Youngstown Plan produces cynics of legislative process

COLUMBUS

It’s a bad sign when the lawmakers backing controversial legislation sound unsure whether such law changes are a good idea.

But that’s what happened with the last-minute Youngstown School Plan amendment added to a non-controversial bill and pushed through the Ohio Senate and House with little in the way of public input or deliberation.

It doesn’t really matter what you think of Youngstown City Schools, a long-failing district that has not been well served by its elected school board members or the commission put into place to help improve students’ academic achievement.

It’s a travesty that somebody didn’t step up long ago to change course for those poor kids.

Enter Gov. John Kasich and state school officials, who decided enough was enough and offered a plan to transfer control of the district to a chief executive officer appointed by a five-member panel, with a majority of members named by the state.

An average person on the street outside of the Mahoning Valley would understand the need for such a drastic change. If the local community can’t figure out how to deal with its ongoing school issues, then somebody else needs to step in with some fresh ideas and a commitment to change.

But the new plan isn’t sitting well with many local officials, including the lawmakers who represent the area — and with good reason.

They weren’t even told about the amendment until hours before it was added to a separate bill and placed on the floors of the House and Senate for final action.

SCHIAVONI’S CRITIQUE

As Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni put it, “We have a 66-page amendment that came in last night that everybody is scrambling to discuss and even find a half-hour to talk about. ... We’re talking about changing the face of Youngstown City Schools upon passage of this legislation... This bill was crafted by eight people in the Mahoning Valley. ... This is not a plan that Youngstown has embraced.”

Statehouse Democrats offered impassioned speeches, begging for more time and process before adopting the Youngstown plan. They were joined by a handful of Republicans in opposing the legislation.

Here’s the odd thing: Some of the Republicans who supported it didn’t sound very convinced that the plan was a good idea, either.

“Is the bill before us perfect? Is it right? I honestly can’t tell you that the amendment that was offered this morning is as ripe as we would like it to be,” said Sen. Peggy Lehner of Kettering, R-6th, chairwoman of the Senate’s Education Committee and the carrier of the amendment on behalf of the administration.

“But there’s a sense of urgency here, because we cannot let another year go by where we see no improvement in Youngstown..”

Lehner and Sen. Cliff Hite of Findlay, R-1st, both voiced support for holding hearings in Youngstown over the summer for further discussions. They’ve opened the door for new legislation to alter the Youngstown School Plan before the end of the year.

Lehner said she would “continue to work on this legislation, to try to make some recommendations, some changes, that will really create a much better situation in Youngstown. We will bring that legislation back here in November. There is nothing that says we cannot add or amend to legislation that was previously passed. ... That’s why they call it the Revised Code.”

To recap, we have a controversial amendment proposing big changes to a local school district, offered at the last minute with little in the way of debate or discussion with the people who will be impacted, passed on split votes and with supporters who say they’ll work in coming months on more changes before the legislation takes effect.

That’s the sort of messed up legislative process that makes people more cynical about our government, regardless of whether you think the Youngstown School Plan is a good idea.

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Columbus correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.