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City school board president requests meeting with state officials
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
If the state has something planned for Youngstown City Schools, Brenda Kimble, school board president, says the school board and district residents have a right to know.
At a Monday meeting of the Youngstown City School District Academic Distress Commission, Kimble said she’d like to schedule a meeting among board and commission members, attorneys for both entities, state legislators and Richard Ross, state superintendent of public instruction.
“Our house has been cleaned and now we need to refurnish it,” she said, referring to the resignations of Superintendent Connie Hathorn and Karen Greene, assistant superintendent for human resources.
Kimble said she doesn’t know what, if any, plans the state might have.
“We just want to know if there are any plans for our district that we’re unaware of,” she said.
Several years ago, community groups in Cleveland got together because they weren’t happy with what was happening with the schools and made changes.
That city’s plan, which required state legislation, involves a system of district and charter schools under the leadership of a chief executive officer and nine school board members who are appointed by the Cleveland mayor. At least four of those members must have expertise in education, finance or business.
The Cleveland board members hire the CEO.
Last fall, Ross told The Vindicator that he wasn’t happy with the progress made in Youngstown schools. He said at that time that he was asking the community to step forward to help.
He referred to the Cleveland Plan as the closest example of what he was talking about but said he wasn’t looking for a copy of that plan.
Kimble said she’d like Ross to come to the city for the meeting but she has no time frame in mind. It will depend on the schedules of those involved.
“If they have plans for our district, we have a right to know,” she said.
In other business, Joffrey Jones, commission chairman, announced that Laura Meeks, outgoing president of Eastern Gateway Community College, has been appointed by Ross to the commission. She will fill the seat vacated last month by Michael Garvey.