Summit addressees Youngstown plan; 2 Dems to unveil their plan

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

After several meetings with community stakeholders, parents and educators, two Democratic lawmakers from the Mahoning Valley will announce their alternative plan to fix Youngstown City Schools on Tuesday.

State Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, and state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th, will conduct a press conference to disclose the details of the plan.

“We have to act now,” Schiavoni said during a Thursday night summit about the state’s takeover of the city school district. The summit took place at McGuffey Elementary, 310 S. Schenley Ave.

Republican Gov. John Kasich’s administration worked with Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber CEO Tom Humphries, Bishop George Murry of the Youngstown Catholic Diocese, Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel and others in the community on what became known as the Youngstown Plan.

The new law establishes a process for managing failing school districts, such as Youngstown’s, by placing them in the hands of an appointed chief executive officer. The CEO would have authority to replace school administrators and central office staff, close schools, hire new employees, set teacher class loads, curriculum, class sizes and compensation rates, among other administrative decisions.

Schiavoni and Lepore-Hagan were on the five-member panel that addressed the scores of people who came out Thursday night to air their criticisms of the plan. They had strong words for Kasich’s approach to fixing the school system.

“It’s administrations like this across the nation getting rid of public education,” Schiavoni said.

Lepore-Hagan pointed to anti-bullying signs in the school’s cafeteria.

“And this governor is a bully,” she said.

“We don’t know what this CEO is planning to do,” said city Councilman Nate Pinkard, D-3rd, a panel member.

Paula Valentini, vice president of the Youngstown Education Association, which represents city school teachers, said the plan does not include voices from educators, parents or community members.

Valentini said she feels passionately that “it’s time to say, ‘enough.’”

But some parents expressed frustration with the current condition of the school district. Chris Green of the city’s South Side complained about a lack of communication from the teachers. One of her children had to repeat the third grade because of the state-mandated reading guarantee for that grade. She said teachers did not inform her in a timely manner that her child was reading at a second-grade level.

Some organizers of the event later took her aside, offering her pointers and books for her child.

But Green wanted to know what plans Youngstown educators and representatives would offer.

“I have mixed feelings for the [CEO],” she said.

Another parent mentioned that her child is studying engineering at YSU, but questioned whether some district teachers are highly qualified, as stated by some panel members.

But Tim Kinkead, a social studies teacher at Youngstown Early College, said although there are issues with the district, he disagreed with the state’s solution.

“If you don’t have public schools, you don’t have democracy,” he said. “It’s taxation without representation.”

Kasich’s office was unavailable to comment Thursday night.