Teachers’ union urges judge to adopt magistrate’s decision

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Objections to a magistrate’s decision regarding the city school board president’s appointee to the academic distress commission lack merit, and the judge should adopt the decision, attorneys for the teachers union argue in documents filed Tuesday.

The Youngstown Education Association, the union representing city school teachers, filed a lawsuit last month in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to stop the appointment by Brenda Kimble, school board president, of Carol Staten, a retired principal, to the academic distress commission.

The union points out that Staten, who this week was moved by the school district’s interim superintendent from a utility administrator to a principal post, isn’t a classroom teacher. The law, known as the Youngstown Plan, allows the school board president one appointee, a teacher, to the five-member commission.

The commission will appoint a state-paid chief executive officer to manage and oversee the city schools.

A magistrate agreed last month, saying that under the common definition, a teacher is a classroom teacher.

Atty. Ted Roberts, who represents Kimble, objected to the magistrate’s decision, arguing that “‘teacher’ means all persons licensed to teach and who are employed in the public schools of this state as instructors, principals, supervisors, superintendents, or in any other educational position for which the state board of education required licensure” according to state law.

Atty. Ira Mirkin, who represents the YEA, wrote in his response Tuesday that “the ordinary definition of ‘teacher’ excludes retired principals who serve as part-time substitute administrators such as Staten.”

Last week, assistant state attorneys general, representing the commission, also objected to the magistrate’s decision, saying that the union lacks standing to bring the court action and argued that the commission should be allowed to meet.

“The General Assembly intended for teachers to have a say in the decisions of academic distress commission and YEA represents the teachers of the Youngstown City School District,” Mirkin’s response said. “No third parties will be unjustifiably harmed, and injunctive relief serves the public interest because it requires Kimble to comply with her statutory duty” to appoint a teacher. The law also requires that the commission have five members.

Judge Lou A. D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court will decide the case.