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Schools CEO’s salary. benefits to be covered by state
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Not only will the state pay the new city schools chief executive officer, but it will cover health care and retirement contributions, too.
“My understanding is there will be a memorandum of understanding between the state and the school board for reimbursement” for the CEO’s salary and benefits, said Brian Benyo, chairman of the Youngstown City School District Academic Distress Commission.
The CEO will be a school district employee.
An Ohio Department of Education spokeswoman concurred.
“The CEO is not employed by the state,” Brittany Halpin said in an email. “The Ohio Department of Education reimburses the district for the CEO’s salary and benefits.”
Any negotiation regarding the CEO’s contract would be handled by the academic distress commission and its legal counsel, the attorney general’s office, he said.
The distress commission will select a CEO to manage and operate the city schools.
A forum to gather input from the public about qualities and characteristics parents, teachers, school administrators and community leaders want to see in a CEO is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday at Choffin Career and Technical Center.
The Mahoning County Educational Service Center is conducting the national search to fill the post, which is estimated to pay between $160,000 and $180,000 annually.
An advertisement for the job began running last week through the Association of Educational Service Agencies, Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators. Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Ohio School Boards Association, Ohio Means Jobs, Career Building, Monster.com and Indeed.com.
Applications are coming in, and the commission is expected to make its choice by early June.
Qualifications in the advertisement list at least five years of senior/executive-level administrative experience managing people at a “scale that would present complexity and challenges seen in an urban school district such as Youngstown City Schools.”
The five-member commission will appoint a district CEO as part of the Youngstown Plan, legislation enacted last year.
The city school district is the first to come under provisions of the legislation, although it also could affect other academically struggling districts.
In 2010, Youngstown was the first district to fall under supervision of an academic distress commission because of consistently low student test scores. The commission created in the Youngstown Plan replaces the panel in place in 2010.
The CEO will have broad authority in managing the district, including hiring and firing personnel, reopening contracts and closing failing schools or turning them over to charter or other outside operators.
Within 120 days of his or her appointment, the CEO, with input from educators and community stakeholders, must create a district improvement plan.
In the second year, the CEO may plan for the expansion of successful schools and programs and identify schools for reconstitution the following year.
Also in year two, the CEO may reopen any contract provision for bargaining under regular bargaining rules.
For the third year, students will begin using expanded choice options. The CEO may limit, change or suspend any contract provision as long as there is no reduction in per-hour compensation or changes to insurance benefits – unless those changes are applied uniformly in the district.
In years four and five, the CEO continues the improvement plan and makes changes to schools as necessary.