Judge says Staten can’t sit on academic commission
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
City school board President Brenda Kimble must appoint a teacher to the academic distress commission by Friday, a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge ordered.
Judge Lou A. D’Apolito issued his ruling Wednesday, affirming an earlier decision by Daniel Dascenzo, Mahoning County Common Pleas Court magistrate.
Paula Valentini, a Youngstown Education Association spokeswoman, is pleased with the judge’s decision.
“The voice of educators in Youngstown needs to be heard,” she said.
Having a current, full-time teacher serving on the academic commission will ensure teachers’ input is part of the process, Valentini said.
Teachers are the people who best know the needs of the district’s children, she said.
“We’re hoping our board of education respects the judge’s decision and accepts the judge’s decision,” Valentini said.
Kimble, however, could appeal Judge D’Apolito’s decision to the 7th District Court of Appeals. Notice of the appeal could be filed by Friday’s deadline.
Neither Kimble nor Atty. Ted Roberts, who represents her in the lawsuit, could be reached, but the district scheduled a special meeting for 5 p.m. Friday, citing pending litigation, as a reason.
Under legislation enacted last summer, called the Youngstown Plan, the academic distress commission will appoint a chief executive officer to manage and operate the school district. The commission includes three appointees made by the state superintendent of public instruction, one by the mayor and one, a teacher, by the school board president.
The teachers union filed a complaint in court last month, objecting to Kimble’s appointment of Carol Staten to the panel. They contend that a teacher should have the seat.
Staten was a substitute principal at the time Kimble appointed her.
In court, Roberts argued that Staten, a veteran educator, meets the definition of a teacher.
Judge D’Apolito disagrees.
“Even under the most basic interpretation of the statutory language at issue, Staten is simply not a teacher employed by the Youngstown City School District,” Judge D’Apolito wrote in his decision. “Rather, she is a substitute principal employed by the school district. The two positions are separate and distinct. And under no common, ordinary interpretation could one reasonably conclude that these different titles are synonymous.”
As part of a handful of administrative changes, the school board Tuesday night appointed Staten principal of Discovery of Transitions to Careers at Volney.
The Youngstown Plan was approved by the state legislature in late June and signed by Gov. John Kasich in early July.
The school board, teachers union and classified employees union joined forces last August to file a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to stop the law from taking effect. The Franklin County judge declined a request for a restraining order to stop the changes while the case is pending.
The teachers’ union then filed its lawsuit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to stop Kimble from appointing Staten.
The lawsuits have contributed to an increase in legal bills for the district. In 2015, legal bills and expenses related to the lawsuits, such as transcripts, copy and courier costs total about $208,958. That compares to about $108,358 in legal expenses in 2014.
Meanwhile, the district, which has suffered for years with poor academic performance, is in a holding pattern.
The academic commission cannot meet until all of its members are appointed, Judge D’Apolito said.