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Youngstown school board to learn more of training
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
The president of the city school board expects to learn more today about when training for school board members will begin as required in the updated academic recovery plan.
The plan, which still must be approved by Richard Ross, state superintendent of public instruction, to become final, was developed by the Youngstown City School District Academic Distress Commission, the panel charged with guiding the district out of academic difficulty.
The updated plan outlines goals, priorities and strategies for academic improvement in the district.
One of the priorities is leadership and governance.
“Create trust and a sense of cooperation between the board of education and the administration of the YCSD,” the plan says. “The current conflict between the board and the district administration is counterproductive to the goal of improving academic performance of the children within the district. Creating trust and cooperation will require new ways of doing business and changes in communications practices between the board, the district and the commission.”
One of the strategies it lists is the arrangement of training sessions for the school board “in an effort to clarify roles of the board and the professional staff and to eliminate micro-managing actions by the board.”
The training will be arranged by the commission and paid by district funds.
Richard Atkinson, school board president, said at Tuesday’s regular school board meeting that he planned to talk today with Joffrey Jones, commission chairman, about the training.
“I’d like to know what they feel we need training on and why,” said Brenda Kimble, board vice president.
“Who’s going to do the training?” board member Jackie Adair asked.
Atkinson said he believes it will be the Ohio School Boards Association.
The plan says training should begin by November and be completed by January.
In other business, some board members also questioned the employment status of a district teacher.
Sharon McDonald-Butler, a teacher in the in-school suspension program at Wilson Programs of Promise, was listed on Tuesday’s agenda among employees for medical leave. McDonald-Butler’s leave ran from Sept. 22 through Oct. 22.
McDonald-Butler had been principal at Chaney last year, but her contract was terminated.
Board members questioned why she was working in the district since her employment as a teacher hadn’t come before the school board.
Superintendent Connie Hathorn said McDonald-Butler had tenure when she came to the district and that goes with a person through the state. When her principal contract was terminated, she was able to become a teacher in the district.
Kimble said the board should have been informed of that. She said she didn’t know the former principal was working in the district.
“I will do that in the future,” said Karen Green, assistant superintendent for human resources.
“Thank you, Karen, but I was sharing that with Dr. Hathorn since he is the head of the district,” Kimble said.