Youngstown schools need a CEO with solid resume

The latest version of the Youngstown City School District Academic Distress Commission must know it will mostly be judged on just one decision: the appointment of a chief executive officer to run the troubled urban system.

Everything else the commission does will be meaningless if the wrong person is named to the all-important position.

According to the law that created the new academic distress commission and gave it the appointment authority, the CEO will have full managerial and operational control of the district to improve student achievement and strengthen the school district.

The chief executive must create an improvement plan within 90 days of his or her selection with input from community stakeholders and from educators.

The distress commission met formally for the first time Wednesday and made two crucial decisions: First, there will be a national search for the chief executive officer; second, the panel will enlist the Mahoning County Educational Service Center to conduct the search.

Additionally, a majority of the five-member panel agreed that the individual tapped to take the helm of the struggling school district should have a background in education.

Given that the CEO’s annual salary will be covered by the state and could be in the $160,000 and $180,000 range, finding applicants with postgraduate degrees – doctorates would be preferred – and experience in turning around failing public school systems should not be too difficult.

Indeed, with Gov. John R. Kasich and the Ohio Department of Education fully committed to the recovery of one of Ohio’s worst school districts academically, we are confident that the state will be willing to invest whatever it takes to attract the best and brightest educator to serve as the CEO.

Long-shot bid

Kasich, who is pursuing a long-shot bid for the Republican nomination for president, has made it clear in public statements that continued failure is not an option for the Youngstown system.

Former state superintendent of public instruction, Dr. Richard Ross, who played an important role in the development of the so-called Youngstown Plan that was the basis of the state law, also was unwavering in his commitment to the Youngstown school district.

However, Ross made it very clear that this could well be the defining moment for public education in the city. Echoing the sentiments of the governor and other members of the administration, Ross contended that the children of the city have paid a high price for the incompetence and failures of the adults.

The CEO will have the power to hire and fire administrators, reopen collective-bargaining agreements and close failing schools or turn them over to charter or outside operators.

On the other hand, the academic distress commission must approve the recovery plan developed by the chief executive. The school board will have input but won’t have veto power.

Wednesday’s meeting of the academic commission marked the end of one legal impediment to the implementation of the Youngstown Plan. School board President Brenda Kimble gave up her court fight to appoint a distant cousin and substitute administrator, Carol Staten, to the commission. The teachers union sued to block the appointment, saying Staten was not a teacher, as required by state law.

Kimble refused to back down and took the case to the 7th District Court of Appeals, where she again lost. That’s when she gave up the fight.

She appointed a videography instructor at Choffin Career and Technical Center, Vincent Shivers, and received the backing of the teachers union.

But there’s another lawsuit pending that challenges the constitutionality of the Youngstown Plan.

Meanwhile, the academic distress commission is proceeding with a sense of urgency and purpose, as well it should. The members are Brian Benyo, the chairman, president of Brilex Industries; Dr. Laura Meeks, retired president of Eastern Gateway Community College; Dr. Barbara Brothers, retired Youngstown State University professor; Jennifer Roller, president of the Raymond John Wean Foundation; and Shivers.