Lepore-Hagan: Kasich wants to replace Youngstown schools with a charter

YOUNGSTOWN

Gov. John Kasich wants to shut down the city schools and replace them with a charter school, says Michele Lepore-Hagan, state representative-elect.

Lepore-Hagan’s husband, state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th, tweeted the comment Wednesday morning. Hagan will leave his seat at year’s end because of term limits.

Lepore-Hagan was elected to the seat earlier this month. She confirmed Kasich’s comments.

Rob Nichols, Kasich’s spokesman, said little about the purported conversation.

“He [Hagan] spends an unusual amount of time on Twitter,” Nichols said in an email. “We don’t comment on the governor’s private discussions with people, except to say that he takes the Youngstown schools situation very seriously and wants to see them get fixed.”

Lepore-Hagan said the conversation with Kasich occurred this week at orientation in Columbus for incoming representatives.

Read more about the conversation in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.