Youngstown NAACP calls for firing of Hathorn, Hiscox

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Branch of the NAACP wants to answer the call of state officials to aid in improving the city schools.

“The NAACP is part of the community at large and we want to see dramatic change,” George Freeman Jr., president of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told city school board members at a meeting Tuesday. “We’re willing to be part of the state superintendent’s call to action to the broad community. He says he needs our help. We’re here to offer it to the local elected officials.”

If the school board isn’t willing to work with the organization, Freeman said the group would seek partnerships with people in Columbus.

Last August, Richard Ross, state superintendent of public instruction, said in an interview with The Vindicator that he was calling on the community to come forward to help improve the schools.

During a news conference Monday, Freeman said he believes that Superintendent Connie Hathorn and the deputy superintendent should be replaced because of the lack of progress on the state report card for the district.

Hathorn and Doug Hiscox, deputy superintendent for academic affairs, have the backing of others in the community, however.

Read other opinions in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.