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Attempt to get Youngstown school board to withdraw from suit against state fails
Court asked to declare Youngstown Plan unconstitutional
By Denise Dick
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.
But because of the community’s strong, united opposition, the process to select Mohip was above board, Shadd said.
“If we’re leading the fight on this, why would we withdraw,” he said.
That drew applause from some in the audience.
Member Jerome Williams took exception to Sanderson’s motion.
“I ran for this school board to help our kids,” he said, adding that people elected him because they trust him to do that. “It troubles me to watch someone who was elected to do that give that responsibility to someone else.”
Sanderson said board members have participated in Mohip’s community stakeholder meetings to try to help improve the district. That work would be for naught if the suit is successful.
Michael Murphy said the law takes away local control and the peoples’ right to vote on matters affecting the school district. “I’m not giving up the fight,” he said.
Brenda Kimble, board president, agreed.
Dario Hunter, board member, said he’s not a fan of the legislation, either, but with the district’s poor academics, board members have bigger problems.
“The board’s involvement with this issue has never been about our kids,” he said.
It’s about control, Hunter said.
“Our children deserve a fighting chance more than this board deserves another chance,” he said.
Let the unions fight the state in court using their money rather than having taxpayers foot the bill, Hunter said.
Give Mohip the chance to turn the district around, he said.
“This board had every opportunity to turn it around, and it failed to do so,” Hunter sad. “It neglected to do so.”
Jackie Adair, board member, said the board has failed miserably to educate the district’s students.
“This is not about us. It’s not about you,” she said, referring to the audience. “This is about K-to-12 students.”
The district has spent more than $200,000 in taxpayer money on the lawsuit, Adair said.
“As a board member, we have nothing to hang our hat on,” she said.
She again referred to the audience, which numbered about 30 people,
“You have to hold our feet to the fire,” Adair said. “You have to hold us accountable.”
She said community members have attended school board meetings after the passage of the Youngstown Plan legislation.
“Where were you leading up to it?” Adair said. “Where have you been? This did not happen overnight.”
Williams said H.B. 70 did happen overnight. It was passed by both state legislative houses the same day it was introduced, he said.
Audience members applauded again.
Adair said she was referring to the district’s academics, not the legislation.
The motion to withdraw failed with Sanderson, Adair and Hunter in favor and Kimble, Murphy, Shadd and Williams opposed.
Mohip said he wants the board to stop talking about failure.
“When I hear failure, it makes me shudder,” he said.
That’s saying that students and teachers are failing, the CEO said.
“Our students are learning. They’re learning all the time,” he said. “All children want to learn, and they can learn it’s up to us to make that happen.”