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Kimble’s choice of Staten for distress panel irks teachers union
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
The appointment by the city school board president to the academic distress commission is drawing the ire of the teachers union.
Brenda Kimble, school board president, announced Friday that she had appointed Carol Staten, a part-time administrator and retired principal, to the commission.
The commission is the panel that will appoint a state-paid chief executive officer to manage and operate the city schools.
The law says that the school board president’s appointment is to be a district teacher.
Paula Valentini, a spokeswoman for the Youngstown Education Association, the teachers union, said the group isn’t happy with Kimble’s choice.
“Carol Staten was a very respected administrator in our district,” she said. “She retired and was rehired and substitutes in various schools as an administrator and perhaps at times as a teacher. She is not a current teacher in the Youngstown City Schools.”
Vindicator broadcast partner 21 WFMJ-TV reported that Staten’s son was found dead in a burning car Thursday night. Police haven’t released the identity of the deceased.
Kimble is aware that the teachers were disappointed that they had only one seat on the commission, Valentini said.
“Larry Ellis, who is our union president, did send her names of teachers in the district who would be willing to serve on that committee,” she said. “He did not receive a response from Mrs. Kimble. We’re very disappointed that with the wealth of excellent teachers in this district, Mrs. Kimble would choose to select somebody who is not currently an educator in the Youngstown City Schools.”
Valentini said the union is exploring options to protest the selection.
Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which represents the commission, declined to comment about whether the appointment of Staten is permitted.
Various sources report that Staten is Kimble’s cousin. The Vindicator could not verify the relationship, and neither Kimble nor Staten could be reached.
Richard Ross, state superintendent of public instruction, named a career educator, a civic leader and a businessman as his commission appointees.
Laura Meeks of Jefferson County, former president of Eastern Gateway Community College; Jennifer Roller of Girard, president of the Raymond John Wean Foundation; and Brian Benyo of Berlin Center, president of Brilex Industries and Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition founding member, are Ross’ appointments announced Friday.
“Academic distress commissions were created to help chronically struggling schools improve and help ensure all of Ohio’s boys and girls – regardless of where they live – can receive the education they need to reach their full potential,” Ross said in a news release Friday morning. “We are grateful to these longtime community members who bring their expertise, commitment and passion to serving the students and families of the Youngstown City School District.”
Friday’s appointees are joined by Barbara Brothers, a retired Youngstown State University dean, who was appointed to the commission Thursday by Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally.
In a written statement, Roller said her decision to sit on the commission wasn’t made lightly.
“I am now, and imagine that I will always be, an advocate for and ardent supporter of public education, and I am also a realist and problem solver,” she said. “I think of the Youngstown Plan and the academic distress commission as a temporary response to challenges as they currently exist. I plan to serve on the academic distress commission as a devoted steward working hard to help the schools with the goal of returning them to their rightful owners: the residents of Youngstown.”
A statement from the Raymond John Wean Foundation says it supports Roller’s decision to accept the commission appointment.
Meeks, who served as a teacher and administrator before becoming a college president, oversaw Jefferson Community College, which served primarily Jefferson County students, expanding to become Eastern Gateway, which serves students in Jefferson, Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
“My career has led me to a place where I really want to give back and do what I can,” Meeks said. “I’m willing and I want to help Youngstown City Schools thrive.”
The goal of the Youngstown Plan legislation is to make sure students are learning with performance indicators headed in a positive direction, she said.
“I think it will work,” Meeks said. “I understand that difficult decisions need to be made under difficult circumstances, but what we need is a group of people focusing on what is a complex situation.”
It needs a lot of heart, too, she said.
Meeks served briefly on the academic distress commission before it was dissolved by the Youngstown Plan.
Benyo, a member of the Western Reserve school board, couldn’t be reached. He also served on the Youngstown City Schools Business Advisory Committee.
The first step is for the new commission to select a chairman or chairwoman. Once that’s done, the panel has 60 days to appoint a CEO.
The CEO along with the commission will develop a plan to improve the schools.
The Youngstown Plan was approved in late June by both houses of the state Legislature and signed in July by Gov. John Kasich.
Since its passage, the new law has faced wide criticism including complaints that the CEO will have too much power.
Critics also feared that the commission would be dominated by Columbus residents, but none of the appointees lives in that city.
The Youngstown City School Board and its employee unions have filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional. Attempts to secure an injunction during pendency of the case, however, have failed.
Under the law, a school district can move out of academic distress if it earns an overall grade of “C” or higher and maintains a grade higher than “F” for two additional years.