Move to drop Youngstown school board's lawsuit against new CEO fails
YOUNGSTOWN
An attempt to withdraw the city school board from a Franklin County Common Pleas Court lawsuit challenging legislation that called for a schools CEO has failed.
Corrine Sanderson, board member, made a motion at Tuesday’s meeting for the board to withdraw from the lawsuit filed last summer. It’s set for trial in September.
Since the late June arrival of Krish Mohip as the district chief executive officer, she said she’s seen positive change.
“There’s more efficiency in personnel decisions and transparency in our business operations,” Sanderson said.
The school board, district employee unions and a teacher who lives in the city filed the lawsuit against the state and the Ohio Department of Education, asking the court to declare the Youngstown Plan, also known as House Bill 70, unconstitutional. It also sought to stop the law from taking effect.
The plan called for a new academic distress commission to appoint a chief executive officer for the school district. The law gives the CEO broad authority.
Ronald Shadd, board member, agreed that Mohip has been a good addition to the school district, but he believes that’s because the community established a united front that opposed HB 70.
“We all know HB 70 is terrible legislation,” he said.
Read more about the dispute and the CEO's response in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.