Smooth start to school year

By Denise Dick | August 25, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Summer’s lazy days came to a screeching halt Monday for students across the Mahoning Valley, and superintendents report a smooth start to the 2015-16 school year.

“The first day went pretty well,” said Stephen Stohla, Youngstown City Schools’ interim superintendent. “We had some minor glitches with transportation, and we’re going to try to put some more emphasis there.”

A few children didn’t get picked up, he said.

“We have 60 buses, so to have a couple of kids not get picked up is – not excusable – but understandable,” Stohla said.

Contributing to the problem was that some students no longer live where they did at the end of last school year.

Stohla said he visited Martin Luther King Elementary School and East High School and noticed parent volunteers helping students.

“We’re going to do whatever we can to try to keep everything stable right now,” he said. “This is the first year in a long time where we’ve had no new principals.”

Superintendent Vince Colaluca reported an uneventful start to the first day in the Austintown schools.

“This is the smoothest it’s been since we’ve been at this campus,” he said, referring to students coming to school.

The first day went without incident for Hubbard schools, too.

“We had a very smooth opening day,” said Superintendent Raymond W. Soloman. “No incidents were reported, and we’re ready to start the educational process” today.

The first day is spent working out the logistics and ensuring students get where they’re supposed to be, he said.

Struthers Superintendent Joseph Nohra Jr. said there’s always anxiety going into the first day from students, parents and staff to administrators and school board members.

“From everything from, ‘How’s it going to work? Is my child going to have a good day?’” he said. “When you get to the end of the day and everything goes normally, it’s always a big relief.”

Liberty Superintendent Stan Watson said no problems cropped up in that district, either.

Poland schools start Wednesday, and other districts begin next week or the following week.