Ohio Senate leader says Youngstown schools had chance to change before state takeover, but didn't

COLUMBUS

The Republican leader of the Ohio Senate defended legislation passed last year that allowed the takeover of the failing Youngstown school district.

During a panel discussion this week in Columbus, Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said the school district had opportunities to change course but failed to do so.

“For years and years, we kept giving opportunities to succeed in the Youngstown schools program,” Faber said. “And ultimately, you’ve got a district where the vast majority of the students in that district have left the school district. You’ve got a district that has continued to not meet expectations. ... It wasn’t being managed, it wasn’t being run.”

But Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, said the Youngstown Plan gives “a CEO unfettered access to break teachers’ contracts and turn public schools into charter schools. That’s what the bill does.”

“Nobody wants to talk about what the bill actually says,” Schiavoni said. “They want to talk about all of the fluffiness of it, helping kids and we had to do this and all this stuff. What it really does is just put one person in charge to make all the decisions.”

He added, “I hope it works ... but on paper, it could truly be the blueprint to destroy Youngstown schools and other urban schools that fall under the same situation.”

Faber and Schiavoni were part of a panel during the Ohio Associated Press’ Legislative Preview, a daylong event that gave reporters from across the state a chance to ask state officials questions on different issues.

The plan came up during questioning about educational reform.

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