Youngstown Plan is law; time to give up the fight

No one who has heard Gov. John Kasich’s comments about the academically challenged Youngstown City School District since taking office in 2011 would be surprised that he signed a bill that restructures the governance of the system.

We aren’t, given the numerous comments he made directly or through the state superintendent of public instruction about Youngstown’s children being sacrificed at the altar of mediocrity.

The governor and officials of the Ohio Department of Education made it clear that drastic action would be taken if the urban school district did not show substantive improvement in its state proficiency test scores.

Indeed, the state designation of academic emergency highlighted the grimness of the situation. The designation triggered appointment of the Youngstown School District Academic Distress Commission, as set out in state law.

But even the takeover of the district by the commission has not brought the level of improvement the governor seeks. Continued failure points to a systemic problem that demands a drastic solution.

That is what the Youngstown Plan provides – much to the displeasure of the various groups that have an interest in maintaining the status quo.

The plan is laid out in an amendment to a bill that Kasich signed into law last week. Though it applies to any school district in academic distress, Youngstown will be the trailblazer because it has been the worst performing system academically for several years.

It is worth noting that the current designation of academic watch, one step up from academic emergency, resulted from improvement in attendance, and not academic performance of the students.

Without the type of bold action the Youngstown Plan represents, the urban school system will collapse under the weight of failure.

ONUS IS ON LOCAL OFFICIALS

All that said, there’s an important aspect to the discussion that should not be forgotten: From the outset, Gov. Kasich made it clear to The Vindicator and to area business, political and community leaders that any effort to move the district away from the status quo would have to be launched locally.

Kasich pledged that members of his administration and officials of the state education department would be available for technical and professional assistance and guidance, but the impetus for change had to come from the Youngstown community.

He often pointed to what occurred in Cleveland, where the mayor, other city officials and business and community leaders sought a legislative solution to the troubled city school system.

As a result, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, with more than 40,000 students, was brought under the control of the mayor. The mayor appoints members of the school board, who, in turn, select a chief executive officer.

Likewise, under the Youngstown Plan, a chief executive officer will also lead the district, but a reconstituted academic distress commission will make the appointment.

Vindicator Education Writer Denise Dick has reported extensively about the plan and the time frame for meeting clearly defined goals. Dick continues her reporting in today’s paper on this locally controversial, but absolutely necessary, change in the way the failing district will operate.

Though Republican Kasich and the Republican-controlled General Assembly ultimately were responsible for enacting the plan, it was the willingness of leaders in the Valley to be involved that prompted the governor to move forward.

We applaud Kasich for not succumbing to the harsh and intense criticism from school board members, educators, community leaders and local politicians, all Democrats. To be sure, the far-reaching changes that will be made will be a shock to the system, but the situation demanded such drastic action.

It is our firm belief that the children of Youngstown will be better served if opponents give up their quest to shelve the Youngstown Plan. There’s nothing that prevents them from voicing their opinions to the governor and the superintendent of public instruction, Richard Ross, about the composition of the new academic distress commission. We have no doubt that Kasich and Ross would give due consideration to ideas about the chief executive officer.

The Youngstown Plan is an appropriate response to a quickly deteriorating situation. It’s a lifeline for the district.