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About 80 people attend public forum on Youngstown schools CEO
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Thirteen people have applied so far to be the city school district chief executive officer while honesty, experience and accountability are some of the attributes people attending a public forum want to see in the candidate chosen.
About 80 people filled the chairs Wednesday night in the Commons at Choffin Career and Technical Center to participate in the forum on the school district CEO.
The forum was called and conducted by the Youngstown City School District Academic Distress Commission whose members are charged with appointing a CEO to manage the academically challenged school district.
“We want to hear from as many of you as we can in a way that is meaningful and productive,” said Jennifer Roller, commission vice chairwoman and the president of the Raymond John Wean Foundation.
Two commission members, Brian Benyo, chairman, and Barbara Brothers, were absent.
The forum was divided into two parts.
In the first, attendees used clickers, or audience response devices, to answer questions posed by the panel. Turning Technologies provided the devices and staff for the gathering free of charge.
In the second part, residents stood and spoke.
Dan Smith, a retired school district administrator, said he’s confused about the term CEO. In his experience, he said, CEOs focus on money. He questions why the district can’t go out and find a positive superintendent to lead the schools.
“A CEO is in business for the money,” Smith said. “We’re talking about kids first and teachers second, not money.”
During the audience input portion of the meeting, attendees chose “honest” as the most-important character trait among those listed for a CEO.
“Where’s the ‘no CEO’ button?” one member of the audience asked.
Others pointed out that all of the characteristics were important: honest, compassionate, respectful, inspirational, optimistic and confident.
Among job-performance traits, participants listed experience and accountability the highest ranking.
Audience members overwhelmingly believe – 72 percent – that the CEO should come from within the Mahoning Valley.
The survey is available on the school district website, www.youngstown.k12.oh.us, and input may be submitted through Friday.
The Rev. Kenneth Simon of New Bethel Baptist Church, representing the Community Leadership Coalition on Education, said the organization remains opposed to the Youngstown Plan.
He called the academic distress commission and CEO process “an unscrupulous and illegal takeover of the Youngstown City Schools.”
For the children’s sake though, the coalition recommends extensive educational background and credentials and commitment to quality education of inner-city public school students, administrative experience in economically-distressed urban public schools and “demonstrated willingness to seek input from teachers, parents, students and community leaders in developing policy and practices” among desired qualifications.
Bob Morrell, precision machining instructor at Choffin, pointed to a painting on the wall, featuring all of Choffin’s programs.
“Right there, those are all opportunities,” he said.
He worries about the future of the programs.
“Whatever happens, it’s going to be bad,” Morrell said. “Once we lose that, we’re never going to get it back. Once it’s gone, kiss it goodbye.”
Commission members voted to extend the deadline for CEO applicants to May 17. Wednesday was the original deadline. As of Tuesday, 13 people had applied.
Among the applicants is Stephen Stohla, interim school superintendent since July 1.
Others include Rhonda Corr, a former area superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, and Curtis Clough who works at the Alaska Department of Education.
In August 2015, the Parma School Board rescinded its superintendent offer to Corr. Corr worked with Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the Chicago Public Schools CEO, who pleaded guilty to bribery in October 2015. Byrd-Bennett was former Cleveland Schools’ CEO. Corr oversaw 36 Chicago schools during Byrd-Bennett’s Chicago tenure.
Clough worked from 2011-14 as superintendent of Strasburg-Franklin Local Schools in Strasburg, Ohio. An article on CantonRep.com characterized his tenure there as rocky.
It pointed to criticism from the school board, saying he ignored school board members’ requests and of “producing a major source of frustration throughout the district.”
The CEO will be paid between $160,000 and $180,000 annually. The salary and benefits will be reimbursed to the school district by the state.
The commission is expected to select a CEO by early June.