Austintown overtakes Youngstown as largest school district in Mahoning Valley

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

For years, the Youngstown City School District instructed the most students of any Mahoning Valley district, dwarfing those surrounding it with its five-figure enrollment. Not any more.

Ohio Department of Education enrollment data for the 2013 to 2014 academic period, the most recent year for which the state has numbers, shows Austintown enrollment now reigns.

And, much of the flip-flop is caused by Youngstown students attending Austintown schools through open enrollment.

ODE shows 5,350 students enrolled in Austintown, compared to 5,111 at Youngstown. Warren City Schools is only slightly lower at 5,069 students and Boardman has 4,335.

At one time, the city school district enrolled more than 10,000 students. As recently as 2005 to 2006, 8,093 attended Youngstown schools while Austintown enrolled 4,829.

Austintown Superintendent Vince Colaluca said 2013 to 2014 was the first year his district hit a higher enrollment figure than the city schools. Nearly 13 percent of Austintown students, or 680, are coming to the district from Youngstown via open enrollment.

“Every district in the Valley is losing residential students because of the loss in population,” he said. “When we’re sharing students — maybe it’s unfortunate, but the law allows you to do that now — it helps supplement the kids we’re losing.”

Colaluca said the application that students submit for open enrollment admission is generic. The district isn’t permitted to ask why a student wants to leave his or her home district, he said.

Most students that come into Austintown schools remain, Colaluca said.

“Eighty to 90 percent move from grade to grade,” he said.

Youngstown Schools Superintendent Connie Hathorn isn’t surprised by the change. For the last few years, though, the district has been working to improve and to offer programs that appeal to students.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.