hathorn said that’s how the district is proceeding. “We’re continuing with the plan that was put in place [in 2010] with fidelity,” he said.

The other two members, Betty Greene, a retired principal and YSU instructor, and Susan Moorer, YSU’s coordinator of P-12 assessment and outreach, are appointees of the school board president. Greene was appointed by Anthony Catale, who served as board president in 2010, and Lock P. Beachum Sr., president in 2011 and this year, appointed Moorer.

The commission meets at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Chaney Campus where members are expected to give reports on the ideas for a plan as well as for a liaison to work among the commission, the school district and ODE.