Youngstown distress commission chair almost quit amid legal wrangling, delays

YOUNGSTOWN

The new city schools academic distress commission will meet Wednesday – about four months after its inaugural meeting originally was scheduled.

“I think it’s reasonable to say that at times, I questioned the fruitfulness of getting involved in this based on what’s happened over the last three months,” said Brian Benyo, commission chairman.

Ultimately, though, Benyo decided to stay the course, believing the effort to improve the schools is worth it.

The commission, created through the Youngstown Plan legislation approved by the state Legislature, will select a chief executive officer to manage and operate the city schools.

The commission is supposed to appoint a CEO within 60 days, and Benyo said one of the issues that’s expected to be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting is how the search will be conducted.

The meeting is set for 4 p.m. at Choffin Career & Technical Center, 200 E. Wood St.

Four of the five commission members were appointed last December, but selection of the fifth member by school board President Brenda Kimble led to litigation that wasn’t settled until Monday.

Read more about the matter in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.